IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 26 October 2021 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20200010274 APPLICANT REQUESTS: correction of his record to show he enlisted for the $20.000.00 Non-Prior Service Enlistment Bonus and the Montgomery GI Bill Kicker (MGIB). A personal appearance before the Board. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), ending on 23 August 2019 * DD Form 1966 (Record of Military Processing Armed Forces of the United States) * DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document Armed Forces of the United States) * Orders Number 224-37 * Reservation * Memorandum, Subject: Enlistment Incentives for the Applicant * Guard Annex * Unit Manning Report (UMR) FACTS: 1. The applicant states: a. He was not offered a $20,000.00 NPSEB or $350.00 MGIB Kicker on the day of enlistment. The Unit/Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) across the Army National Guard (ARNG) offers this bonus to Non-Prior Service applicants as well as Soldiers extending with less than 13 years of service. Due to a "system issue" on the day of his enlistment, he somehow was not offered these incentives. He feels he is deserving of this benefit, as he trained alongside a Soldier from his own unit at advanced individual training that did in fact receive these benefits. b. He enlisted into a Modified Table of Organization and Equipment (MTOE) unit that was eligible for a NPSEB of $20,000.00 bonus, and his Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) scores (95) recorded on his DD Form 1966 should have qualified him for a $350.00 Kicker. Due to system issues on the day of his enlistment, the bonuses associated with the unit identification code Paragraph/Line number that he was contracting for did not populate. The unit was showing as a table of distribution and allowances unit, which to his knowledge, it had never been. The unit is in fact an MTOE unit, and the incentives should have been made available to him. His contracted MOS is on the State's Top 10 critical MOS list which offered the bonus. A Soldier in his unit enlisted within 90 days of him and received said bonus. To date, the incentive was and still available to Soldiers enlisting into the 287th Army Band with a 42R (Musician) MOS. 2. A review of the applicant's official records shows the following: a. On 21 August 2018, the applicant enlisted in the ARNG for a period of 8 years in MOS 42R. In conjunction with this enlistment Guard Annex was completed showing the following: (1) Section IV (Acknowledgement) "287th Army Band" and (2) Section VII (Addendums) "MGIB." b. The applicant's records are void of a NPSEB contract and MGIB Kicker contract. c. The applicant remains in the ARNG. 3. The applicant provides: a. DD Form 214 showing the applicant entered active duty for training on 1 April 2019 and completed training on 23 August 2019. Item 11 (Primary Specialty) shows 42R. b. DD Form 1966 showing the following in Section II (Examination and Entrance Data Processing Codes) AFQT "95." c. Orders Number 224-37, issued by the United States Army School of Music which awarded the applicant MOS 42R. d. Reservation showing the applicant would be assigned to the 287th U.S. Army Band for 6 years in MOS 42R. e. Memorandum, Subject: Enlistment Incentives for the Applicant from the State of Delaware Recruiting and Retention Battalion that states: (1) On 21 August 2018, the applicant processed for enlistment into the Delaware Army National Guard (DEARNG). Upon the completing the physical she sat down with the guidance counselors to go over all annexes associated with the enlistment packet. During this process, the guidance counselor performs the action of pulling a training seat reservation from the system REQUEST. When pulling the training seat all incentives populate on the request form (Bonus, GI Bill Kicker, Loan Repayment Program), as long as the MOS is a true vacancy within an MTOE unit. (2) On the above-mentioned date, the guidance counselor pulled a training seat that did not reflect any incentives for the position. The position should have reflected a six-year non-prior service bonus of $20,000.00 as well as the MGIB Kicker for $350.00. The 42R MOS was listed as a top 10 critical MOS for DEARNG at the time of enlistment. The problem occurred through a system error categorizing the 287th Army Band as a TDA unit, when in reality it is an MTOE unit eligible for incentives. Our operations staff contacted the incentives branch at the National Guard Bureau (NGB) to correct the error. Unfortunately, the error could not be rectified on the day of enlistment. (3) The applicant could not reschedule processing either. At the time of enlistment, she was attending Montgomery College, located in Maryland, and had already missed