IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 1 December 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160012276 BOARD VOTE: _________ _______ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ___x____ ____x___ ____x___ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 1 December 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160012276 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 1. The Board determined the evidence presented is 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: * showing the applicant was entitled to Assignment Incentive Pay (AIP) for Korea from 13 June 2013 to 28 May 2015 * paying him any back AIP due as a result of this correction 2. The Board further determined 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 receiving AIP for 36 months. _____________x____________ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 1 December 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160012276 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests, in effect, correction of his records to show he was entitled to Assignment Incentive Pay (AIP) for the 3 years he served in Korea from May 2013 to May 2016. 2. The applicant states: a. He applied for AIP and the Command Sponsorship Program (CSP) in 2013 and was to receive $300 a month until he left Korea. He was notified that his AIP had now been stopped and that he had a debt to the US Government of $3,300. He received AIP under the old program and should have continued to receive the AIP until he left Korea. He is attaching the email chain to show the correspondence between the Division G-1 and Headquarters Department of the Army (HQDA) G-1. Their decision was made without all the information available and based on assumptions. b. He arrived to Korea on 28 May 2013 and started his inprocessing at Camp Hovey without his family. Prior to his arrival, he and his wife discussed that he would submit for AIP and CSP upon his arrival to Camp Humphreys. On 30 May 2013, he received his pinpoint orders assigning him to Camp Humphreys. After arriving at Camp Humphreys, he submitted his request for his AIP and CSP so that they would be approved concurrently. He does not have either DA Form 4187 (Personnel Action) that was submitted for AIP/CSP. c. On 9 July 2013, he received a memorandum for "Request for Assignment Incentive Pay (AIP)" and was told to take the memorandum to Finance to start his AIP; he was approved for $300 per month. The memorandum listed his previous and new date eligible for return from overseas (DEROS); however, neither of these dates were accurate. His DEROS was never 1 May 2014 and should have been 27 May 2014. Additionally, his new DEROS should have been 27 May 2015 instead of 1 May 2015. Since the memorandum was not accurate, he approached Sergeant First Class (SFC) FJ at the Brigade S-1. He was told he could not receive a new memorandum since the dates on his Officer Record Brief (ORB) accurately depicted his proper DEROS of 27 May 2015. He also requested a status of his CSP paperwork and was told it was pending. d. Furthermore, he was told that that he did not need to resubmit for AIP since it was already approved. On 6 September 2013, he received his CSP orders which approved his family to move to Korea. He never received back the approved DA Form 4187 or the supporting paperwork that was originally submitted. His DEROS was adjusted on his ORB to 27 May 2016 and he requested an updated memorandum so he could have his DEROS updated for the Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS)/S-6 and so on. He was told to just use his ORB. f. During September 2013, he submitted his CSP orders along with his updated ORB to Finance. He was told there was not a "stop date" for his AIP pay (i.e. "SAFE PAY") and that he would continue to receive his AIP entitlement until he departed Korea on 27 May 2016, unless he left Korea early. He submitted the proper paperwork through the proper channels and even followed up personally with all actions that were submitted. He was told that he fell under the program and that would receive 36 months of AIP payments. Due to the repayment of AIP, he will have only received 23 months of entitlement (emphasis added). 3. The applicant provides two orders, DA Form 4187 (Personnel Action), and two memoranda. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Having had prior enlisted service, the applicant was appointed as a Reserve Warrant Office One (WO1) on 31 August 2011 with a concurrent call to active duty. He is currently serving on active duty as a Regular Army WO in the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Two (CW2). 2. He provides: a. Orders 063-057, dated 4 March 2013, issued by the U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM), Fort Rucker, AL, assigning him to the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB), Army Post Office (APO) 96721 (Camp Humphreys), Korea, with report date of 2 June 2013. This order stated, in part, early reporting was authorized and the applicant had elected to serve an all others tour without family members. b. Orders 150-051, dated 30 May 2013, issued by HQ, 2nd Infantry Division (ID), assigning him to the 2nd CAB, Camp Humphreys, Korea. This order stated the applicant's arrival date to Korea was 29 May 2013 and this was a continuation move. c. A DA Form 4187, that shows the applicant signed the form on 13 June 2013 requesting AIP and the approving authority approved the AIP on 3 July 2013. The DA Form 4187 stated, in part, the applicant understood that he agreed: * he was entitled to $300 AIP per month from 13 June 2013 while assigned to Korea * his current DEROS was 1 May 2014 and his new DEROS under AIP would be 1 May 2015 * he understood he volunteered to extend his assignment in Korea for 12 months from his current DEROS and agreed to accept AIP of $300 per month for each month he served under this AIP agreement d. A memorandum, dated 9 July 2013, subject: Request for AIP for The Applicant, from the 2nd CAB S-1, stated the applicant's AIP was approved, his previous DEROS was 1 May 2014, and his new DEROS was 1 May 2015. e. A memorandum, dated 6 September 2013, subject: Family Travel/Command Sponsorship Approval for The Applicant, from IMCOM, Korea, stated, in part, the applicant was granted concurrent travel to Government Quarters or Economy Quarters for his spouse and two daughters. The availability date was 6 September 2013, his DEROS would be established based on the Soldier's arrival to Korea, and this was a command sponsored 24-month accompanied tour. 3. His record is void of a second AIP agreement that approved him for AIP for an additional 12 months beyond May 2015. 