BOARD DATE: 23 March 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090015699
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 correction of his 6-year reenlistment date in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) from 20 March 2008 to 9 May 2008 and payment of a $15,000.00 reenlistment bonus based on his reenlistment.
2. The applicant states his career counselor informed him he qualified for the bonus if he reenlisted and instructed him to return his reenlistment paperwork by a certain date. He did so and subsequently reenlisted for a period of 6 years on 20 March 2008. When he claimed his bonus, he was told he reenlisted 39 days too early. He was more than 12 months out from the expiration date of his term of service (ETS) at the time of his reenlistment.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his previous DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), dated 8 June 1997; a complete copy of his DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document), dated 20 March 2008; copies of various electronic mail (email) messages from his career counselor; and copies of exception to policy requests, dated 1 October 2008 and 9 April 2009, and denial memorandum, dated 15 June 2009, in support of his request.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. Having had prior active service, the applicant's records show he enlisted in the USAR on 25 March 2000. He held military occupational specialty 68E (Dental Specialist), served through multiple extensions or reenlistments in the USAR, and attained the rank/grade of staff sergeant/E-6.
2. His last reenlistment in the USAR was a 6-year term executed on 27 April 2003, thus establishing his ETS date as 27 April 2009.
3. On 20 July 2006, he was ordered to active duty for a period of 1 year for contingency operations for active duty operational support. He was assigned to the Medical Support Unit, USAR Medical Command, Tampa, FL, and was later reassigned to the Army Hospital, Medical Task Force Shelby, Camp Shelby, MS.
4. On 18 March 2008, by email, a U.S. Army Dental Command career counselor notified him that his reenlistment packet must be completed and forwarded to the USAR Medical Command no later than 28 March 2008.
5. On 20 March 2008, he executed a 6-year reenlistment in the USAR. Item 8b (Remarks) of his DD Form 4 shows he reenlisted for a troop program unit and was assigned a bonus control number. This item further shows the entry, "I understand that the effective date of my reenlistment is 1 day following my current ETS date of 20090426; therefore, the effective date is 20090427. I further understand that bonus payment would begin on the execution date."
6. Item 2 (Remarks) of section XII of his DA Form 3540 (Certificate and Acknowledgement of U.S. Army Reserve Service Requirements and Methods of Fulfillment) shows he had not completed more than 20 years of total military service from his pay entry base date upon execution of this written contract and that he was reenlisting for 6 years for a bonus amount of $15,000.00.
7. On 1 October 2008, his officer in charge (OIC) (colonel) submitted an exception to policy request to pay him the bonus. The OIC remarked that the applicant had reenlisted 39 days prior to his 12-month reenlistment window due to an administrative oversight.
8. On 9 April 2009, the Command Retention and Transition Sergeant Major, USAR Medical Command, submitted a request for an exception to policy for the applicant to receive his bonus. He remarked the applicant was misinformed by his career counselor causing him to reenlist 39 days too early.
9. On 15 June 2009, by memorandum, the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, USAR Command, Fort McPherson, GA, denied the applicant's request. He remarked that the applicant had reenlisted 30 days outside his window of eligibility and thus was ineligible for the bonus. The G-1 further offered the applicant the option to remain in his unit without the bonus, request a discharge based on a defective reenlistment, or petition the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR). His records and this application indicate he elected to remain in his unit and petition the ABCMR.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant contends that his reenlistment date should be adjusted by 39 days and he should be paid a $15,000.00 reenlistment bonus.
2. The evidence of record confirms the applicant was notified by his career counselor to submit his reenlistment request no later than 28 March 2008. He did so in good faith. He subsequently executed a 6-year reenlistment which entitled him to a $15,000.00 bonus. However, he was outside his reenlistment window when he reenlisted and thus was ineligible for the bonus.
3. Nevertheless, it appears that a miscommunication caused him to reenlist 39 days prior to the opening of his reenlistment window. This was not his fault. If he had been told he would have had to wait until his window opens he would have done so. Therefore, as a matter of equity, his reenlistment contract should be adjusted and his bonus should be paid.
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 voiding his reenlistment contract, dated 20 March 2008; reconstructing a new reenlistment contract and antedate as 27 April 2009, the first day of his reenlistment window; and paying his reenlistment bonus.
x
___________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.
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