classes to process at the military entrance processing station. She should have received the correct incentives associated with this MOS. The author requests the applicant's record be corrected to reflect that she met all requirements to receive incentives of a $20,000.00 bonus, and MGIB Kicker of $350.00 f. UMR for the 287th U.S. Army Band. 4. On 4 May 2021, in the processing of this case and advisory opinion was obtained from the NGB, Chief, Special Actions Branch who opined in pertinent part, although the applicant was not offered an incentive on the date of enlistment in accordance with Department of Defense Instruction (DODI) 1304.31 (Enlisted Bonus Program), there is clear and convincing evidence that the applicant was otherwise eligible and a systemic program failure led to the applicant not being offered the incentive on the date of enlistment. It is recommended that a $20,000,00 NPSEB contract be established with a manual control number as well as the establishment of MGIB Kicker in accordance with the ARNG Selected Reserve Incentive Policy terms in place at the time of the applicant's enlistment. 5. On 6 May 2021, the applicant was provided with the advisory opinion to provide a comment. As of 30 September 2021, the applicant had not responded. BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant's request for a personal appearance hearing was carefully considered. In this case, the evidence of record was sufficient to render a fair and equitable decision. As a result, a personal appearance hearing is not necessary to serve the interest of equity and justice in this case. 2. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found that relief was warranted. Board members reviewed the applicant's statement, evidence, and the service record. The applicant was eligible for the incentive but he was not offered the incentive on the date of enlistment. The applicant should not be penalized for administrative errors caused by recruiting/retention officials. 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 and Army National Guard records of the individual concerned be corrected by: * Showing the applicant submitted an exception to policy to the National Guard Bureau to reconstruct a $20,000 NPSEB contract with a manual control number and establishment of MGIB Kicker in accordance with the ARNG Selected Reserve Incentive Policy terms in place at the time of his enlistment * Showing he agreed to serve for 6 years in MOS 42R, in an ARNG unit that is designated as an MTOE unit, for a non-prior service bonus of $20,000 as well as the MGIB Kicker for $350 * Showing the NGB timely received, accepted, and approved the applicant's exception to policy for payment of the applicant's incentive 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 1304.21 (Enlisted Bonus Program) states the Secretaries of the Military Departments may pay a bonus under the Enlisted Bonus Program (in accordance with Title 37, United States Code, section 331) to persons or members, as appropriate, to support recruiting and retention efforts in designated military skills, career fields, units, or grades, or to meet some other condition or conditions of service imposed by the Secretary of the Military Department concerned. To be eligible the member signs an agreement with the Secretary of the Military Department concerned to serve on active duty or in an active status for a specified period, in a designated military specialty or skill, career field, unit, or grade, successfully completes training and becomes qualified in a designated skill or career field, if completion of such training and technical qualification forms the basis for which the bonus is paid. 2. Army Regulation (AR) 621-202 (Army Educational Incentives and Entitlements) states to qualify for the MGIB-Selected Reserve Kicker an enlisted Soldier must: * Enlist, reenlist, or extend in the Selected Reserves for a period of not less than 6 years * Be eligible to receive basic benefits under MGIB–SR or MGIB–AD * Be a secondary school diploma graduate or equivalent credit * Score 31 or above on the AFQT * Non-Prior Service applicants must have completed initial active duty training (IADT) * Contract in a critical specialty/skill position and/or a designated critical unit 3. AR 15-185 (Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR)) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the ABCMR. The ABCMR may, in its discretion, hold a hearing or request additional evidence or opinions. Additionally, it states in paragraph 2-11 that applicants do not have a right to a hearing before the ABCMR. The Director or the ABCMR may grant a formal hearing whenever justice requires. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20200010274 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1