IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 28 April 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150009395 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: 28 April 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150009395 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 and State Army National Guard records of the individual concerned be corrected to show: * he was eligible for the first installment of a prior service enlistment bonus of $7,500 * the incentive was terminated effective 28 October 2007 without recoupment of the first installment 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 relief from recoupment of the second installment in the amount of $7,500. _____________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: 28 April 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150009395 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 reconsideration of his previous request for the cancellation of the recoupment action pertaining to his prior service enlistment bonus (PSEB). 2. The applicant states, in effect, he is providing a new argument and new evidence that was not previously considered. 3. The applicant provides: * DD Form 1966 (Record of Military Processing - Armed Forces of the United States), dated 9 June 2006 * Annex _ to DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document - Army National Guard (ARNG)) Educational Dollars for Duty (EDD) Memorandum of Agreement - Florida Army National Guard (FLARNG), dated 15 June 2006 * National Guard Bureau (NGB) Form 590 (Statement of Understanding Reserve Obligation and Responsibilities), dated 4 July 2006 * Standard Form (SF) 86 (Authorization for Release of Information), dated 4 July 2006 * DA Form 5435 (Statement of Understanding - The Selected Reserve Montgomery GI Bill), dated 5 July 2006 * NGB Form 600-7-6 (Annex X to DD Form 4 or DA Form 4836 (Oath of Extension of Enlistment or Reenlistment) PSEB Addendum - ARNG of the United States (ARNGUS)), dated 8 July 2006 * DA Form 2823 (Sworn Statement), dated 11 September 2013 * memorandum, dated 7 January 2014 * AR20140011329 Record of Proceedings (ROP), dated 2 September 2014 * letter, dated 1 October 2014 CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20140011329, on 2 September 2014. 2. As a new argument, the applicant states: a. In September 2013, he submitted an exception to policy (ETP) to retain $7,500, the second half of a $15,000 PSEB that was paid to him in error, and not the total bonus of $15,000 as stated on the ETP denial. The denial stated his PSEB Addendum could not be found and a review of the DD Form 4 and DD Form 1966 did not support an incentive of $15,000 having been offered in connection with his enlistment. After reading the January 2014 ETP denial, he found his DD Form 4 and DD Form 1966. b. In June 2014, he submitted a request to the ABCMR for retention of the second half of the PSEB and his request was denied. The ABCMR denial contained several references to his PSEB Addendum and sections that he supposedly initialed. After reviewing his documents, he discovered that on page 4 of his DD Form 1966 there is a statement concerning the eligibility for an enlistment cash bonus program and acceptance statement for the bonus. However, this statement was added after he signed page 3 of the form and the signature on page 4 is not his signature (emphasis added). c. In addition, after reviewing the PSEB Addendum, he can clearly see that the initials and signature on this document are not his either. It seems whoever initialed and signed the addendum was also the person who signed the added statement on his DD Form 1966. He did a search through other documents in the interactive Personnel Electronic Records Management System (iPERMS) and found several forged signatures on various documents during the same time-frame of his enlistment. When he enlisted in the Army National Guard (ARNG), he thought he was receiving a bonus based on his prior service and not a specific military occupational specialty (MOS). 3. As new evidence, the applicant provides DD Form 1966, an Annex _ to DD Form 4, NGB Form 590, SF 80, DA Form 5435, and PSEB Addendum. He indicated that these documents, dated between 9 June and 5 July 2006, all contained some initials and/or signatures that were not his and were forged. 4. Having had prior service in the Regular Army, the applicant enlisted in the FLARNG on 11 July 2006 in the rank/grade of sergeant (SGT)/E-5, for a period of 6 years, and training in MOS 25S (Tactical Satellite Communications Systems Operator/Maintainer). 5. In conjunction with this enlistment, he completed a PSEB Addendum on 8 July 2006 wherein it stated, in part: a. Section III (Bonus Amount and Payment), paragraph 2, that he would receive a PSEB of $15,000 for a 6-year enlistment; the initial payment of $7,500 (less taxes) would be processed the date his enlistment contract was processed; the subsequent payment of $7,500 (less taxes) would be processed upon the 3rd anniversary of his service in the ARNG b. Section V (Termination) he understood he would be terminated from bonus eligibility, with recoupment, if he accepted a military technician position effective on the start date; recoupment was not required if he served at least 6 months following the date of the bonus payment eligibility. 6. On 30 April and 22 May 2007, respectively, he completed Phase I and Phase II training and was awarded MOS 25S. On 22 August 2007, he was promoted to the rank/grade of staff sergeant (SSG)/E-6. 7. On 28 October 2007, he was assigned as a military technician. 8. In July 2009, he received $7,500, the second installment of the $15,000 PSEB. 9. On 23 August 2011, he was discharged from the FLARNG to accept a commission/warrant in the ARNG. 10. On 24 August 2011, he was appointed as a warrant officer one (WO1) in the FLARNG. On 24 August 2013, he was promoted to chief warrant officer two (CW2) and continues to serve in the FLARNG. 11. On 9 September 2013, the Incentive Manager (IM), FLARNG, notified the applicant of a discrepancy found in his incentive contract for the PSEB contracted on 11 July 2006. The recoupment amount was $7,500 for an overpayment of an authorized bonus made while he was in a permanent technician status. 12. On 7 January 2014, the NGB denied the applicant's ETP request to retain the $15,000 PSEB. He said the State IM would terminate the incentive with recoupment. The denial memorandum stated, in part: * he became a military technician 179 days or less after his contract started; he accepted a military technician position on 28 October 2007 * his contract/bonus addendum could not be found and a review of his reenlistment documents did not support an incentive being offered DISCUSSION: 1. Notwithstanding the applicant’s contention that several documents in his record from 2006 contains his signature and/or initials that were forged, the ABCMR is not an investigative agency and the ABCMR staff members are neither trained nor qualified to determine the validity of a signature/initials affixed to documents that have been in a Soldier’s record for almost 10 years. 2. The evidence of record shows that on 11 July 2006 the applicant enlisted for a PSEB in the amount of $15,000 and was paid $7,500, the first installment of the PSEB. His PSEB Addendum noted that if he accepted a military technician position and had served at least 6 months of the incentive contract term, he would be terminated from bonus eligibility without recoupment. 3. As he became a military technician on 28 October 2007, 1 year, 3 months, and 18 days after his enlistment date of 11 July 2006, his entitlement to the PSEB was terminated as of that date and he was entitled to retain the initial installment. 4. However in July 2009, he was erroneously paid $7,500, the second half of the PSEB that he was no longer eligible for. The fact that he was erroneously paid the second payment of the bonus is not sufficient justification to cancel the recoupment action. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150009395 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150009395 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2