BOARD DATE: 24 August 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160015377 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: 24 August 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160015377 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: 24 August 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160015377 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 correction of his military records by showing he completed an Officer Accession Bonus (OAB) Addendum and is authorized to receive and retain a $10,000.00 OAB. 2. The applicant states the Ohio Army National Guard (OHARNG) promised him a $10,000 OAB as an incentive to commission. He signed the OAB addendum the same day he was commissioned on 13 March 2008. He has not received the bonus despite fulfilling his contractual obligations. After he signed the OAB addendum, a specialist who worked in recruiting took it to the Office of Strength Management. The signed OAB addendum has subsequently disappeared. The OAB addendum was initially not paid because he also had a Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) agreement. However, he never received any SLRP incentive payments and that contract was subsequently terminated. a. He was informed he is ineligible for the OAB because he is receiving SLRP. He was promised both incentives by officer recruiters. Apparently this was contrary to policy. He understands he may receive either SLRP or the OAB, but not both. Because his SLRP was invalid and terminated, he would like payment of the OAB. He requested an exception to policy (ETP) from the National Guard Bureau (NGB). He was given two reasons why they could not approve payment: (1)  He was no longer in the contracted Area of Concentration (AOC) 19C branch specialty. (2) the signed OAB contract cannot be located. b. He summarizes his military history. He was initially commissioned into an AOC 19C Troop Executive Officer position; but was transferred 2 months later into an AOC 11A (Infantry) Platoon Leader position, by the Squadron assignment officer. This was the Squadron's choice, not his. He had no choice but to accept the transfer. Both AOC 19C and 11A were eligible for the $10,000 OAB. He was never told (the reassignment) could affect his OAB. He had completed only two or three drills at the time he was transferred to the 11A positon. c. He attended the Infantry Officer Basic Course (IOBC) at Ft. Benning, Georgia, in 2009. He severely rolled his ankle. He later found out his ankle was broken and two ligaments were torn. He underwent surgery and then physical therapy. His schooling was rescheduled and he graduated from the course on 28 April 2011. He then inquired about his OAB and was told it would not be paid because he had contracted for SLRP, which had never been paid and was terminated. d. After sorting out the SLRP contract and the State making its the final determination that he was ineligible, he filed an ETP with the NGB for payment of his OAB. The NGB denied the ETP for the aforementioned reasons. Now, he is appealing to this Board because he has fulfilled his part of the OAB addendum. The OHARNG lost his signed bonus addendum; but there is a control number in the "iMARC" system as evidence that the OAB addendum existed. To date, he has not received any payments. He requests relief and that his contract (OAB) be honored. 3. The applicant provides: * Memorandum from the Assistant Inspector General to the applicant, dated 8 February 2012 * Memorandum from the Commander, second Squadron, 107th Cavalry Regiment to the OHARNG Bonus and Incentives Office, dated 21 March 2016 * Memorandum from the applicant to the Incentives Manager, OHARNG, dated 17 June 2016 * Memorandum from OHARNG to Chief, NGB, subject: ETP for Participation and payment of OAB, dated 17 July 2016 * Memorandum from NGB to OHARNG, subject: Request for ETP for OAB, dated 27 July 2016 CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. A Guard Annex, Enlistment/Reenlistment Agreement, Army National Guard (ARNG), dated 20 April 2007, shows the applicant enlisted in the ARNG and agreed to serve 6 years in a troop program unit followed by 2 years as an assigned member of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). Page eight of this annex lists four addendums, one of which is for SLRP. 2. NGB Form 337 (Oaths of Office) dated 13 March 2008, NGB Form 89 (Proceedings of a Federal Recognition Examining Board) dated13 March 2008 and Orders 077-254, State of Ohio, dated 17 March 2008, all show that the applicant (in the rank of staff sergeant) was discharged from the ARNG and as a Reserve of the Army effective 12 March 2008 and appointed in the ARNG as a second lieutenant, Armor Branch, effective 13 March 2008, with Federal Recognition. NGB Form 89 shows he was to complete the Armor Basic Officer Leadership Course. 3. DA Form 1059 (Service School Academic Evaluation Report) dated 28 April 2011 shows the applicant completed the Basic Infantry Officer Leaders Course III. A memorandum from the State of Ohio, dated 2 June 2011, states he was designated AOC 11A effective 28 April 2011. 4. Orders 187-1025, State of Ohio, dated 6 July 2011, announced the applicant’s promotion to first lieutenant, pay grade 0-2, with an effective date and date of rank of 28 April 2011. 5. In a memorandum to the applicant, dated 8 February 2012, a State Assistant Inspector General informed the applicant that a thorough inquiry was made into his OAB request for payment. As a result, it was determined he was ineligible for the OAB at the time of his commissioning because he still had a valid enlistment contract with an SLRP addendum. 6. Orders 239-900, State of Ohio, dated 27 August 2015, announced the applicant’s promotion to captain, pay grade O3, with an effective date and date of rank of 3 August 2015. These orders were revoked by Orders 240-916, State of Ohio, dated 28 August 2015. 