PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           19 October 2000                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000036486

	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. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mrs. Joyce A. Hall		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Ernest W. Lutz, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. Christopher J. Prosser		Member	
	Ms. Tracey L. Pinson		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 that she be paid the enlistment bonus she was promised.

3.  The applicant states in effect, that before signing the enlistment contract she was told by her recruiter that assignment in the military occupational specialty (MOS) of 75H10 and assignment to a bonus unit would qualify her for $3,000.00 enlistment bonus.  When she returned from basic combat training and advanced individual training she was informed the contract was in error.  The applicant submits a copy of her Enlistment Bonus Addendum, DA Form 5261-R and a copy of a letter from the Office of the Inspector General in support of her application.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that she enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 27 July 1998.  Her Selected Reserve Incentive Program- (SRIP) Enlistment Bonus, DA Form 5261-R, shows that she enlisted for assignment to a unit authorized by Headquarters, Department of Army (HQDA) for a bonus entitlement and in a military occupational specialty (MOS) 75H10 also authorized by HQDA for a bonus entitlement.

5.  Letter correspondence from the Office of the Inspector General dated 
12 January 2000, notified the applicant that the bonus addendum for
$3,000.00 was inappropriate.  She was also informed that the MOS 75H10 was not a bonus qualified MOS or was the assignment unit qualified for a bonus.
She was advised of several options regarding her enlistment which was to remain in the unit without benefit of the bonus, or request a discharge under provisions of AR135-178, Separation of Enlisted Personnel, paragraph 9-10, or apply directly to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to pursue redress for any perceived injustice.  

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board concludes that a Government error was made when the applicant was told she qualified for the SRIP enlistment bonus incentive.  It appears she was also erroneously told that her MOS and the unit to which she was assigned were authorized an enlistment bonus.  

2.  As a matter of equity and in the interest of the Army, it would be appropriate to show that the applicant is entitled to the bonus for which she enlisted.

3.  In view of the foregoing and as an exception to policy, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by paying to the applicant, as an exception to policy, the enlistment bonus as stipulated on the DA Form 5261-R (Enlistment Bonus Addendum).

BOARD VOTE:  

__ewl___  __cjp___  __tlp___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Ernest W. Lutz, Jr.
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000036486	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20001019	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	100.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.