IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 20 January 2023 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20220006426 APPLICANT REQUESTS: payment of Blended Retirement System (BRS) Continuation Pay (CP). APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENT(S) CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record), * Multiple emails (more than 100 pages) * BRS-CP Process form Version 3.5, 1 February 2021 * DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) ending on 6 August 2021 * Defense Finance and Accounting Service Military Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) period covered 13 August 2021 * National Guard Bureau (NGB) Form 23A (Army National Guard (ARNG) Current Annual Statement), 13 January 2022 * Request for CP (BRS), 6 February 2022 * CP Checklist, 6 February 2022 FACTS: 1. The applicant states: a. He has attempted to apply for BRS CP. Due to a problem with the Guard Incentive Management System (GIMS) and/or inaction by the Army National Guard (ARNG) Incentives Office, his request for this incentive was not applied in a timely manner. He therefore missed receiving the incentive. b. He started the process in July of 2021 well before his 12-year mark was complete. He was told by the ARNG Incentives Office, due to GIMS issues, this incentive was not able to be processed. He was advised to periodically check back with the office so they could move forward with the request when the system was fixed. He has numerous email messages from July when he started the conversation with the ARNG Incentives Office and shows that it took over 6 months to properly assist him with this request. c. Due to the incentives office inability to process BRS CP, he crossed his 12-year mark in January of 2022 and thus, does not qualify for BRS CP. Had action been taken in July, August, September, October, November, December, or January when he first started the request, he would have qualified to receive the benefit. Additionally, when he was finally given the correct paper form by the Incentives Office, it turns out all the forms were outdated and were not the correct forms to submit. He believes there were errors in the processing of this benefit and because of those errors, he missed out on a benefit that he was otherwise eligible to receive. 2. A review of the applicant's official military records show the following: a. On 13 January 2010, the applicant enlisted in the ARNG of the United States for 8 years. b. On 17 May 2013, the applicant was appointed as a Reserve Commissioned Officer. c. DA Form 71 (Oath of Office – Military Personnel) shows he completed an initial oath of office as a Reserve commissioned officer on 18 May 2013. d. NGB Form 337 (Oaths of Office) shows he completed an additional oath of office in the ARNG on 18 May 2013. This oath of office granted him temporary Federal Recognition in the rank/grade of 2LT/O-1. e. Orders Number 023-092 published by the Military Forces, ARNG, , promoted the applicant to first lieutenant (1LT), effective on with a date of rank of 18 November 2014. f. Special Orders Number 140 published by the NGB extended Federal Recognition in the ARNG and promoted the applicant to the rank of captain, effective on with a date of rank of 10 May 2019. g. On 6 April 2020, the applicant entered active duty. h. On 6 August 2021, the applicant was released from active duty and transferred to back to his ARNG unit. He completed 1 year, 4 months, and 1 day of net active duty service this period. DD Form 214 shows he had 1 year, 1 month, and 8 days of total prior active service and 9 years, 1 month, and 15 days total prior inactive service. i. NGB Form 23A (ARNG Current Annual Statement) dated 13 January 2022, shows, in pertinent part, the applicant had 12 years creditable service for retired pay. j. On 6 February 2022, the applicant submitted a Request for CP (BRS), in return for his continued service in the ARNG. He agreed to accept CP in accordance with his monthly base pay for an additional obligated service of 4 years and requested his CP to be paid in one single, lump-sum payment. The multiplier was void an entry. 3. The applicant provides: a. Multiple emails (more than 100 pages) showing he attempted to apply for BRS CP but due to a problem with GIMS, multiple factors, and/or inaction with the ARNG incentives office, his request was not applied in a timely manner and ultimately, he did not receive the incentive. b. BRS-CP Process form Version 3.5 dated 1 February 2021 describing the BRS- CP application process and required documents. c. Defense Finance and Accounting Service Military LES covering the period of 13 August 2021 showing the applicants pay and allowances information and he had Thrift Savings Plan contributions. d. CP Checklist dated 6 February 2022 showing the required documents provided by the applicant and that, all documents must be uploaded into the Interactive Personnel Electronic Management System. 