BOARD DATE: 25 April 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150018635 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 BOARD DATE: 25 April 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150018635 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 by directing the appropriate authority to review his record to determine if he was eligible for an Officer Accession Bonus at the time of his commissioning and, if eligible, showing he contracted for an Officer Accession Bonus in accordance with the policies in effect at the time and paying him this incentive. 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 to a Non-Prior Service Enlistment Bonus. ______________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: 25 April 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150018635 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, to receive a Non-Prior Service Enlistment Bonus (NPSEB) in the amount of $10,000.00 for enlisting in the Army National Guard (ARNG) for military occupational specialty (MOS) 88M (Motor Transport Operator). 2. The applicant states: a. He originally enlisted in the Connecticut ARNG (CTARNG) for MOS 88M. Once his recruiter saw he had a Master of Science degree, he recommended him for officer candidate school (OCS). The applicant’s recruiter told him he would still get all the incentives he was promised ($10,000.00). He reconfirmed the NPSEB incentive on the way to the military entrance processing station (MEPS) in Chicopee, MA. b. He was told that he would receive $5000.00 after finishing OCS, then 2 years later he would receive an additional $2500.00, and then 2 years after that, he would receive his final payment of an additional $2500.00, which he never received. c. On 18 August 2012, once he graduated from OCS, he was informed that he was not eligible for the NPSEB. The options he was given were to resign his just-acquired commission and reenlist or “drive on.” d. On 4 October 2014, when he was conducting his record review, he saw his enlistment contract in the Interactive Personnel Electronic Records Management System (iPERMS) and was told that he could submit an exception to policy (ETP) request because his original contract was submitted without any signatures or dates. This error was through no fault of his own and was recruiter error. e. He joined the CTARNG to serve his state and country. His recruiter told him by serving his country, he would be entitled to a NPSEB of $10,000.00. He was not looking for a bonus, but that is what he was promised in his contract. f. He has completed all of his military training and has completed everything that was expected of him as a Soldier. g. The ETP came back denying his request for a NPSEB due to the missing signatures. He was unaware that his bonus addendum was missing his signature. All he is asking for is for the organization he serves to fulfill their side of the contract, no more, no less. 3. The applicant provides: * DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document Armed Forces of the United States), dated 27 May 2010 * Annex E to DD Form 4 (NPSEB Addendum ARNG), undated * DD Form 1966 (Record of Military Processing – Armed Forces of the United States), undated * DA Form 4187 (Personnel Action), dated 21 June 2016 CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing. 2. On 20 May 2006, the applicant was awarded his Master of Science degree from Connecticut State University. 3. A DD Form 4, dated 27 May 2010, shows he enlisted in the CTARNG in paygrade E-4 for a period of 8 years. 4. The applicant initialed the appropriate blocks on a National Guard Bureau (NGB) Form 600-7-1-R-E (Annex E to DD Form 4 NPSEB Addendum ARNG) showing he was eligible to receive an NPSEB in the amount of $10,000.00, provided he became qualified in MOS (88M). The document was signed by the applicant and the service representative. 5. Orders 0188029, issued by the MEPS, Chicopee, MA, dated 7 July 2010, show the applicant was ordered to initial active duty for training (IADT) for the completion of basic training under the alternate (split) training program for MOS 09S (officer candidate) with a report date of 7 July 2010. 6. Orders 157-009, issued by the State of Connecticut, Military Department, Office of the Adjutant General, National Guard Armory, Hartford, CT, dated 5 June 2012, show the applicant was ordered to active duty for training for OCS for the period 20 July 2012 to 3 August 2012. 7. A National Guard Bureau (NGB) Form 22 (Report of Separation and Record of Service) shows the applicant was honorably discharged on 17 August 2012 to accept appointment as a commissioned officer. 8. On 18 August 2012, the applicant executed a DA Form 71 (Oath of Office) and a NGB Form 337 (Oaths of Office) accepting an appointment in the CTARNG as a Reserve commissioned officer in the rank of second lieutenant (2LT). 9. Orders 240-004, issued by the State of CT, Military Department, National Guard Armory, Hartford, CT, dated 27 August 2012, show the applicant was appointed in the CTARNG as a 2LT. 10. The applicant’s record does not contain a contract for an Officer Accession Bonus (OAB). 11. On 13 October 2015, in a memorandum for the CTARNG from the NGB, subject: Request for ETP for NPSEB [applicant], the NGB denied the applicant’s request for an ETP due to the following discrepancies: a. His contract/bonus addendum was missing signatures from the Soldier, enlistment official, and service representative, which violates DOD Instruction (DODI) 1205.21, paragraph 6.2; and b. The bonus control number (BCN) was requested after the date of enlistment, which violates ARNG Selected Reserve Incentive Programs (SRIP) 07-06, updated 1 March 2009. 