RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:            JANUARY 27, 2004                 
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003090231

	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	
	Mr. Luis Almodova		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Chairperson	
	Ms. Yolanda Maldonado		Member	
	Ms. Lester Echols		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).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:  

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, that he be given an enlistment bonus, that he be paid back pay to 1 May 2002 in the pay grade E-3, and that the college loans he received before entering the Army be paid.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he gathered the documents that his recruiter directed him to gather and he should have entered the Army in pay grade E-3; that he has paid several hundred dollars out of his own pocket to get his grades from Ghana translated and to get support for his student loans, but he has never received the benefits he was due.  He adds that he should have received an enlistment bonus when he turned in his paper work but has not. 

3.  In support of his application, the applicant provided numerous documents in which are included a copy of his enlistment contract, a copy of his statements for enlistment; statement of understanding – Army Policy; a translated transcript of Academic Record from Kumasi Polytechnic, dated 18 June 2002; and a copy of a Credential Evaluation (Course by Course Analysis) Report, dated 5 November 2002.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 

1.  The DD Form 4/1 and 4/3, Enlistment / Reenlistment Document, Armed Forces of the United States, show that the applicant enlisted in the US Army Reserve (USAR) Delayed Entry / Enlistment Program (DEP) for 8 years, in pay grade E-1, on 3 April 2002.  On 1 May 2002, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army, in pay grade E-1, for a period of 4 years and 00 weeks.

2.  The applicant completed a DA Form 3286-59, Statement for Enlistment, in connection with his enlistment in the Army, and in Item 1.d.(1), he acknowledged that he was enlisting for the US Army Training Enlistment Program and for the US Army Incentive Enlistment Program (Army College Fund $40,000).  Item 1.d.(2) shows that he enlisted for training in the MOS (Military Occupational Specialty)/CMF (Career Management Field) 92A10, Automated Logistical Specialist.  The DA Form 3286-59 was authenticated by him on 3 April 2002.

3.  The applicant completed a DA Form 3286-66, Statement of Understanding, United States Army Incentive Enlistment Program, on 1 May 2002.  In this form, he acknowledged that he was enlisting, for 4 years, for the US Army Training Enlistment and an incentive, US Army College Fund.  To the right of the table, in Item 3 of this form, $40,000 has been hand annotated to indicate the amount to which he is eligible, provided all conditions of the enlistment are met. 

4.  The applicant completed a USAREC Form 1150-R-E, Statement of Understanding – Army Policy, on 3 April 2002.  Item 11 states that the applicant enlisted in the Army for 4 years for the Army College Fund ($40,000) and for the MOS 92A.

5.  The applicant is currently on active duty.  On about 7 November 2002 he was reassigned from Company G, 244th Quartermaster Battalion, Fort Lee, Virginia, to the 1st Adjutant General Replacement Regulating Unit in Korea for duty in the MOS 92A1O.

6.  The EDAS Soldier Record data base reveals that the applicant entered the Army in the rank and pay grade, Private, E-1.  He was advanced to the rank and pay grade, Private, E-2, on 1 November 2002.  On 5 November 2002, he was promoted to the rank and pay grade, Private First Class, E-3.  The soldier is currently on active duty in the rank and pay grade, Specialist Four, E-4, having been promoted to this rank and grade on 1 December 2003.

7.  In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Retention Management Division, U.S. Total Army Personnel Command.  Key among the specifics about the application noted by the Chief, Retention Management Division, are that:  the enlistment record failed to reveal any information pertaining to completion of higher education above the 12th grade of high school; the applicant enlisted for the MOS 92A and the Army College Fund ($40,000); under Enlistment Program 9C, AR 601-210, the applicant was eligible for only one of the incentives listed; the enlistment documents failed to reveal any intent by the applicant to enlist for the Loan Repayment Program; there was no Enlistment Bonus for the MOS 92A on the date of the applicant's enlistment in the Reserve; he noted that in accordance with HQDA Message (MILPER Message 02-112) from DAPE-MPA, date and time group 0111002 March 2002 the applicant qualified to receive the HIGRAD Bonus in the amount of $8,000; and in effect, that because all evaluations and accreditation of grades received while a student in Ghana were not completed, and in accordance with paragraph 2-20l (5), Army Regulation (AR) 601-210, the applicant's pay grade to E-3 should be dated 5 November 2002.

8.  A copy of the advisory opinion was forwarded to the applicant for his information and possible rebuttal.  The applicant has not provided a response as of this time.

9.  AR 601-210 prescribes eligibility and the criteria governing the enlistment of persons, with or without prior service, into the Regular Army (RA) and the USAR.  It provides policies and procedures to process applicants for enlistment in the RA, the DEP, and the USAR.

