IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 11 August 2011 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110005750 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests payment of his Critical Skills Accession Bonus (CSAB) of $20,000.00. 2. The applicant states his application for payment of his CSAB was delayed because he was in school and deployed during the period it was due. Additionally, his unit incorrectly submitted a request for Critical Skills Retention Bonus instead of a CSAB which caused his paperwork to be delayed and he had only an 11-day window to get his request in. However, the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) denied his request because they believed he was trying to take advantage of the tax exemption status. However, his unusual circumstance at the time was the real reason. 3. The applicant provides a copy of his request for payment of his CSAB and the denial by the HRC and copies of his school completion documents. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant was serving in the Regular Army in the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Three (CW3) as an aviator when he migrated to the Military Intelligence (MI) branch in 2007. 2. He attended the Human Intelligence Collector Course at Fort Huachuca, AZ from 10 December 2007 through 26 June 2008. 3. He attended the Human Intelligence Certification Course from 30 June through 19 September 2008 and the MI Warrant Officer Advanced Course from 6 October through 3 November 2008 at Fort Huachuca. Meanwhile, on 16 September 2008, officials at the course provided the applicant his application for his CSAB, which had to be submitted no later than 30 September 2008. However, his application could not be processed at Fort Huachuca because the applicant was a member of the Great Skills Division (GSD) and it had to be forwarded to his headquarters for processing. 4. He attended additional courses from November to December 2008, January 2009, and from February to March 2009. He deployed from April to October 2009. 5. Meanwhile, his application was incorrectly processed as a Critical Skills Retention Bonus instead of a CSAB and it was returned for resubmission to the GSD. His request was resubmitted as an exception to policy and on 9 October 2010, HRC denied his request based on his request not meeting the 30 September 2008 deadline and that he had delayed submitting his application in order to take a tax advantage that applied to deployed individuals. 6. A review of the applicant's CSAB application shows he completed the requirements for payment of a CSAB by completing the training in a critical skill that was listed in the message announcing the CSAB prior to the announced cut-off date of 30 September 2008. 7. Military Personnel (Milper) Message Number 07-348, issued on 17 December 2007, updated the MI Warrant Officer CSAB Program. It provided, in pertinent part, that the program would continue until 30 September 2008. Warrant officers who signed a CSAB agreement and who are technically certified upon completion of the warrant officer basic course by 30 September 2008 will be paid a lump sum amount of $20,000.00. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant’s contention that he was unjustly denied his CSAB has been noted and appears to have merit. 2. At the time he received his bonus paperwork he had only 11 days to process the paperwork to the HRC. However, unlike the other students in his class who were allowed to have the school officials process their paperwork, the applicant was required to forward his paperwork to the GSD of his command which caused the applicant to miss the deadline for application to HRC. 3. While there is no doubt that he missed the deadline, it does not appear that it was through any fault of the applicant. Additionally, it does not pass the common sense test that an individual would risk losing a $20,000.00 knowing there was a deadline to meet. 4. In any event, the applicant fulfilled all of the requirements necessary to receive the CSAB and it appears to be inherently inequitable and unjust to deny him a bonus that he otherwise would have received had he been able to process his application along with the other students in his class at the school instead of forwarding it to his command. 5. Therefore, the applicant’s record should be corrected to show that he applied for his CSAB in a timely manner and is entitled to receive his $20,000.00 bonus at this time. BOARD VOTE: ___X____ ___X____ ___X____ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined that the evidence presented was 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 by: a. showing he timely applied for his $20,000.00 CSAB. b. showing his CSAB application was properly received and processed by the appropriate office; and c. paying him his $20,000.00 CSAB, less applicable taxes. __________X____________ 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. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110005750 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110005750 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1