SAMR-RB 11 September 2017 MEMORANDUM FOR Army National Guard Readiness Center, Appeals and Analysis (ARNG-HRH-A), 111 South George Mason Drive Building 2, Arlington VA 22204-1382 SUBJECT: Army Board for Correction of Military Records Record of Proceedings AR20160013713 1. Under the authority of Title 10, United States Code, section 1552, the recommendation of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records is hereby approved. 2. Insofar as the state records of the Army National Guard (ARNG) are concerned, it is recommended that the state Adjutant General correct the military records of the individual concerned as stated in the attached Record of Proceedings. Upon implementation of the recommended corrections by the state ARNG officials, correction of the Department of the Army records will be made. 3. I have reviewed the findings, conclusions, and Board member recommendations. I find there is sufficient evidence to grant relief. As a result, the board recommends that all the Army National Guard and Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by showing the applicant completed the appropriate documentation for entitlement to an Officer Accession Bonus (OAB) in the amount of $10,000. 4. Request necessary administrative action be taken to effect the correction of records as indicated no later than 11 January 2018. Further, request that the individual concerned and counsel, if any, as well as any Members of Congress who have shown interest be advised of the correction and that the Army Board for Correction of Military Records be furnished a copy of the correspondence. BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE ARMY: BOARD DATE: 15 August 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160013713 BOARD VOTE: _________ _______ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ____x____ ____x____ ____x____ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration BOARD DATE: 15 August 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160013713 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. ____________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: 15 August 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160013713 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 military service records to show he completed the appropriate documentation for entitlement to an Officer Accession Bonus (OAB) in the amount of $10,000. The applicant also requests a personal appearance before the Board. 2. The applicant states he served in an enlisted status in the U.S. Army Reserve, Regular Army, and Army National Guard (ARNG) for more than 7 years. a. In the fall of 2009, he was appointed as a Reserve commissioned officer (chaplain candidate) in the Tennessee ARNG (TNARNG). The chaplain recruiter (second lieutenant (2LT) Mickey B____) at Joint Force Headquarters completed the contract, which included an OAB incentive in the amount of $10,000, and the documents were electronically signed. (The OAB incentive was to be paid upon accession into specialty 56A (Chaplain).) b. The printer was not operating at the time his accession packet was completed, so a copy could not be printed. The recruiter assured the applicant that he would send him an electronic copy. About 3 months later, the recruiter mailed a compact disc to the applicant that contained some of his accession documents, but it did not include his contract/OAB addendum. Follow-up efforts with the recruiter to obtain a copy of the OAB addendum were not successful. c. The applicant completed the Chaplain Basic Officer Leadership Course in April 2010 and then attended two different seminaries. During this period he was assured by two chaplains that his OAB was valid. He finished seminary and was accessed as a chaplain in the New York ARNG (NYARNG) on 22 May 2013. d. He then worked with two recruiters in an effort to resolve the OAB issue. In 2013, he contacted his original recruiter (2LT B___). He responded, "I am sorry to inform you that I have no idea where [the OAB addendum] may be. I am no longer a part of the TNARNG. [...] Best option would be to try and call recruiting and retention command in Tennessee." e. The applicant contacted officials at the TNARNG, but they were not successful in locating his OAB addendum. He transferred to the Connecticut ARNG (CTARNG) in the fall of 2013 and continued with his efforts in locating the OAB addendum with both the NYARNG and the TNARNG, but without any success. He adds that an official in Officer Personnel Management, NYARNG, incorrectly informed him it was the responsibility of the TNARNG to enter information about his OAB into the Guard Incentives Management System. f. He then submitted an exception to policy (ETP) for the OAB detailing the events, along with sworn statements, but his request was denied by the National Guard Bureau (NGB). On 2 August 2016, he was advised that his last option was to apply to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR). 3. The applicant provides copies of email messages, his request for ETP for OAB, and the NGB denial of ETP for OAB. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. An NGB Form 22 (Report of Separation and Record of Service) shows the applicant was honorably discharged from the Texas ARNG (TXARNG) and the Army Reserve on 17 September 2009 in the rank of staff sergeant (E-6), for the purpose of appointment as a commissioned officer. He had completed 1 year, 3 months, and 8 days of net service this period; 5 years of prior active Federal service; and 7 years, 5 months, and 9 days of total service for pay. 2. Joint Force Headquarters, Tennessee National Guard, Nashville, TN, Orders 286-801, dated 13 October 2009, appointed the applicant as a commissioned officer in the TNARNG, in the rank of 2LT, effective 18 September 2009. 3. A review of the applicant's military personnel records failed to reveal a copy of his accession packet. 4. The applicant completed the Chaplain Basic Officer Leadership Course and was awarded specialty 56A (Command/Unit Chaplain) on 9 April 2010. 