IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 5 July 2012 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120008595 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, in effect, correction of his enlistment contract to include a $20,000 Army Civilian Acquired Skills Program (ACASP) bonus. 2. The applicant states, in effect, that based on a U.S. Army Recruiting Command (USAREC) G-3 White Paper recommending that Soldiers receive a $20,000.00 ACASP incentive to enlist in military occupational specialty (MOS) 35P (Signals Intelligence Collector), it was unfair that he did not receive a bonus and he is requesting his enlistment contract be amended to add this incentive. 3. The applicant provides: * a self-authored memorandum for record * a third-party email from the Assistant Inspector General, USAREC, to another Soldier * DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document – Armed Forces of the United States) * Orders 047-10 CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The record shows the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army (RA) for 5 years on 9 November 2011 after previously serving in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) in MOS 09L (Translator Aide). A DA Form 3286 (Statement for Enlistment) completed during his reenlistment processing shows the applicant enlisted for option 9B (U.S. Army Station/Unit/Area/Command Enlistment Program) for training in MOS 35PL (Linguist) in language AD (Arabic). 2. During the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Chief, Incentives and Budget Branch, Enlisted Accessions Division, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1. This official recommends the applicant be granted a $15,000.00 prior-service bonus. 3. The G-1 official also indicates in the advisory opinion that the white paper referred to by the applicant was a draft and as such is not an official document. Only portions of the recommendations contained in the white paper were actually adopted. He further indicates ACASP bonuses are only offered to non-prior service applicants. The applicant was a prior-service applicant and therefore not eligible for this bonus. He further confirms Army policy at the time the applicant left the USAR and entered the Active Army on 9 November 2011 provided for a $15,000.00 prior-service bonus for individuals in MOS 09L. Effective 12 March 2012, a change to the incentives message was enacted that extended the $15,000.00 prior-service bonus to MOS 09L in languages Dhari, Pashtu, and Urdu only or MOS 35P in any skill. 4. On 18 May 2012, the applicant was provided a copy of the G-1 advisory opinion in order to have an opportunity to respond to or rebut its contents. On 21 May 2012, the applicant responded that he concurred with the G-1 advisory opinion. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant's request to amend his 2011 enlistment contract to add authorization for a $20,000.00 ACASP bonus has been carefully considered and found to have partial merit. 2. The evidence of record confirms that based on the Army policy in existence at the time of the applicant's RA enlistment, an ACASP bonus was not authorized for prior-service enlistees. However, the G-1 advisory opinion recommends that the applicant be authorized to receive a $15,000.00 prior-service bonus based on holding MOS 09L in the USAR at the time of his RA enlistment and the shortage that exists of members with language skills in both MOS 35P and 09L. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ___X____ __X____ ___X____ 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 partial relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by amending his record to show he was authorized a prior-service bonus of $15,000.00 in connection with his 2011 enlistment in the RA and by paying him this bonus under normal enlistment bonus payment policy. 2. The Board further determined the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief. As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to authorization for a $20,000.00 ACASP bonus. _______ _ 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) AR20120008595 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120008595 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1