IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 18 August 2023 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20220009889 APPLICANT REQUESTS: adjustment of his date of rank (DOR) to colonel (COL) in the Alabama Army National Guard (ALARNG) from 23 June 2022 to February 2022. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENT(S) CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Email traffic with ALARNG, April 2022 * Federal Recognition Promotion Checklist * 3 DA Forms 1059 (Service School Academic Evaluation Report) * Civilian Education Printout, 6 January 2015 * Army Physical Fitness Test Scorecard * Body Fat Worksheet, 19 March 2021 * Security Verification, 8 June 2021 * Officer Evaluation Reports, June 2019 through December 2021 * Personnel Qualification Record * Officer Record Brief * Recommendation for Promotion, 17 July 2021 * Order of Merit List * State Assignment Orders * State Promotion Order, 12 July 2022 * Mobilization Orders * Federal Recognition Promotion Order, effective 23 June 2022 FACTS: 1. The applicant states his promotion order to colonel (COL) should reflect date of rank (DOR) in late February or early March 2022 as opposed to current DOR to COL of 23 June 2022. Back pay should be paid to reflect his tax free status during the lost DOR time. He was/is currently deployed to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait which is a tax free zone. His promotion packet was sent from unit of assignment to Joint Force Headquarters (JFHQ), Alabama Army National Guard (ALARNG) in July 2021 and JFHQ-AL did not process the promotion packet to NGB until November 2021. 2. Review of the applicant’s service records shows: a. He was appointed as a Reserve commissioned officer of the ALARNG and executed an oath of office on 18 May 2006. He completed the Chaplain Basic Officer Leader Course. b. He served in a variety of stateside or overseas assignments, including Title 10 mobilization from April 2009 to April 2010, and Title 32 active service from May 2010 to March 2016. c. He completed the Captains Career Course and the Command and General Staff Officer Course, and he was promoted to lieutenant colonel (LTC) on 9 August 2017. d. On 16 June 2021, the State submitted his name/packet with allied documents for a unit vacancy promotion (UVP) to COL in the ARNG. e. On 11 July 2022, the National Guard Bureau (NGB) published Orders Number IP-13478 extending him Federal recognition for promotion to COL with an effective date and DOR of 23 June 2022. 3. On 28 July 2023, the NGB rendered an advisory opinion in the processing of this case. An NGB official recommended approval and stated: a. The applicant requests that his date of rank to O-6 be changed from 23 June 2022 to February 2022 and appropriate back pay. The NGB recommends approval. The applicant submitted his packet for promotion to COL in July 2021 and was promoted to COL on 23 June 2022. He requests that ABCMR approve the change to his Date of Rank to COL from 23 June 2022 to February or March 2022 and appropriate back pay because he claims his promotion was delayed due to no fault of his own. b. The applicant’s records show that he was promoted to LTC on 9 August 2017, and he submitted his packet for promotion to COL in July 2021 through G1, 167th Theater Sustainment Command. According to ALARNG, the suspense for submitting the packet for the July 2021 board was 1 July 2021, so the suspense was missed since it was received at the OPM (Officer Personnel Management) on 18 July 2021. This delay was due to the G1 being instructed to wait until the Officer Reassignment Board results came out. At the time, the applicant was deploying with the 135th ESC (Sustainment Command) and needed to have his packet go before the July Federal Recognition (FED REC) Board, but it did not appear before the July 2021 board. The applicant’s packet should have been then gone before the August 2021 board. The applicant was selected for promotion by the ALARNG on a 13 May 2021 Selections from the FY-21 OCMB OML (Officer Career Management Program – Order of Merit List) memorandum upon vacancy availability and was later transferred to an O-6 slot effective 16 June 2021. However, the applicant’s promotion packet did not go through the August 2021 board. The packet was sent on 18 July 2021, but his Unit Vacancy Promotion was not sent to NGB FED REC Section until 19 November 2021 because the ALARNG POC (point of contact) was on convalescent leave and NGB was transitioning to IPPS-A (Integrated Personnel and Pay System – Army), which further delayed the processing timeline. c. According to Army Directive 2019-28, an ARNG unit vacancy promotion appointment scroll will be considered delayed for the purposes of this directive when processing exceeds a set limit of days because of administrative delay within Headquarters, Department of the Army. To be designated as unduly delayed, the scroll package processing time within Headquarters, Department of the Army from the day of first receipt at the Directorate of Military Personnel Management, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1 must exceed 100 days because of a processing delay or administrative error, and the delay is not the result of a promotion review based on adverse information pertaining to an officer whose name appears on the promotion appointment scroll discovered through exemplary conduct screening. d. After further investigation, it appears that there were significant delays during the boarding and processing timelines at the State. The National Guard Federal Recognition Section