BOARD DATE: 12 December 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160003857 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: 12 December 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160003857 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 and Army National Guard records of the individual concerned be corrected by showing an exception to policy was approved authorizing her to retain her Officer Accession Bonus in the amount of $10,000.00 and returning to her any monies related to this incentive that have been recouped. ____________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: 12 December 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160003857 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 her military service records to show the appropriate documentation was completed that substantiates her entitlement to an Officer Accession Bonus (OAB) in the amount of $10,000. 2. The applicant states that she was recently notified that the $10,000 OAB she received more than five (5) years ago is being recouped because a copy of the bonus agreement is not filed in her military personnel record. 3. The applicant provides a copy of a National Guard Bureau (NGB), Arlington, VA, memorandum, dated 17 November 2015. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant had prior honorable active duty enlisted service in the Regular Army from 23 January 1997 through 22 January 2003. 2. An NGB Form 22E (Report of Separation and Record of Service) shows the applicant enlisted in the Army National Guard (ARNG) of the United States and the California ARNG (CAARNG) on 23 January 2003 and she was honorably discharged from the CAARNG and the Army Reserve on 2 April 2007, in the rank of staff sergeant (E-6), for the purpose of appointment as a warrant officer. She had completed 4 years, 2 months, and 10 days of net service this period; 6 years of prior active Federal service; 4 months and 10 days of prior Reserve Component service; and 10 years, 6 months, and 20 days of total service. 3. A review of the applicant's military personnel records failed to reveal a copy of her officer accession packet. 4. Joint Force Headquarters (JFH), CAARNG, Sacramento, CA, Orders 89-1022, dated 30 March 2007, appointed the applicant as a warrant officer in the CAARNG, in the rank of warrant officer one, effective 3 April 2007. 5. A DA Form 1059 (Service School Academic Evaluation Report) shows the applicant completed the Aviation Warrant Officer Basic Course on 25 July 2008. 6. JFH, CAARNG, Sacramento, CA, Orders 297-1057, dated 23 October 2008, awarded the applicant military occupational specialty (MOS) 153D0 (UH-60 Pilot), effective 25 July 2008. 7. A review of the applicant's military personnel records shows she – * was promoted to – * chief warrant officer two on 10 June 2009 * chief warrant officer three on 30 July 2014 * completed the Aviation Warrant Officer Advanced Course on 18 May 2014 8. On 7 October 2016, the CAARNG, G-1, notified the applicant of her eligibility for retired pay for non-regular service (20 years) upon application at age 60. 9. In support of her application, the applicant provides a copy of NGB, Arlington, VA, memorandum, dated 17 November 2015, subject: Request for Exception to Policy (ETP) for OAB, that shows the Chief, Personnel Programs, Resources, and Manpower Division, denied the applicant's request for ETP for a $10,000 OAB and instructed the State Incentive Manager to terminate the OAB incentive with recoupment effective the contract start date. a. The reasons stated for the denial were the applicant's contract/bonus addendum could not be located in her military records and the Bonus Control Number (BCN) was requested after the date of affiliation; which violates Department of Defense Instruction 1205.21 (Reserve Component Incentive Program Procedures), paragraph 6.2 (Procedures – Written Agreements), and the Selected Reserve Incentive Program (SRIP) Policy Guidance for Fiscal Year 2007 (Policy Number 07-04), effective 1 January 2007, respectively. b. The NGB official provided the following contract/agreement details – * State enlisted/accessed: California * Unit Identification Code: PFEC0 * Date of agreement/enlistment: 3 April 2007 * Contracted bonus addendum/agreement amount: $10,000.00 * Contracted MOS: 153D * Current MOS: 153D REFERENCES: 1. Department of Defense Instruction (DODI) 1205.21 provides policy, assigns responsibilities, and prescribes procedures for management of the Reserve Component incentive programs. Paragraph 6.2 shows that as a condition of the receipt of an incentive covered by this Instruction, each recipient shall be required to sign a written agreement stating that the member has been advised of and understands the conditions under which continued entitlement to unpaid incentive amounts shall be terminated and which advance payments may be recouped. The agreement shall clearly specify the terms of the Reserve service commitment that authorizes the payment of the incentive to the member. Services shall use the model written agreements set out in the Instruction at enclosures 3 through 13. However, Service-specific agreements may be used, if they include all elements of the model agreements. 2. 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), 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. a. 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. c. Chapter 2 (Repayment of Unpaid Portion of Bonuses and Other Benefits), paragraph 020204 (Conditions under review by the Secretary of the Military Department), provides that under circumstances not specifically mentioned in this chapter, the Secretary of the Military Department concerned has the discretion to, at some point in the process, render a case-by-case determination that the member's repayment of, or the Military Department's full payment of an unpaid portion of, a pay or benefit is appropriate based on the following – * contrary to a personnel policy or management objective * against equity and good conscience * contrary to the best interest of the United States DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant contends her records should be corrected to show entitlement to a $10,000 OAB because she contracted for and received the incentive, but a copy of the OAB addendum was not filed in her military personnel records and she never received a copy. 2. The evidence of record shows the applicant was appointed as a warrant officer in the CAARNG on 3 April 2007, she completed the Aviation Warrant Officer Basic Course, and she was awarded MOS 153D. a. A copy of an OAB addendum is not available in the applicant's military personnel records. b. The applicant does not have a copy of the OAB addendum. 3. More than eight (8) years after the applicant was appointed as a warrant officer, the NGB denied the applicant's request for ETP for a $10,000 OAB. The reasons for the denial were because the contract/bonus addendum could not be located and the BCN was requested after the date of affiliation, which violates the DODI and the SRIP (Policy Number 07-04). a. The evidence of record shows the NGB and/or CAARNG have evidence pertaining to the details of the OAB contract (i.e., date, amount, MOS, unit, etc.), including when the OAB BCN was requested. b. Based on the evidence of record it appears that the applicant was paid the $10,000 OAB because the Chief, Personnel Programs, Resources, and Manpower Division, NGB, directed the CAARNG State Incentive Manager to "terminate the incentive with recoupment effective the contract start date." c. There is no evidence of record that shows the applicant was not eligible for the OAB incentive at the time of her accession/affiliation. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160003857 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160003857 5 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2