PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           7 September 2000                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000038329

	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. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Celia L. Adolphi		Chairperson	
	Mr. Walter T. Morrison		Member	
	Mr. Thomas B. Redfern, III		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 authorized the enlistment bonus and Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) for which she enlisted.

3.  The applicant states that the incentives were on the computer at the time she sat down with the guidance counselor at the Military Entrance Processing Station.  She was eligible for them and chose the unit for which she enlisted because of them.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that she enlisted in the U. S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 8 January 1999.  Her Selected Reserve Incentive Program – Enlistment Bonus Addendum, DA Form 5261-R, shows that she enlisted for assignment to a high priority unit authorized by Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA) for a bonus entitlement in a military occupational specialty (MOS) (57E, Laundry and Shower Specialist) that was also authorized by HQDA for a bonus entitlement.  Her Student Loan Repayment Program Addendum, DA Form 5261-4-R, shows that she contracted for completion of initial active duty for training and qualification in MOS 57E which HQDA approved for a maximum of $10,000 in loan repayments.  She completed such training on 12 August 1999.

5.  On 21 September 1999, the applicant was informed that MOS 57E was not a bonus qualified MOS as it did not appear on the eligible skills list for November 1998 – March 1999.

6.  On 29 September 1999, the applicant’s unit requested an exception to policy for the applicant to receive the incentives as the MOS was erroneously omitted from the Selected Reserve Incentive Program (SRIP) list.

7.  On 8 November 1999, the Chief, Retention and Transition Division, U. S. Army Reserve Command, recommended approval of an exception to policy for the applicant to receive the enlistment bonus and SLRP.  At the time of the applicant’s enlistment, the MOS was a critically short specialty; however, due to an administrative oversight it was accidentally omitted from the fiscal year 1999 SRIP list.  On 18 November 1999, the Chief, Personnel Division, Office of the Chief, Army Reserve (OCAR) recommended approval of an exception to policy for the same reason.

8.  On 24 November 1999, the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel informed OCAR that it could not approve its request for exception to policy and recommended the applicant submit a request to this Board.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board concludes that had it not been for an administrative oversight at OCAR, the applicant would have been eligible for and entitled to both the enlistment bonus and the SLRP for enlisting in MOS 57E.
2.  As a matter of equity and in the best interest of the Army, it would be appropriate to show that the applicant is entitled to the incentives 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:

1.  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 that would have been due her had MOS 57E been included on the November 1998 – March 1999 SRIP.

2.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by repaying, as an exception to policy, the applicant’s student loans per her enlistment for the SLRP to which she would have been entitled had MOS 57E been included on the November 1998 – March 1999 SRIP.

BOARD VOTE:  

__cla___  __wtm___  __tbr___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Celia L. Adolphi
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000038329	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20000907	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	128.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.