ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 25 February 2020 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20180002731 APPLICANT REQUESTS: correction of his 5 August 2015 reenlistment contract to show a 6-year term for Selective Retention Bonus (SRB) Tier 7 in accordance with Military Personnel (MILPER) Message 15-140 (SRB Program). APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * two DA Forms 330 (Language Proficiency Questionnaire), dated 21 January 2015 and 16 August 2016 * DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document – Armed Forces of the United States), dated 5 August 2015 * DD Form 1059 (Service School Academic Evaluation Report), dated 1 March 2017 * Memorandum for Record (MFR), dated 20 July 2017, subject: Request Correction of Reenlistment Contract: (Applicant) * DD Form 4187 (Personnel Action), dated 28 August 2017 * MFR, Sergeant First Class (SFC) 92nd Battalion Career Counselor, dated 23 October 2017, subject: Request Contract Correction for (Applicant) * Memorandum, U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC), dated 18 December 2017, subject: Request Correction of DD Form 4 Series – (Applicant) * Email, Applicant and SFC 92nd Battalion Career Counselor, dated 28 November 2017, 19 December 2017, 20 December 2017, 17 January 2018, and 19 January 2018 REFERENCES: 1. Army Regulation 601-280 (Army Retention Program), in effect at the time, prescribed criteria for the Army Retention Program and set forth policies and command responsibilities for immediate reenlistment or extension of enlistment of Soldiers currently serving in the Active Army. Paragraph 11-33 (Submission of Claims) stated a Soldier who believes his or her reenlistment commitment has been breached may submit a claim using DA Form 4187. The claim must be submitted within a reasonable time (normally 30 days). The time period starts from the date he or she is informed that his or her commitment will not be honored or from the date the Soldier discovers, or should discover through normal efforts, that the commitment has been breached. 2. MILPER Message 15-140 (SRB Program) announced changes to the Regular Army Active Component SRB Program. a. Paragraph 4 states Soldiers possessing a primary military occupational specialty (PMOS) and rank with associated skill qualification identifier (SQI), additional skill identifier (ASI), or language code, if any, with a tiered level listed, may be entitled to a lump sum, flat-rate SRB payment as depicted in paragraph 6 * PMOS 38B (Civil Affairs Specialist) – Tier 6 did not require an SQI, ASI, or language * PMOS 38B – Tier 7 required either an French (FR), Indonesian (JN), or Spanish (QB) language with a 2/2 Defense Language Aptitude Test (DLPT) or level 2 oral proficiency interview b. Paragraph 6 stated SRB amounts for PMOS 38B are as follows: * sergeant (SGT) at Tier 6, reenlisting for 60 or more months received $20,100.00 * SGT at Tier 7, reenlisting for 60 or more months received $28,700.00 c. Paragraph 8f stated in order to be eligible to receive a language dependent SRB identified in paragraph 4, the Soldier must meet the minimum proficiency standards (level 2 listening and level 2 speaking or reading) as reflected in the Enlisted Distribution and Assignment System for their primary or secondary languages within the past 12 months of the date of reenlistment. FACTS: 1. The applicant states the servicing career counselor at his losing installation informed him that he was ineligible to receive Tier 7 at the time of his reenlistment. However, he should have received Tier 7 in accordance with MILPER Message 15-140. Upon finding the error, he requested initiation of the process prior to graduating from the Civil Affairs Qualification Course (CAQC) on 31 March 2017. On 27 March 2017, he emailed the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (SWCS) career counselor the last supporting documents for the request. The paperwork requesting the correction went through three more career counselors before being submitted. On 18 December 2017, HRC denied his request based on timeliness, stating the process should have been initiated within 30 days from the error. He initiated the request within 30 days in accordance with Army Regulation 601-280; however, due to bureaucratic inefficiency, the submission was delayed. He acted promptly on this matter, and inquired often, both in person and by email, requesting a status of his original request from all four career counselors during the nearly 8 months it took to finalize the submission. The correction to his contract would have been made by HRC if the request was submitted in a timely manner by the first career counselor who started the process. He relied on the guidance of the career counselors throughout the process and completed and submitted promptly every documentation requested. The enclosed email show his persistence in correcting his contract. 2. His DA Form 330, dated 21 January 2015, shows he completed a DLPT for Spanish, language code QB on 21 January 2015. 3. His DD Form 4 shows he reenlisted on 5 August 2015 for 5 years in PMOS 38B (Civil Affairs Specialist) for the SRB Tier 6 and a lump sum payment authorized in accordance with MILPER Message 15-140, paragraph 4. 