4. On 13 October 2022, the NGB, Chief, Special Actions Branch, provided an advisory opinion for this case and recommended approval of the applicant's request to be eligible for enrollment into the BRS to receive CP. The advisory official stated: a. The applicant states that he attempted to apply for BRS CP but due to a problem with the GIMS and/or inaction with the ARNG incentives office, his request was not applied in a timely manner and consequently he did not receive the incentive. b. Upon coordination with the ARNG incentives office it was determined that the applicant attempted to request the BRS CP prior to the conclusion of his 11th year of service. However, a combination of system failures within GIMS initially prevented the ability to process requests. Coupled with the delayed rollout of the new CP policy, these factors contributed to his request not being completed once he reached 12 years of service and was beyond the eligibility window. c. In accordance with My Army Benefits website, "Service members enrolled in the BRS will be eligible for CP upon their 12th year of service in return for a service commitment of 4 additional years. The amount payable for calendar year 2022 (CY22) under guidance published by the Secretary of the Army is 2.5 times the service members monthly basic pay for active-duty service members to include Regular Army, Active Guard Reserve, and Full Time National Guard Duty. CP amounts are at the discretion of the Service Secretary." d. Based on the information provided, the circumstances regarding the applicant's attempt to enroll in the BRS and receive CP were beyond his control and no fault of his own. Therefore, this office [NGB] recommends his request be approved. The ARNG concurs with this recommendation. e. The ARNG Retirement Services Branch did not provide input regarding this opinion. 5. The applicant was provided a copy of the advisory opinion. On 18 October 2022, he responded to the advisory opinion by email and stated, he received correspondence regarding the outcome of his case. The recommendation to approve CP based on the circumstances of his case have been approved. In the letter, it states his application is on hold for 15 days to allow comments on the enclosed advisory opinion. Given that the recommendation is to approve his case, he has no other comments to submit. He will await further guidance on the steps needed to initiate the CP incentive. 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 applicant's contentions, the military record, and regulatory guidance were carefully considered. a. The Board noted that the applicant attempted to apply for BRS CP but due to a problem with the GIMS and/or inaction with the ARNG incentives office, his request was not applied in a timely manner and consequently he did not receive the incentive. He did so prior to the conclusion of his 11th year of service. However, a combination of system failures within GIMS initially prevented processing requests. This, coupled with the delayed rollout of the new CP policy, contributed to his request not being completed once he reached 12 years of service and was beyond the eligibility window. b. Service members enrolled in the BRS will be eligible for CP upon their 12th year of service in return for a service commitment of 4 additional years. The amount payable for calendar year 2022 (CY22) under guidance published by the Secretary of the Army is 2.5 times the service members monthly basic pay for active-duty service members to include Regular Army, Active Guard Reserve, and Full Time National Guard Duty. CP amounts are at the discretion of the Service Secretary. The Board determined the applicant should not be penalized for circumstances beyond his control, and no fault of his own. 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 was in receipt of a completed continuation pay (CP) request prior to the completion of 12 years of service as computed from the PEBD * DFAS paying his entitlement to CP utilizing the Military Pay Account and not the ABCMR funds payable through Debts and Claims 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. REFERENCE: Title 37, United States Code, section 356 (Continuation Pay: Full Thrift Savings Plan members with 8 to 12 years of service) and Public Law 114-328 states: a. To be eligible for CP an individual must have completed not less than 8 but not more than 12 years of service and enter into an agreement to serve not less than 3 additional years of obligated service. It further states: b. The Secretary concerned shall determine the payment amount under this section as a multiple of a full TSP member's monthly basic pay. The multiple for a full TSP member who is a member of a regular component or a reserve component, if the member is performing active Guard and Reserve duty (as defined in section 101(d)(6) of Title 10), shall not be less than 2.5 times the member's monthly basic pay. The multiple for a full TSP member who is a member of a reserve component not performing active Guard or Reserve duty (as so defined) shall not be less than 0.5 times the monthly basic pay to which the member would be entitled if the member were a member of a regular component. The maximum amount the Secretary concerned may pay a member under this section is, in the case of a member of a regular component the monthly basic pay of the member at 12 years of service multiplied by 2.5; plus at the discretion of the Secretary concerned, the monthly basic pay of the member at 12 years of service multiplied by such number of months (not to exceed 13 months) as the Secretary concerned shall specify in the agreement of the member under subsection (a); and in the case of a member of a reserve component, the amount of monthly basic pay to which the member would be entitled at 12 years of service if the member were a member of a regular component multiplied by 0.5; plus at the discretion of the Secretary concerned, the amount of monthly basic pay described in subparagraph (A) multiplied by such number of months (not to exceed 6 months) as the Secretary concerned shall specify in the agreement of the member under subsection (a). //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20220006426 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1