identifies the time frame for assignment of a scroll to be approximately two to three weeks and the general processing time for a scroll to be completed as approximately six to eight months. Although the applicant’s processing timeline falls within this scope, the applicant’s promotion packet would have been processed earlier if it were not for the four-month delay at the State level. Additionally, the Deputy Chief of Staff of ALARNG was told that NGB was behind getting FED REC processing due to eTracker being discontinued and implementation of IPPS-A. e. For these reasons, it is the recommendation of this office that the applicant’s request be approved. Based on the State’s records, the applicant’s promotion packet was received on 18 July 2021 and the following processing timeline was not within the general limits identified by the National Guard Federal Recognition Bureau. The applicant’s promotion packet was delayed under unusual circumstances, and for these reasons, the office recommends approval of his request for a change to his Date of Rank to COL and appropriate backpay. f. The ARNG Officer Policy Branch and the National Guard Federal Recognition Section concur with this recommendation. The ALARNG concurs with this recommendation. 4. The applicant was provided with a copy of this advisory opinion to give him an opportunity to submit comments and/or a rebuttal. No response is received. BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. After reviewing the application, all supporting documents, and the evidence within the military record, the Board found that relief was warranted. The Board carefully considered the applicant’s contentions, the military record, and regulatory guidance. The Board agreed that through no fault of his own, processing of the applicant’s promotion packet was delayed at both the G -1 and state level. As a result, processing exceeded the maximum timeframe established by applicable Army Directive and, thereby, designated as unduly delayed. Based on the preponderance of the documentation available for review, the Board determined the evidence presented sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. 2. The Board further agreed that based on the correction to his date of rank, he is eligible for tax free back pay at the commensurate rate of Colonel for the applicable period of his deployment to Kuwait. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 :xx :xx :xx GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 1. 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 date of rank to colonel as 23 February 2022. 2. The Board further determined that based on the new date of rank, he would have been eligible for tax free compensation for the applicable period of his deployment to Kuwait. 3. All entitlement to back pay and allowances to be determined by the Defense Finance and Accounting Agency. 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: Army Directive 2019-28, SUBJECT: Army Directive 2019-28 (Authority to Adjust Effective Date of Promotion of a Reserve Commissioned Officer in the Event of Undue Delay in Federal Recognition of Promotion), dated 19 September 2019 states: a. References: Title 10, United States Code, section 14308(f); Department of Defense Instruction 1320.14 (Commissioned Officer Promotion Program Procedures); December 11, 2013; Incorporating Change 2, Effective March 13, 2019; National Guard Regulation 600-100 (Commissioned Officers - Federal Recognition and Related Personnel Actions), 15 April 1994; National Guard Regulation 600-101 (Warrant Officers Federal Recognition and Related Personnel Actions), 10 September 2018. b. Purpose. This directive establishes policy for identifying and addressing delays in processing Army National Guard (ARNG) unit vacancy promotion Federal recognition actions pursuant to reference 1a. c. Guidance: (1) a. Effective immediately, an ARNG unit vacancy promotion appointment scroll will be considered delayed for the purposes of this directive when processing exceeds a set limit of days as a result of administrative delay within Headquarters, Department of the Army. To be designated as unduly delayed, the scroll package must meet the following conditions: (a) (1) The processing time within Headquarters, Department of the Army from the day of first receipt at the Directorate of Military Personnel Management, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1 must exceed 100 days because of a processing delay or administrative error. (b) (2) The delay is not the result of a promotion review based on adverse information pertaining to an officer whose name appears on the promotion appointment scroll discovered through exemplary conduct screening. (c) (3) The delay is not attributable in any other manner to the action (or inaction) of an officer whose name appears on the promotion appointment scroll. (2) b. When a delayed scroll meets the criteria in paragraph 3a, the Secretary of the Army will determine the effective date for promotion for ARNG commissioned and warrant officers on the affected scroll. The date will not be earlier than 100 days from the date the Directorate of Military Personnel Management first receives the scroll package from the National Guard Bureau, or the date of the most recent previously approved Federal recognition list, whichever is later. (3) c. This policy does not apply to officers whose nominations result from Promotion Review Boards or Promotion Review Panels. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20220009889 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1