BOARD DATE: 22 November 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150009970 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: 22 November 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150009970 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: 22 November 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150009970 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 both a $10,000 Officer Accession Bonus (OAB) and a $40,000 Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) incentive. 2. The applicant states he received a $10,000 OAB and he has started a master's program that he would like to use the SLRP incentive for. a. Additionally, he signed the enlistment contract in November 2010 and Title 37 United States Code (USC), section 308j was enacted in January 2011. He has never signed any document deferring the SLRP option. b. He started his master's program in March 2014 and when he logged into the SLRP website he found the SLRP had been cancelled because he had received the OAB. He called the telephone number provided on the SLRP website and was told that it was illegal to receive both. He does not understand how this could be possible when his contract clearly indicates he is authorized the $10,000 OAB and the $40,000 SLRP. 3. The applicant provides copies of his contract and a memorandum outlining the steps he has taken to rectify the situation [summarized above]. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. On 16 November 2010, the applicant enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR). He completed DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document) and a 10-page Reserves Annex indicating that he was enlisting for a USAR unit vacancy as a commissioned officer candidate. 2. Section IV (Service Obligation), paragraph 4, of the annex states: The following programs and/or incentives are my authorized entitlements: Commissioned Officer Accession Bonus $10,000 Student Loan Repayment Program $40,000 3. Section IX (Addendums) states: The following addendums have been attached and are part of my enlistment agreement: Student Loan Repayment Program Addendum Accession Bonus Addendum Selected Reserve Montgomery GI Bill 4. The four-page Selected Reserve Officer Accession Incentive Program–Accession Bonus Addendum includes Section III (Acknowledgement), which states: In connection with my appointment as an officer and agreement to serve with the United States Army Reserve (USAR) under the Selective Reserve Incentive Program (SRIP), I hereby acknowledge that I meet the eligibility criteria as follows: a. I agree to accept an appointment as an officer…in a critical officer skill that is designated for bonus entitlement by the Secretary of The Army. b. I am not accepting an appointment…for the purpose of qualifying for a military technician position…or an Active Guard and Reserve position. c. I am not being accessed for continuous active service. d. I possess a skill designated…for bonus entitlement or I agree to…achieve the designated skill within 36 months of the appointment. e. I am not currently receiving financial assistance under chapters 1608, 1609, 1611, 2107, or 2107A of Title 10, United States Code, or Special Pay under Section 302G of Title 37, United States Code, and will not receive such assistance during the period of this agreement [emphasis added]. 5. He and a service representative also signed an SLRP Addendum in which he contracted for a maximum of $40,000 in loan repayments, to include repayment of qualifying educational loans made by him while a member of the Selected Reserve during the 6-year contractual term of service. 6. The applicant completed Officer Candidate School and was appointed as a second lieutenant and took the oath of office on 29 March 2012. He has since completed the Quartermaster Basic Officer Course and was promoted to first lieutenant on 28 September 2013. 7. A transcript in the applicant's record shows he completed a master's degree program in diplomacy in September 2015. 8. During the processing of this case, Headquarters, USAR Command, provided an advisory opinion. The advisory official stated that Title 10, USC, chapter 1609, Section III, paragraph 1e, prohibited an individual who was or would receive SLRP funds from accepting the Officer Accession Bonus. The Acting Chief, Manning Division, also observed that the Army Recruiting Command had offered both bonuses due to a misinterpretation of the rules and that steps had been taken to preclude this situation in the future. The USAR Command noted the USAR G-1 lacked the authority to approve exceptions when law is involved. The advisory official recommended that the Board approve the applicant's request for payment of the OAB and SLRP. 9. In an 18 December 2015 memorandum to the Army Review Boards Agency, the Chief, Incentives and Budgets Branch, Enlisted Accessions Division, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, Department of the Army (DA), also noted that the pertinent laws precluded paying both bonuses and did not recommend payment of both incentives. He acknowledged that the recruiting team erred in placing both bonuses in the applicant's contract. 10. The advisory opinions were forwarded to the applicant for his comment/response. His 31 October 2016 response states that he signed his contract with the understanding that he would receive both bonuses. He also pointed out that the USAR acknowledged an error in the way the contract was prepared. He request that the Board honor his initial contract. 11. Subsequently, the applicant discussed the case with the analyst by telephone. He indicated that, even though his enlistment contract states he will receive the SLRP and the OAB, he understands, by law, he cannot receive both. He confirmed, however, that he did use student loans to pay for his master's degree courses and indicates that had he been properly advised, he would have chosen the SLRP. REFERENCES: 1. Title 10, USC, Chapter 1609 – Education Loan Programs, Section 16301 –states for members of the Selected Reserve loans will be repaid on the basis of each complete year of service. 2. Title 3,7 USC, Section 308j - Special pay: Affiliation bonus for officers in the Selected Reserve308j subsection (f) Relation to Other Accession Bonus Authority states, "A person may not receive an affiliation bonus or accession bonus under this section and financial assistance under chapter 1608, 1609, or 1611 of Title 10, or under section 302g of this title, for the same period of service." 3. Army Regulation 15-185 (ABCMR), paragraph 2-3a, provides that "The ABCMR’s jurisdiction under 10 USC 1552 extends to any military record of the DA. It is the nature of the record and the status of the applicant that define the ABCMR’s jurisdiction." DISCUSSION: The fact that the applicant's enlistment documents are flawed is noted. However, the Board only has the authority to correct Department of the Army records. The Board cannot change or ignore the law and the law in this case is clear: A Soldier cannot receive both the SLRP and the OAB. The applicant states he has been paid the OAB. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150009970 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150009970 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2