IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 1 March 2023 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20220003355 APPLICANT REQUESTS: correction of his records to show he reenlisted on 6 September 2019 in grade E-5 vice grade E-4 and this entitled to a higher Selective Reenlistment Bonus rate at the E-5/Tier 8 rate. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENT(S) CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * DA Form 1059 (Service School Academic Evaluation Report) * Statement FACTS: 1. The applicant states, in September 2019, Class 314 was scheduled to graduate, and their DA Forms 1059 (Service School Academic Evaluation Report) were prepared incorrectly. The DA Forms 1059 were dated and signed before the actual graduation, a. The U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) Schools branch kicked the 1059s back to Special Warfare Center and School (SWCS) to be redone. This prevented the Soldiers in that class from being promoted with the Special Promotion Categories in a timely manner, their dates of rank would be adjusted once the 1059s were completed correctly. All the Soldiers had to meet the 36 month service remaining requirements (SRR) to be reassigned on a permanent change of station to their next duty station. While this DA Form 1059 issue was being resolved at SWCS the Army released a new SRB message, Military Personnel (MILPER) Message 19-261 which was released on 23 August 2019 and effective on 9 September 2019, this new SRB (Selective Reenlistment Bonus) message dramatically changed the bonus tier table. The SWCS Retention team quickly screened every Soldier that was eligible to reenlist so that they could be properly counseled on the effects on the new SRB message. SWCS sent a Career Counselor on temporary duty (TDY) to Yuma, where most of the students were currently at in MFF (Military Free Fall), to counsel each Soldier individually so they could act off the SRB message that was set to expire on 8 September 2019. The 1059s were not able to be completed in time before the SRB message would expire. These students were given the only 2 choices that they were eligible for, reenlist under the old SRB at the lower rank or wait and reenlist under the new SRB at the higher rank. They had to reenlist because of the SRR. Most of the students could not max out the bonus because they were more than 12 months from ETS (expiration of term of service) date, and they did not want to reenlist for 6 years. These Soldiers lost thousands of dollars in SRB entitlements because of the difference of reenlisting as an E-5 instead of E6. The total difference is $214,900 for all 34 Soldiers, the individual breakdown is on the excel document. The applicant adds that he was supposed to get promoted before reenlisting and would have been entitled to a higher bonus for reenlistment but was unable to receive benefits due to 1059s being completed incorrectly. b. the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Retention contacted HRC, Retention Management Branch and requested to either have antedated reenlistment contracts or corrected copies of reenlistment contracts authorized for these students. We knew that the 1059’s were being processed and we knew that their ranks would be backdated to reflect their graduation date. Technically all their information was correct on the date of reenlistment, and they were unable to process either an antedated or corrected contract. For HRC to authorize an antedated or corrected copy the contract must fulfill the DUFE requirements (Defective, Unfulfilled, or Erroneous), the data and the contracts were all correct as of the day of reenlistment and did not fit these criteria. HRC directed that once the 1059s were corrected and the date of rank was updated the Soldiers could request an update to their military records by the ABCMR process. USASOC Retention then reached out to Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA) Retention and requested an ETP (exception to policy). Unfortunately, due to the same DUFE criteria, HQDA was unable to process an ETP and said the only recourse is the ABCMR. Because of the unique nature of the situation and knowing the ABCMR process is very lengthy, HQDA submitted all 34 cases as a batch case to the ABCMR and attempted to get it expedited. The ABCMR rejected the batch case and stated that each individual Soldier would have to submit an ABCMR case, the average wait time for ABCMR cases is currently 500 + days.” 2. Review of the applicant’s service records shows: a. He enlisted in the Regular Army on 15 November 2016. He holds a special forces military occupational specialty (MOS). His date of rank to specialist/E-4 is 15 November 2016. b. He completed the SF Communications Sergeant Course (MOS 18Efrom 8 November 2018 to 26 July 2019, with Chinese Mandarin Language. c. On 6 August 2019, U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Fort Bragg, NC published Orders 218-405 promoting him to sergeant/E-5 effective 26 July 2019. d. On 6 September 2019, he reenlisted in the Regular Army for 4 years in pay grade E-4. His Reenlistment Contract shows he enlisted for SRB (Selective Reenlistment Bonus) Tier 8, MOS 18E1 with CM Foreign Language, for a lump sum payment authorized in accordance with paragraph 4 of MILPER Message 19-188. e. The applicant was promoted to staff sergeant/E-6 on 1 August 2020. 