PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:        

	BOARD DATE:            8 December 1999
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999029075

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mr. Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Mr. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. James P. Huber		Member	
	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
            records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests, in effect, reimbursement of $3,741.19, with interest, that was unjustly recouped from him through his 1998 tax return.

3.  The applicant states that he reenlisted in 1995 and received a selective reenlistment bonus (SRB) of $12,000.00.  He further states that he subsequently left the service to enter the Army Reserve Chaplain Candidate Program, was commissioned under that program, and was returned to active duty to serve as an Islamic chaplain.  However, because he had received a bonus and did not fulfill the terms of his contract, his bonus was recouped.  He goes on to state that the applicable regulations state that he was entitled to receive his bonus up until the date he was commissioned and he desires the funds to be repaid with interest.  In support of his application he submits a copy of the document from the Department of Treasury indicating his debt.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that while serving on active duty in the pay grade of E-6, he reenlisted on 27 January 1995 for a period of 6 years in the military occupational specialty (MOS) of 91C (Practical Nurse).

5.  The applicant subsequently applied for and was approved for acceptance into the Army Reserve Chaplain Candidate Program.  He applied for separation from active duty under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, paragraph 5-3, Secretarial Authority, which was approved.  Accordingly, he was honorably discharged at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on 12 January 1996 and was transferred to the USAR Control Group (Reinforcement).  He had served 12 years of total active service.

6.  On 12 February 1999 the applicant received a notice from the Department of the Treasury informing him that he had a delinquent debt in the amount of $4,229.00 from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) and that his debt was being offset in the amount of $3,741.19 to pay the debt.  He was advised to pay the remaining amount before additional offsets against Federal payments were made by that Agency.

7.  The applicant was commissioned as a USAR first lieutenant, chaplain corps, on 5 September 1999 and was ordered to active duty at Fort Bragg on 15 September 1999.

8.  Army Regulation 601-280 serves as the authority for SRB payments and recoupments.  It states, in pertinent part, that effective 1 June 1983, recoupment of unearned bonus payments is not required if the soldier is separated to permit acceptance of a commission or warrant appointment or to enter a program leading to a commission or warrant appointment.  Entitlement to additional unpaid bonus payments is suspended and will terminate upon commission or appointment.  However, the entitlement to additional unpaid bonus will be paid on a pro rata basis if the soldier is not commissioned or appointed and returns to enlisted status in the same MOS. 

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant clearly was separated from active duty to participate in a program that led to his being commissioned.  In accordance with the applicable regulations, he was entitled to keep that portion of the SRB that he was paid up until the date he was commissioned. 

2.  Therefore, the recouped portion of the bonus that the applicant would have earned, plus any interest charged, up until 5 September 1999, should be returned to the applicant.

3.  Inasmuch as there are no provisions for the Board to award interest on overdue or recouped entitlements, there is no basis for the Board to approve that portion of his request.

4.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by repaying the individual concerned that portion of his SRB and any interest charged, that he would have earned up until 5 September 1999, the date he was commissioned in the Chaplain Corps, which was subsequently recouped. 

2.  That all appropriate agencies be notified that the debt has been cancelled and that any such references to the debt be removed from his records.

3.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

___rvo__  __aao___  __jph____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.__
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999029075	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	1999/12/08	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  288 	128.0500/SRB	
2.  293 	128.1000/CANCEL DEBT	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.