12. During the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the NGB on 28 September 2016, recommending partial approval of his case. a. On 27 May 2010, the applicant enlisted in the CTARNG for 8 years, to include a $10,000.00 NPSEB Addendum. According to the Soldier, he was led to believe he was eligible to retain his bonus upon his commissioning as an officer, which he reconfirmed with his recruiter at MEPS. b. On 13 October 2015, an ETP denied the applicant’s request to retain his NPSEB. c. After a thorough review of the Soldier's record, the NGB Incentives Branch correctly denied the applicant his NPSEB ETP since the applicant did not complete his assigned MOS within the allotted 24 months, in accordance with his bonus addendum. Contrary to the decision, the Solder was eligible to contract for the OAB to coincide with the termination of his NPSEB on 18 August 2012, the day he was appointed a 2LT in the CTARNG. d. The Soldier was misled to believe, by his recruiter, that he was eligible to retain his NPSEB of $10,000.00. The Soldier is in good standing with the CTARNG, was promoted to first lieutenant (1LT) on 18 February 2014, and mobilized to Cuba with his unit. It would be fair and just to allow the Soldier, if eligible, to contract for the OAB under the ARNG SRIP Guidance for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010, 1October 2009 – 30 September 2010, Policy Number 10-01. e. The advisory opinion was coordinated with the NGB Incentives Branch. f. The CTARNG did not provide comment with this recommendation. 13. The applicant was provided a copy of the advisory opinion and responded on 16 October 2016. He stated: a. He understands the Army’s standpoint of denying the enlistment bonus due to the fact that he is an officer and did not go to his specific MOS training. b. At the time he joined the Army, he did not have the “know-how” to verify the work of the recruiter and was trusting the work of a seasoned recruiter with many years in the military. He had no reason to believe that the recruiter would mislead him in any way. c. The OAB, is for the same dollar amount as the enlistment bonus. The way it was explained to him was that he would receive $5,000.00 after completing his officer training, then $2,500.00 2 years later, and then the last payment of $2,500.00 after that. By his calculation, he should have received $7,500.00 at this point in his career. The fact that the recruiter not only misled him, but did not do his job correctly is bothersome. He now has the “know-how” and has found the policy that explains what should have happened. d. Although he and his family are pleased to receive the memorandum stating “partial approval”, he feels that he should receive the full payment and should not be penalized because the recruiter did not submit the correct paperwork. As the advisory opinion states, he is in good standing with the CTARNG and he is coming back from a recent deployment to Cuba. For him, this is a matter of principle. He and his family have done everything the Army has asked of them and he is only asking for the Army to fulfill their part of the contract. REFERENCES: 1. The ARNG SRIP Guidance for FY10, dated 20 January 2010, initially governed ARNG incentives for contracts written between 1 May 2010 and 30 September 2010, and was subsequently extended on 28 September 2010 to remain in effect until 31 December 2010. This guidance lists the eligibility criteria for the $10,000 OAB in paragraph 11. It states the OAB is offered to help mitigate a current or projected significant shortage of personnel in the ARNG who are qualified in that area of concentration (AOC). The criteria also stipulates the Soldier must sign the OAB addendum on the date of their appointment or commission. 2. DODI 1205.21 (Reserve Component Incentive Programs Procedures), dated 20 September 1999, applies to incentives used to attract and retain individuals possessing or qualifying for training in critical skills and/or critical units needed in wartime and to sustain membership and maintain readiness in the National Guard and Reserve components. 3. Title 37, U.S. Code, section 308j, provides the legal authority to provide an affiliation bonus to officers in the Selected Reserve. It states, the Secretary concerned may pay an affiliation bonus under this section to an eligible officer in any of the armed forces who enters into an agreement with the Secretary to serve for the period specified in the agreement in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve of an armed force under the Secretary’s jurisdiction in a critical officer skill. It further states that upon acceptance of a written agreement by the Secretary concerned under this section, the total amount of the bonus payable under the agreement becomes fixed. The agreement shall specify whether the bonus is to be paid in one lump sum or in installments. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant contends he should be paid his NPSEB in the amount of $10,000.00 in conjunction with his enlistment in the CTARNG. 2. The applicant was advised by ARNG recruiting representatives prior to his enlistment in the CTARNG that he would receive an NPSEB upon completion of training for MOS 88M. Under the advisement of the recruiter, the applicant executed an enlistment agreement to serve in MOS 88M. However, it appears the applicant did not attend training for his MOS since he was given a commission as a 2LT instead. Therefore, he never received the NPSEB. 3. The applicant submitted a request for an ETP to the NGB; however, it was denied on 13 October 2015 since he did not complete his training in his assigned MOS within the allotted 24 months, in accordance with his bonus addendum. 4. It appears that errors occurred as a result of administrative oversight on the part of the recruiting staff, through no fault of the applicant. When he accepted his appointment as an officer in the CTARNG, he could have been offered an OAB instead of the NSPEB. 5. The NGB, in an advisory opinion, acknowledges that although the applicant is not entitled to the NPSEB, he was eligible for the OAB upon termination of his NPSEB on 18 August 2012 in the amount of $10,000.00, provided he met all eligible criteria. 6. The available evidence shows the applicant may have met the requirements to receive an OAB in lieu of the NPSEB, and that he continues to serve honorably in the CTARNG. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150018635 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150018635 6 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2