ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: DOCKET NUMBER: AR20180003238 APPLICANT REQUESTS: to retain entitlement to the Non-Prior Service Enlistment Bonus (NPSEB). APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document) dated 28 February 2011 * NGB Form 600-7-1-R-E (Annex E to DD Form 4 Non-Prior Service Enlistment Bonus Addendum ) dated 28 February 2011 * DA Form 71 (Oath of Office) dated 13 May 2015 * DA Form 597 (Army Senior Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) Non- Scholarship Cadet Contract) dated 31 October 2013 * Memorandum for Record (MFR) – Request for Exception to Policy (ETP) for NPSEB dated 22 November 2017 * MFR – Notification of Incentive Eligibility Termination dated 30 November 2017 FACTS: 1. The applicant states that he received an enlistment bonus that was not terminated upon his entry into the Simultaneous Membership Program ROTC program in violation of the Department of Defense Instruction (DODI) 1205.21, paragraph 6.9.2 which further violated the Army National Guard Selected Reserve Incentive Program (ARNG SRIP) policy of Fiscal Year (FY) 10. He contests that he performed training duties and attended scheduled battle assemblies as an ARNG member. He received pay monthly subsistence instead of the full ROTC scholarship because he was over 31 years old. He was unaware that accepting the ROTC payments would violate his SRIP contract. 2. A review of the applicant’s available service records reflects the following on: * 23 December 2010 – he enlisted in the ARNG for 7 years; elected to receive a $5,000 NPS Critical Skill (CS) Bonus; termination without recoupment effective on the date of the ROTC contract if the Soldier becomes a simultaneous member of an authorized officer commissioning program as long as they serve one more days in the losing selective Reserve status * 6 September 2013 - he elected to participate in the SMP; section C (For Current ARNG Members Electing Participation in SMP) of the NGB Form 594-1 states that “upon acceptance into the SMP, I am not eligible to continue in the ARNG Incentive Program” * 12 May 2015 (Order# 132-04) – as an ROTC Cadet he was discharged from the USAR in order to accept a commission * 13 May 2015 – he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the USAR 3. The applicant provides the following a: a. DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document) dated 28 February 2011 reflective of his enlistment in the ARNG for 7 years b. NGB Form 600-7-1-R-E (Annex E to DD Form 4 Non-Prior Service Enlistment Bonus Addendum ) dated 28 February 2011 reflective of his election to receive a $5,000 NPS Critical Skill (CS) Bonus c. DA Form 597 (Army Senior ROTC Non-Scholarship Cadet Contract), dated 31 October 2013 reflective of a projected ROTC contractual obligation completion date of 15 May 2015. Also reflective of entitlement to pay and monthly subsistence for participation in the non-scholarship program for 10 months of any academic year at a rate of $350 for Military Science (MS) II cadets, $450 for MS III cadets, $500 for MS IV and MS V cadets. d. DA Form 71 (Oath of Office) dated 13 May 2015 reflective of his commissioning at the rank of second lieutenant within the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR). e. Memorandum for Record (MFR) – Request for Exception to Policy (ETP) for NPSEB dated 22 November 2017 reflective of the National Guard Bureau (NGB) disapproving his ETP request citing that the enlistment bonus that he received previously was not terminated upon his entrance SMP in violation of the DODI 1205.21, paragraph 6.9.2. f. MFR – Notification of Incentive Eligibility Termination dated 30 November 2017 reflective of the Arizona ARNG terminating his NPS SRIP bonus, without recoupment, due to discrepancies found within his incentive contract. The noted discrepancy noted was his acceptance of an SMP contract on 31 October 2013. 4. See all applicable regulatory guidance below under REFERENCES. 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, the terms of his enlistment contract and incentive, his Senior ROTC contract and his Oath of Office. The Board considered the documents reflecting requests for ETP. Based on a preponderance of evidence, the Board determined that termination of his NPS SRIP bonus, without recoupment was not in error or unjust. 2. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found that relief was not warranted. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING :X :X :X DENY APPLICATION 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. 10/29/2020 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. REFERENCES: 1. DODI 1205.21 (Reserve Component Incentive Programs Procedures) states under “Termination without Recoupment” - If entitlement to an incentive is terminated for any reason before the fulfillment of the service described in the member's written agreement, that member shall not be eligible to receive any further incentive payments, except for payments for service performed before the termination date. Unless granted relief, the member must refund a prorata amount to the Government. Recoupment is not required when a member becomes a simultaneous member of an authorized officer commissioning program or accepts an immediate appointment as an officer in a Reserve component, and, in either case, has served more than 1 year of the incentive contract term following receipt of the initial incentive payment 2. ARNG SRIP FY10 (Policy# 10-01) prescribes eligibility criteria, procedures, and standards for administering the ARNG SRIP for FY10 states that applicants contracted in the SMP/ROTC are not authorized any incentives other than the Officer Accession Bonus as long as they meet all qualifications for that incentive upon their commissioning date. The Non-Prior Service (NPS) Bonus will be terminated without recoupment if you accept an immediate appointment as a commissioned officer. An enlisted Soldier accepting an appointment as a commissioned officer is not subject to recoupment of any enlistment or reenlistment bonus unless they receive an Officer Accession Bonus. Termination of their bonus entitlement is effective on the ROTC effective date. 3. NGR 600-7 (Selected Reserve Incentive Programs) states that The Secretary of the Army and the Chief, National Guard Bureau (CNGB), have authorized the use of the incentives described in this regulation. Under the Selective Reserve Incentive Program (SRIP) Non-Prior Service Enlistment Bonus that entitlement will be terminated without recoupment effective the date of the change in entitlement when the Soldier becomes a participant in the SMP/ROTC advanced course or receives an ROTC scholarship. //NOTHING FOLLOWS//