BOARD DATE: 13 June 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160013177 BOARD VOTE: __x_______ ___x____ ___x__ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration BOARD DATE: 13 June 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160013177 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. showing the applicant met all eligibility requirements for a $15,000.00 Prior Service Enlistment Bonus; b. showing he was issued a bonus control number at the time of reenlistment; and c. paying him the Prior Service Enlistment Bonus, in full, less appropriate taxes. ___________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. BOARD DATE: 13 June 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160013177 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 payment of a $15,000.00 Critical Skills Prior Service Enlistment Bonus (PSEB). 2. The applicant states, in effect: a. On 17 June 2010, he signed a 6-year contract with the Mississippi Army National Guard (MSARNG) that included an Enlistment Addendum for a $15,000.00 PSEB. b. He had previously served almost 8 years as a special forces communicator in military occupational specialty (MOS) 18E when he signed the contract for 6 years and a $15,000.00 bonus. The bonus was the reason he signed up for a 6-year commitment. He was promised the bonus by the Army, his contract, and the recruiter. c. He was told he would receive one half of the bonus at the time of enlistment and the second half after 3 years. He has not received any of the bonus because of "so called" paperwork errors. d. He maintained his commitment to serve the 6-year obligation, even though the ARNG has not honored their part of the contract. First, he was told he would not get the first half of the bonus until the third-year anniversary. This is not stated in his contract. Then, it was one excuse after another – the form was obsolete, someone forgot to add a bonus control number, etc. These discrepancies are no fault of his and the error exists within the ARNG. e. In 2014, he was advised that he had to submit a request for an exception to policy (ETP) to receive his bonus. In October of 2014, he submitted the request through his chain of command. In March 2015, the National Guard Bureau (NGB) sent him a letter stating the ETP request was denied. He was told his final recourse was to file an application with the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR). He recently signed a new 4-year contract that did not include a bonus because he had over 13 years of service. He has spent many hours trying to resolve this problem. He signed a contract to receive a bonus and he believes the Army owes him the $15,000.00 bonus. f. He had no knowledge or understanding of how the paperwork process was supposed to work. He signed the contract in good faith and he believed he was dealing with competent personnel who understood what was required to complete the process. He has been punished because someone failed to do his or her job or take responsibility for his or her actions. He was promised a bonus that he has not received. The people who he talked with at the State level believe he is due the bonus. He does not understand why NGB rejected his request for payment as an ETP. He is now pleading with the Army to pay him. 3. The applicant provides copies of: * 17 June 2010 NGB Form 600-7-6-R-E – Annex X to DD Form 4 (PSEB Addendum – ARNG of the United States) * DD Form 4/2 (page two of Enlistment/Reenlistment Document – Armed Forces of the United States) * 28 October 2014 MSARNG memorandum advising the applicant of the ETP process * 31 March 2015 NGB letter denying the bonus * 6 April 2015 MSARNG letter denying the bonus * e-mail, dated 13 May 2010, 23 October 2014, 10 March 2015, and 6 April 2015 CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. On 17 June 2010, the applicant reenlisted in the ARNG for 6 years in MOS 18E with 7 years and 7 months of prior ARNG service. 2. His reenlistment packet contains the following documents that were signed on 17 June 2010: * DD Form 4-1, October 2007 version * DD Form 1966 (Record Of Military Processing – Armed Forces of the United States), March 2007 version * NGB Form 21 (Annex A to the DD Form 4 – Enlistment/Reenlistment Agreement – ARNG), 24 June 2005 version * NGB Form 600-7-6-R-E (Annex X to DD Form 4 – PSEB Addendum – ARNG of the United States), 10 August 2007 version * NGB Form 590 (Statement of Understanding of Reserve Obligation and Responsibility) 3. Annex X to the DD Form 4 shows he would receive a $15,000.00 bonus. This form states he would receive two installments, an initial payment upon enlistment and the second on the third anniversary of the enlistment. There is no BCN on this form. 4. On 28 October 2014, the applicant was notified the State Incentives Manager had taken all of the steps they could prior to notifying him of non-payment of the bonus. The applicant was advised that there was a major discrepancy in his request in that no BCN was assigned. He was advised that he was eligible to submit an ETP request for payment. 5. On 31 March 2015, NGB denied the applicant's request for payment as an ETP and stated: a. The State Incentives Manager would terminate the bonus without recoupment. b. The BCN was requested after the date of enlistment and the DD Form 4 and DD Form 1966 did not support an incentive being offered at the time of the agreement. c. The addendum used was obsolete. 6. The applicant extended his enlistment for 4 years on 10 August 2015. 7. The email in reference to his bonus problems indicated he was considered qualified for the bonus, but for the lack of the BCN. His State Incentives Manager encouraged him to apply to the ABCMR for correction of the errors. REFERENCES: 1. Army Regulation 135-7 (ARNG and Army Reserve – Incentive Programs) establishes a single reference for incentives authorized within the ARNG and Army Reserve. It states a Soldier who meets all immediate reenlistment or extension criteria who reenlists or extends for a valid position vacancy in a designated unit or MOS is authorized award of an immediate reenlistment or extension bonus. 2. National Guard Regulation 600-7 (Selected Reserve Incentive Programs) states incentive agreements must be completed and a copy made as a permanent part of each enlistment, accession, affiliation, reenlistment, extension, commission, or appointment packet prior to distribution. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant appears to have met all eligibility requirements for the PSEB at the time he reenlisted on 17 June 2010. 2. The Annex X was completed and signed at the time the applicant reenlisted and this form shows he would receive a $15,000.00 PSEB. 3. Based on the available evidence, the applicant did not receive any portion of the bonus. 4. The applicant had no control over the request for or the issuance of a BCN. A BCN cannot be requested until the reenlistment contract is signed. 5. Neither the DD Form 4 nor the DD Form 1966 contains a specific block for entering entitlement to a bonus, this is the purpose of Annex X. 6. The NGB statement that the DD Form 4 and DD Form 1966 do not support an incentive being offered at the time of the agreement is nonsensical. Annex X was a part of the reenlistment contract that was completed at the time the rest of the applicant’s reenlistment contract was completed. 7. The applicant reenlisted based on a contract that he signed, believing he was authorized the PSEB, it was written in his contract, and he has upheld his end of the contract. 8. If an obsolete version of the appropriate document was used, the applicant had no control over this matter and he should not be penalized for this error. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160013177 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160013177 5 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2