3. On 26 January 2023, the U.S. Army Human Resources Command provided an advisory opinion recommending approval. The advisory official stated: a. From a review of the facts pertaining to [Applicant’s] reenlistment dated 6 September 2019, Retention Control Number (RCN) 3564761, it was determined that his rank was correct at the time the reenlistment was executed. On 6 September 2019, his rank was Specialist/E-4. His promotion order to Sergeant/E-5 was signed after the reenlistment on 19 September 2019 making his contract administratively correct on the date of reenlistment. b. In order for their office to authorize an antedated or corrected copy, the contract must be determined to be Defective, Unfulfilled, Fraudulent or Erroneous in accordance with AR 635-200, Section III, Paragraphs 7-15, 7-16, and 7-17. Because all the information on the contract was correct at the time of reenlistment, corrections of the contract is outside the scope of their authority. c. Although changes to this contract is outside the scope of our authority, had the DA Form 1059 been published correctly and timely, the Soldier could have been promoted and eligible for a higher bonus. This office offers the advisory opinion that the Soldier was adversely affected due to the delay in publishing a correct DA Form 1059 and had that been accomplished correctly Soldier would have reenlisted for a higher bonus at the time of reenlistment. 5. The applicant was provided with copy of this advisory opinion to give him an opportunity to submit comments and/or respond. He did not respond. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application, all supporting documents, and the evidence found within the military record, the Board found that relief was warranted. The Board carefully considered the applicant's record of service, documents submitted in support of the petition and executed a comprehensive and standard review based on law, policy and regulation. Upon review of the applicant’s petition, available military records and the U.S. Army Human Resources Command-Chief Reenlistment and Reclassification Branch advisory opinion, the Board concurred with the advising official finding the applicant’s DA Form 1059 was not published correctly and in a timely manner. The Board determined the applicant was not promoted and his eligibility for a higher bonus was impacted. The Board found the applicant was adversely affected due to the delay in publishing a correct DA Form 1059. Based on this, the Board granted relief for correction of his records to show he reenlisted on 6 September 2019 in grade E-5 vice grade E-4 and this entitled to a higher Selective Reenlistment Bonus rate at the E-5/Tier 8 rate. 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 reenlisted on 6 September 2019 in grade E-5 vice grade E-4 and this entitled to a higher Selective Reenlistment Bonus rate at the E-5/Tier 8 rate. 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: MILPER Message Number 19-188, Proponent is HRC, Subject: Selective Retention Bonus (SRB) Program, dated 25 June 2019, states a. This MILPER message is effective on 1 July 2019 and may change after 1 August 2019 without further notice. This message will expire no later than 1 August 2020. Changes to the SRB program will be announced in a subsequent MILPER message. This MILPER message announces changes to the Regular Army SRB program. This message will be brought to the immediate attention of all commanders, retention offices, recruiters, and Defense Military Pay Offices (DMPO). b. Soldiers reenlisting under this paragraph may be entitled to a lump sum, flat-rate, SRB payment as depicted in paragraph 5. Bonuses that are identified for a specific location must adhere to the rules in paragraph 6. Soldiers must currently possess a Primary Military Occupational Specialty (PMOS), rank, and Total Active Federal Service (TAFS) (if listed in the following table) with associated Skill Qualification Identifier (SQI), Additional Skill Identifier (ASI), or language code, if any, or be currently scheduled for training in the listed PMOS, SQI or ASI depicting a tiered level in the following table. If receiving a training bonus for changing their PMOS, the tier must be listed as a tier 3 or higher. If already PMOS qualified and receiving a training bonus for SQI or ASI, there is no tier requirement. Additionally, if already PMOS qualified and receiving a training bonus, there is no requirement to be on assignment instructions (AI) to the listed location at the time of reenlistment; the only requirement is that they be scheduled for the critical skill shortage training listed for that location. Bonuses will not be paid until Soldiers have successfully graduated the PMOS and/or SQI or ASI that is associated with their bonus, and if applicable, been assigned to the specific location as identified in the table below. MOS/Language E4/SGT/SSG 18 Tier 7/Tier 7/Tier 8 18/1+/1+ DLPT Tier 7/Tier 7/Tier 8 Tier 7/E4 12-23 Months $9,800 24-35 Months, $14,900 36-47 Months, $20,000 48-59 Months, $24,700 60 or more Months, $29,800 Tier 7/E-5 12-23 Months $10,800 24-35 Months, $16,400 36-47 Months, $22,000 48-59 Months, $27,200 60 or more Months, $32,800 Tier 8/E4 12-23 Months $12,300 24-35 Months, $18,600 36-47 Months, $25,000 48-59 Months, $30,900 60 or more Months, $37,300 Tier 8/E-5 12-23 Months $13,500 24-35 Months, $20,500 36-47 Months, $27,500 48-59 Months, $34,100 60 or more Months, $41,100 //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20220003355 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1