10.  Paragraph 2-20f, in the above regulation, provides that an enlistee who has successfully completed sixty (60) or more classroom semester hours (90 or more quarter hours) (without a 4-year degree) of an accredited college or university listed in the book, Accredited Institutions of Postsecondary Education, published by the American Council on Education, may be enlisted in the pay grade E-3 at any time.

11.  Paragraph 2-7h, AR 601-210, states that applicants completing high school or having college credits from foreign colleges or universities must have their documents evaluated and accredited to qualify for enlistment in an advanced grade.

12.  Paragraph 2-20l(5), AR 601-210, provides that the effective date and date of rank for soldiers who lacked documentation at the time of enlistment will be the effective date of the promotion by the unit commander.  No retroactive adjustment is authorized and each applicant will be advised that failure to produce documents before enlistment will cause them to forfeit entitlement to this incentive.  The promotion will be for the grade the soldier is qualified for at the time of enlistment.

13.  The Enlistment Bonus is an enlistment incentive offered to those enlisting in the RA for duty in a specific MOS.  The objective of the bonus is to increase the number of enlistments in MOSs that are critical and have inadequate first-term manning levels.  Periodically, the Commanding General, PERSCOM, analyzes manpower requirements and recruiting objectives to ensure that the Enlistment Bonus Program supports planned goals.  Additions to and deletions from the list of bonus MOSs will be made.  The dollar award for each bonus MOS may be changed on the basis of this analysis. 

14.  Under Program 9C, Table 9-4 US Army Incentive Enlistment Program (Enlistment Bonus/Army College Fund/Loan Repayment Program), enlistees are eligible for only one incentive.  Applicants must enlist for and be qualified for the enlistment incentive and the incentive must be authorized by HQDA.

15.  MILPER Message Number 02-112, Subject:  Enlistment Bonus Program Changes provides, in paragraph 5. K. that, an $8000 HIGRAD Bonus is authorized for applicants with 60 semester hours of college or more.  This Bonus could be combined with all other bonuses and enlistment incentives in effect on that date.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Chief, Retention Management Division, noted that the enlistment record failed to reveal any information pertaining to completion of higher education above the 12th grade of high school, at the time the applicant enlisted.
2.  He noted that had the applicant been able to support that he had completed 60 or more semester hours of an accredited college or university with appropriate transcripts, the applicant could have enlisted in the pay grade E-3.

3.  The applicant enlisted in the Reserve on 3 April 2002 and in the Regular Army on 1 May 2002.  It was not until 5 November 2002, or after, that the applicant provided his Credential Evaluation (Course-by-Course Analysis) Report as translated by the World Education Services, Inc.

4.  Based on the Credential Evaluation (Course-by-Course Analysis) Report as translated by the World Education Services, Inc., the applicant's level of study was established to be at the "Undergraduate-level" equivalent to 94.5 United States semester hours credit.

5.  Of the three incentives available under Program 9C, AR 601-210, the Enlistment Bonus, the Army College Fund, and the Loan Repayment Program, the applicant opted for the Army College Fund in the amount of $40,000.  The Chief, Retention Management Division, noted that there was an absence of any document, which revealed the applicant's intent to enlist for the Loan Repayment Program.

6.  The Chief, Retention Management Division, noted that on the date of the applicant's enlistment, there was no enlistment bonus for the MOS 92A; therefore, he recommended that the applicant be denied an enlistment bonus for the MOS 92A.

7.  The Chief, Retention Management Division, recommended that based on the total number of semester hours that the applicant had on the date of his enlistment, but could not immediately support, that he be authorized an $8,000 HIGRAD Bonus.

BOARD VOTE:

aao_____  le _____  ym _____  GRANT RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by allowing the applicant an $8,000 HIGRAD Bonus in addition to those enlistment incentives that he initially enlisted for.

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to:

a.  the payment of an enlistment bonus of $2,000 to the applicant, in view of the evidence of record, that there was no bonus in effect for the MOS 92A, on the date of his enlistment;

b.  that the applicant be denied the repayment of any college loan(s) that may have been outstanding, on the date of his enlistment, because there is an absence of any document which reveals the applicant's intent or desire to enlist for the Loan Repayment Program; and

c.  that the applicant be denied back pay in the rank and pay grade, Private first Class, E-3, that he applied for, back to 1 May 2002.  The applicant did not attain promotion eligibility until he was able to submit a credentials evaluation report to his commander supporting that he had completed 60 semester hours of college-level credit or more.

		___Arthur A. Omartian____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003090231	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20040127	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT IN PART	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  283	128.0000	
2.  288	128.0500	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.