7. A memorandum for the OHARNG, dated 21 March 2016, from Headquarters, 2nd Squadron, 107th Cavalry Regiment, stated that the applicant had signed for a $10,000.00 OAB in conjunction with his commissioning as an officer in the OHARNG on 12 March 2008. About a month or two later, the applicant went to Columbus, Ohio, to pick up his commissioning packet at the State Office of Strength Management. When he picked up the packet he noticed the OAB addendum was missing. Upon inquiry, he was informed that the document had been sent to NGB for payment processing. The applicant completed Infantry Basic Officer Leader’s course on 28 April 2011 and understood he would receive his OAB. In August 2011, he was mobilized and deployed to Afghanistan. As of the date of this memorandum, he had not received payment of the OAB. The applicant’s company commander requested the assistance of Headquarters, OHARNG to resolve this pay issue. 8. In a memorandum dated 17 June 2016, the applicant provided the OHARNG Incentives Manager a time-line of events from the summer of 2007 through the fall of 2015. He explained that not only did he not receive the OAB, no SLRP loans were ever paid. In October 2015, he received a letter from the OHARNG Education Office terminating his SLRP incentive effective the date of his commissioning in 2008. The reason for the SLRP termination was his eligibility for the OAB. 9. A memorandum from the Director, Family Readiness and Warrior Support, State of Ohio, dated 17 July 2016, to the NGB ARNG Incentives Oversight Branch, recommended denying the applicant an ETP concerning the OAB. The applicant executed an Oath of Office on 13 March 2008 for appointment as a second lieutenant in the OHARNG. At the time, an OAB addendum should have been completed and uploaded to his record. A search of his file as well as office records failed to find an addendum. Additional review found that the control number was not requested until 26 March 2009, well after the date of his signature on his oath of office. Regulatory guidance requires a written agreement and control number request prior to executing the agreement. Also, the applicant had transferred out of his initial AOC of 19C into an 11A AOC on 1 October 2008. 10. In a memorandum dated 27 July 2016, the Chief, Personnel Programs, Resources and Manpower Division, NGB, denied the applicant’s request for an ETP concerning his OAB. The basis for this denial was the lack of a written agreement in his records and his not serving in the AOC for which contracted. 11. In a memorandum dated 14 September 2016, the applicant submitted a resignation request through his chain of command. In turn, his chain of command recommended approval of his request. 12. Orders 355-957, State of Ohio, dated 20 December 2016, announced the applicant’s separation from the ARNG effective 31 January 2017, with an honorable characterization of service. REFERENCES: 1. Department of Defense Instruction (DODI) 1205.21 (Reserve Components Incentive Programs and Procedures) updates policy, assigns responsibilities, and prescribes procedures for management of the Reserve components incentive programs. Incentive skills shall be 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. 2. ARNG Selected Reserve Incentive Program (SRIP) Guidance for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007, dated 10 August 21007, states in part: a. An OAB is offered to help mitigate a current or projected significant shortage of personnel in the ARNG who are qualified in that AOC or are to be trained in that AOC. In addition to the general eligibility requirements in paragraph 5 of this policy, the Soldier must have never received and will not receive financial assistance from the Regular Army, U.S. Army Reserve, and ARNG. (1) To qualify for an OAB the officer must sign the OAB addendum on the date he or she accepts his or her commission as a second lieutenant. (2) Agree to serve in a critical skill (AOC) as defined by the ARNG. (3) Not receiving and will not receive the following benefits during the period of service for which contracted to include chapter 1609, Title 10, U.S. Code (SLRP). b. SLRP for non-prior service enlistees will not exceed $20,000. The Soldier must enlist for a 6 years in the active Reserve (ARNG troop program unit). Soldiers receiving SLRP will remain eligible while attending Officer Candidate School and will also remain eligible upon commissioning or appointment subject to the original restriction that their SLRP entitlement will be paid within the same period established in their original enlistment documents (normally 6 years). A new SLRO entitlement is not established when a Soldier accepts a commission or appointment. 3. Title 37, U.S. Code, section 308j states the Secretary concerned may pay an accession bonus under this section to an eligible person who enters into an agreement with the Secretary to accept an appointment as an officer in the armed force and who agrees to serve in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve in a skill designated for the period specified in the agreement. Upon acceptance of the written agreement by the Secretary concerned, the total amount of the bonus becomes fixed. A person may not receive an affiliation bonus or accession bonus and financial assistance for the same period of time. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant contends that his military records should be corrected by showing he timely completed an OAB addendum authorizing him a $10,000 OAB because officer recruiters for the OHARNG promised him this incentive. 2. The available evidence purports to show the applicant signed an OAB in 2008 agreeing to accept an appointment as an officer in the Selected Reserve for a 6-year period. There is no written contract available for review and records reportedly indicate that a control number was not requested until March 2009, well after he accepted his oath of office. By law, without a written agreement signed and accepted by the Secretary concerned, payment of an incentive cannot be made. 3. Though the applicant states he never received any payments under his SLRP Addendum when he enlisted in April 2007, the law is clear that an individual is not entitled to SLRP and an OAB. There is a provision for the SLRP to continue once an individual accepts an appointment or commission. As he had a signed contract for the SLRP, he could not enter into an OAB agreement. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160015377 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160015377 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2