5. He was promoted to: * first lieutenant (O-2) on 1 March 2011 * captain (O-3) on 22 May 2013 6. In support of his application, the applicant provides the following documents: a. email messages between the applicant and ARNG and NGB officials that span the period 21 December 2009 to 5 February 2014, pertaining to efforts to obtain a copy of the applicant's accession documents, including his OAB addendum. The messages show, in pertinent part: * on 5 December 2009, the applicant asked 2LT Mickey B___, Chaplains Office, TNARNG, for a copy of his accession packet * on 5 December 2009, 2LT B____ advised he would attempt to locate it and send it to the applicant * on 21 December 2009, he provided 2LT B____ his mailing address * on 28 December 2009, 2LT B___ advised he mailed the documents * on 3 June 2010, he contacted 2LT B___ to advise him a copy of his contract and OAB addendum were not on the compact disc (CD) he had received * on 27 February 2013, he contacted 2LT B____ to advise him a copy of his contract and the OAB addendum were not on the CD; he requested assistance in obtaining copies of the documents * on 28 February 2013, 2LT (now CPT) B___ advised he was no longer with the TNARNG and that he had no idea where it might be * on 28 February 2013, the applicant indicated he had contacted a TNARNG official to look into the matter * on 6 August 2013, a NYARNG official advised the applicant he was working with the NGB to resolve his OAB issue and that a request for ETP should be submitted * on 7 August 2013, the applicant submitted his request for an ETP * on 31 January 2014, he inquired into the status of his request for ETP * on 5 February 2014, an NYARNG official requested the assistance of a CTARNG official based on the applicant's transfer to the CTARNG b. A Memorandum for Record written by the applicant, dated 6 August 2013, subject: ETP for OAB, in which he presented the same essential information he presents in his application to this Board. c. NGB memorandum, dated 2 May 2014, subject: Request for ETP for OAB, that shows the Deputy G1, ARNG, denied the applicant's request for ETP for a $10,000 OAB and instructed the State Incentive Manager to terminate the OAB incentive without recoupment. The Deputy G1 noted the applicant had not received any incentive monies for the OAB. (1) The reasons stated for the denial were the applicant's contract/bonus addendum could not be found and the Bonus Control Number (BCN) was requested after the date of accession; both of which violate the Selected Reserve Incentive Program 13-01. (2) The Deputy G1 added, "Although [the applicant] may have been eligible for the OAB incentive, no OAB addendum can be found by either the CTARNG or the ARNG. It is against Headquarters, Department of the Army policy for the ARNG to approve an ETP request for an officer incentive without a physical addendum being able to be produced." REFERENCES: 1. Department of Defense, Financial Management Regulation 7000.14-R, Volume 7A (Military Pay Policy and Procedures - Active Duty and Reserve Pay), Chapter 56 (Selected Reserve Accession, Affiliation, Enlistment, and Reenlistment Bonuses): a. paragraph 560102 (OAB), provides the conditions of entitlement and shows the Secretary concerned may pay an affiliation bonus to an eligible officer who enters into an agreement with the Secretary to serve for a specified period in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve. The officer must enter into an agreement: (1) to serve in a critical officer skill designated by the Secretary concerned; (2) to meet a manpower shortage in a: (a) unit of that Selected Reserve; and (b) particular pay grade in that Military Department. b. The Secretary concerned will designate for an Armed Force under their jurisdiction the critical officer skills to which the bonus authority under this subsection is to be applied. A skill may be designated as a critical officer skill for an Armed Force if it is critical for that Armed Force to have a sufficient number of officers who are qualified in that skill. 2. AR 15-185 (ABCMR) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the ABCMR. Paragraph 2-11 states that applicants do not have a right to a hearing before the ABCMR. The Director of the ABCMR or an ABCMR panel may grant a formal hearing whenever justice requires. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant contends his records should be corrected to show entitlement to a $10,000.00 OAB because he contracted for the incentive, but he never received a copy of the OAB addendum. He also requests a personal appearance before the Board. 2. The applicant's request for a personal appearance hearing was carefully considered. However, by regulation, an applicant is not entitled to a hearing before the ABCMR. Hearings may be authorized by a panel of the ABCMR or by the Director of the ABCMR. In this case, the evidence of record and independent evidence provided by the applicant is sufficient to render a fair and equitable decision at this time. As a result, a personal appearance hearing is not necessary to serve the interest of equity and justice in this case. 3. The evidence of record shows the applicant was appointed a commissioned officer in the TNARNG on 18 September 2009. He completed the Chaplain Basic Officer Leadership Course and was awarded specialty 56A. 4. A copy of an OAB addendum is not available in the applicant's military personnel records. The evidence of record shows it is not on file at the NGB, or at the TNARNG, NYARNG, or CTARNG. In addition, the applicant does not have a copy of the OAB addendum. a. The applicant did not provide a sworn statement from the chaplain recruiter who was involved in processing his accession packet attesting to the existence of an OAB addendum, specifically attesting that an OAB addendum was completed (including the details of such OAB, along with the BCN obtained from the NGB) and the OAB incentive was properly approved at the time of his accession processing. b. The NGB denied the applicant's request for ETP for a $10,000 OAB because the contract/bonus addendum could not be found and the BCN was requested after the date of accession, both of which violate the Selected Reserve Incentive Program 13-01. In its denial, NGB did indicate the applicant would have been eligible for the incentive. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160013713 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160013713 6 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2