4. The applicant departed Korea on or about 28 May 2016 and was subsequently assigned to Fort Riley, KS. It is unclear when his family members departed Korea or when he extended his DEROS from May 2015 to May 2016. 5. In the processing of this case an advisory opinion was received on 18 September 2016 from the Chief, Compensation and Entitlements, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff G-1. The advisory official recommend denial of the applicant's request and opined: a. After careful review of this case, the applicant was not entitled to AIP payments beyond the date of his DA Form 4187, signed on 3 July 2013. The applicant entered into the agreement requesting AIP from 13 June 2013 through May 2015. b. In accordance with DA Memorandum, dated 24 September 2016, subject: Korea AIP, paragraph 5b, AIP payments cannot exceed 24 months. 6. In a response to the advisory opinion, dated 28 September 2016, the applicant stated: a. The DA Memorandum, dated 24 September 2016, is a new AIP program and has different requirements than the AIP program in June 2013. He understands that for an unaccompanied Soldier to receive AIP, they must remain unaccompanied in Korea for 24 consecutive months. However, his family received command sponsorship 4 months after his arrival and inprocessing to his unit in Korea; therefore, he was authorized accompanied AIP for 36 months. b. During this process the U.S. Army Human Resources Command always had his correct DEROS on his ORB. He volunteered under the AIP program to bring his spouse and children to Korea for the full 36 months with the understanding that it would merit the 36 months AIP. He would not have chosen to stay in Korea if he knew he would not be enrolled in AIP for the additional year. c. If this request is not viewed in his favor then he would like to reference the DA Form 4187 submitted on his behalf by his S-1; it has an incorrect handwritten DEROS date. That date does not equal a total of 24 months in Korea. That date makes it only 23 months. If the Board is deciding his case on 24 months of AIP payments which is what the advisory opinion focused on, then he is still owed 1 month of AIP (or $300). REFERENCES: 1. All Army Activities (ALARACT) Message 121/2013, dated 7 May 2013, established the guidance for the AIP program. a. It stated, in part, the purpose of the AIP was to provide an additional monetary incentive in the assignment process to encourage members to volunteer for difficult to fill, or less desirable assignments, assignment locations, or certain assignment periods. The three categories of assignments eligible for this program were: * Soldiers who volunteer for a 36-month initial assignment to Pyeongtaek, Osan, Daegu, Chinhae, or Seoul; agreements for this category become effective on the date of arrival to the assignment * Soldiers who volunteer for a 24-month initial assignment to Uijongbu or Donghueon; agreements for this category become effective on the date of arrival to the assignment b. Soldiers who accept an initial tour to Korea in any location and later elect to extend their assignment length by 12 or 24 months; agreements for this category become effective upon commencement of the tour with an extension agreement, or entering the extension, whichever is earlier. It required a written agreement that clearly identified the extended tour length and AIP rate. Soldiers approved for AIP would be paid $300 per month beginning the effective date of the agreement through the date specified. 2. Army Regulation 614-30 (Overseas Tours) states the DEROS is established based on the projected date for reassignment upon completing their prescribed tours. Tours begin on the date Soldiers depart the continental United States (CONUS). The DEROS will be adjusted to reflect voluntary and involuntary tour extensions. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant contends he should have been paid AIP until his departure from Korea to May 2016 based on his agreement to serve a 36-month command sponsored tour in Korea and he only received AIP for 23 months. 2. The evidence of record confirms the applicant was initially assigned to Korea on a 12-month unaccompanied tour and arrived in Korea on or about 28 May 2013. His initial DEROS would have been established as 27 May 2014. 3. On 13 June 2013, he requested entitlement to AIP and agreed to extend his DEROS by 12 months. In his request, he agreed to accept AIP of $300 per month for each month he served under the AIP agreement. On 3 July 2013, his request for AIP was approved under the provisions of ALARACT 121/2013, then in effect, and he was entitled to AIP of $300 per month from the date he entered into the AIP agreement on 13 June 2013 until the end of his extended DEROS of 27 May 2015 (24 months). 4. In September 2013, he was approved for a command sponsored 24-month accompanied tour. As he had already extended his DEROS to 27 May 2015, he was not required to extend his tour in Korea for approval of this command sponsorship. 5. Notwithstanding the applicant's contention, his AIP was contingent on his extending his DEROS for 12 months from 27 May 2014 to 27 May 2015 and not on approval of command sponsorship for his family members. Although he may have subsequently extended his tour in Korea for an additional 12 months and may have served a 36 month accompanied tour in Korea, there is no evidence that he entered into an additional agreement for AIP beyond the initial agreement that was approved on 3 July 2013. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160012276 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160012276 6 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2