PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           13 June 2002
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002066568

	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. Carolyn G. Wade		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Celia L. Adolphi		Chairperson	
	Ms. Barbara J. Ellis		Member	
	Mr. Donald P. Hupman, Jr.		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 his reenlistment contract, dated 2 May 1999, be changed to reflect that he reenlisted for a reenlistment bonus and the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) incentive.

3.  The applicant states that he reenlisted for 6 years in military occupational specialty (MOS) 57E.  His MOS was erroneously left off the FY99 Selected Reserve Incentive Program (SRIP) list due to an administrative error.  In support of his request, he provides:  a 2 December 2001 memorandum from the 611th Quartermaster Company to the Army Review Boards Agency - St. Louis; a copy of his DD Form 4/1-3 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document), with Annex A; a copy of a 5 November 1998 memorandum from Army Reserve Personnel Command (AR-PERSCOM) forwarding the FY99 SRIP Policy Letter; a copy of a 6 May 1999 memorandum from Headquarters, 99th Regional Support Command (RSC), detailing the omission of MOS 57E from the FY99 SRIP list; a copy of an 8 August 1999 memorandum from the 611th Quartermaster Company to the 99th RSC requesting an exception to policy to amend the applicant's reenlistment contract to include the SRIP and the SLRP; and a 17 November 1999 memorandum from the 99th RSC to the 611th Quartermaster Company denying the request for exception to policy and referring the applicant to this Board.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that, with prior service, he reenlisted in the United States Army Reserve (USAR) on 2 May 1999 for a period of 6 years.  He did not reenlist for the SRIP or the SLRP.

5.  On 6 May 1999, the 99th RSC Retention Office authored a memorandum that stated the applicant's MOS 57E was erroneously left off the SRIP list.  The 99th RSC Retention Office advised soldiers who had reenlisted in that MOS to request an exception to policy, if otherwise qualified, in order to receive the SRIP.

6.  On an unknown date, the applicant was informed that he was eligible for the SRIP and SLRP based upon his MOS 57E.  The applicant then executed the Selected Reserve Incentive Program – USAR Prior Service Reenlistment Bonus and Student Loan Repayment Program Addendums (DA Form 5261-2-R and 5261-4-R) and submitted them to the Commander, 611th Quartermaster Company along with a request for an exception to policy to retroactively change his reenlistment options.  Although the applicant's DA Forms 5261-2-R and 5261-4-R are not available in his records, the evidence of record indicates they were submitted along with his DD Form 4/1 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Contract) as enclosures to his request for an exception to policy.

7.  On 8 August 1999, the applicant's unit requested that he be authorized the SRIP and SLRP as an exception to policy and forwarded the request to the 99th RSC Retention Office.  The 99th RSC disapproved the exception to policy on 17 November 1999 and advised the applicant that he could appeal to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR).  The 99th RSC did not provide any explanation as to why they disapproved his request.

8.  On 1 December 2001, the applicant submitted DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) to this Board requesting that his reenlistment contract be amended to include the SRIP and SLRP.

9.  On 2 December 2001, the applicant's unit contacted the Army Reserve Personnel Command (AR-PERSCOM) requesting assistance in obtaining the applicant's reenlistment bonus.

10.  A FY 99 SRIP Policy Letter, dated 23 October 1998, revealed that the incentive package self terminated on 31 March 1999 and that the FY99 SRIP Eligible Skills List expired on 30 April 1999.  

11.  On 3 November 1998, the units were reminded through a memorandum that each reenlistment bonus required a control number that must be obtained from the Education Office.

12.  On 23 March 1999, the Office of the Chief of Army Reserve (OCAR) Personnel Division, through e-mail, passed the word to Recruiting and Retention Personnel that the current FY 99 SRIP list and policy letter had been extended to 1 June 1999 due to a delay in the approval process.  This extension included all categories of incentives (enlistment, reenlistment, prior service and Montgomery GI Bill [MGIB] Kicker), by MOS and Units.

13.  On 1 December 1999, the Department of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel (DA DCSPER) informed the Board that the USAR, in error, had left the critical skill 57E off the critical shortage list that the Assistant Secretary of the Army (ASA) approved twice a year.  The timeline in question is from 1 November 1998 to 31 May 1999.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant reenlisted in the USAR on 2 May 1999 without the knowledge that his MOS qualified for the SRIP and SLRP.  On 6 May 1999, he was informed that his MOS was erroneously left off the MOS eligibility list for the SRIP.  He was advised to submit an exception to policy through his unit to the 99th RSC Retention Office provided he was otherwise qualified.  Upon submitting the request, it was denied by the 99th RSC Retention Office without explanation.  

2.  The evidence of record does not show that the applicant executed DA Forms 5261-2-R and 5261-4-R when he reenlisted.  Nor does the evidence of record show that the applicant's retention noncommissioned officer (NCO) advised him that he was eligible for a reenlistment bonus.
3.  A FY 99 SRIP Policy Letter, dated 23 October 1998, reveals that the incentive package self terminated on 31 March 1999 and that the FY99 SRIP Eligible Skills List expired on 30 April 1999; however, an e-mail from OCAR, Personnel Division extended the expiration date to 1 June 1999.  The applicant reenlisted on 2 May 1999, thereby placing him well within the extension window of opportunity as stated in the SRIP Policy Letter.

4.  The Board concludes that had it not been for an administrative error, the applicant would have known that his MOS was eligible for the SRIP and SLRP.  As a matter of equity and in the interest of justice and the Army, it would be appropriate to show that the applicant is entitled to the reenlistment bonus.  

5.  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 showing that the individual concerned reenlisted in the US Army Reserve on 2 May 1999 for 6 years in MOS 57E, and that he reenlisted for the FY99 SRIP (Selected Reserve Incentive Program) and the FY99 SLRP (Student Loan Repayment Program).

BOARD VOTE:  

__cla___  __bje___  __dph___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Celia L. Adolphi
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002066568	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20020613	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	128.1400	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.