4. His DA Form 330, dated 16 August 2016, shows he completed a DLPT for Spanish, language code QB on 16 August 2016. 5. His DD Form 1059, dated 1 March 2017, shows he completed the CAQC on 31 March 2017. 6. His MFR, dated 20 July 2017, subject: Request Correction of Reenlistment Contract (Applicant), states he reenlisted on 5 August 2015 in Alaska in order to reclassify into PMOS 38B. At the time he reenlisted he was an SGT with a current 2+/3 Spanish DLPT. Upon reenlistment, he was told by the career counselor that he did not qualify for a Tier 7 bonus since he was not MOS 38B qualified and did not have a control language. Before graduating the CAQC, the career counselor from SWCS confirmed that he did qualify for a Tier 7 bonus based on MILPER Message 15-140. If he had known he qualified for a Tier 7 bonus at the time of reenlistment, he would have reenlisted for 6 years instead of 5. 7. His DD Form 4187, dated 28 August 2017, signed by his chain of command at the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne), requested correction of his 5 August 2015 reenlistment contract to read 6 years with an SRB Tier 7 because he had a valid DLPT in accordance with MILPER Message 15-140 at the time of reenlistment. 8. SFC 92nd and 96th Civil Affairs Battalion Career Counselor's MFR, dated 23 October 2017, states the applicant executed a reenlistment while assigned at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, on 5 August 2015. The applicant graduated the CAQC in March 2017 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and was counseled by SFC that he was entitled to a Tier 7 bonus instead of a Tier 6 bonus. He advised the applicant to get together with the servicing career counselor at the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne) since he had already started in-processing the unit. Staff Sergeant the servicing career counselor at his previous unit, did not realize the applicant had a DLPT score of 2+/3 in Spanish at the time of reenlistment, which caused the applicant to be paid a Tier 6 bonus instead of a Tier 7 bonus. 9. The HRC memorandum, dated 18 December 2017, subject: Request Correction of DD Form 4 Series – (Applicant), states the applicant's request to correct his reenlistment, dated 5 August 2015, from 5 to 6 years was disapproved due to not submitting his request within 30 days of being informed by the SWCS Career Counselor that there was an error with his reenlistment contract. 10. He provided email, dated 27 March 2017 to 19 January 2018, showing: * 27 March 2017 – he provided his DLPT for Spanish to Master Sergeant (MSG) SWCS (this was the applicant's first email to the SWCS career counselor to take action and follow up with his 2015 DLPT as proof that he qualified for Tier 7 upon reenlistment) * 4 August 2017 – he contacted SFC to inform him that MSG was assisting him while he was assigned to the 98th Civil Affairs Battalion; however, he was reassigned to the 92nd Civil Affairs Battalion * 28 August 2017 – he requested a status from SFC * 28 November 2017 – MSG sent the applicant's corrected copy of his request to the operations office for processing * 19 December 2017 – SFC sent the HRC disapproval memorandum to MSG and SFC * 19 December 2017 – SFC sent the HRC disapproval memorandum to the applicant * 20 December 2017 – he was between flights, he requested an example of what to submit to the Army Review Boards Agency from SFC * 17 January 2017 – he requested assistance from SFC and MSG * 19 January 2018 – SFC provided the Army Review Boards Agency information to the applicant BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. The Board carefully considered the applicant’s request, supporting documents and evidence in the records. The Board considered the applicant’s statement, his record of service, his reenlistment contract and eligibility for and SRB, the email traffic related to his request for correction and the HRC determination to deny a bonus due to untimely submission. The Board found that the applicant identified and requested the correction, but that it was delayed through no fault of his own. Based on preponderance of evidence, the Board determined that the denial of the SRB Level 7 was unjust and a correction was required. 2. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found that relief was warranted. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 :X :X :X GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION 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 records of the individual concerned be corrected to show: -The applicant's request to correct his reenlistment from 5 to 6 years was submitted within 30 days of being informed by the SWCS Career Counselor that there was an error with his reenlistment contract; - that his request was accepted and timely processed by appropriate officials, and; - the applicant contract was corrected and his SRB issued in accordance with this correction. 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. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20180002731 6 1