IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  17 June 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090020668 


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 award of the officer accession bonus (OAB).

2.  The applicant states he was not counseled that he needed to sign an addendum prior to receiving his commission; he has fulfilled all other requirements.  The error was found as a result of the Officer Strength Management Office's misplacing his paperwork.

3.  The applicant provides copies of his appointment orders, orders awarding him his area of concentration (AOC), two requests for exception to policy, a personal statement, a statement from his recruiter, and an exception to policy denial memorandum.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant was appointed as a second lieutenant in the Ohio Army National Guard (OHARNG) on 14 June 2008.  He completed the Basic Officer Leaders Course (BOLC) Phase III and was awarded AOC 25A (Signal Corps, Basic) on 5 February 2009.

2.  Shortly after the completion of BOLC, the applicant inquired as to when he would receive his OAB.  He was advised that his paperwork was missing and he commenced the necessary actions to replace the missing documents.

3.  In a 5 September 2009 sworn statement, the applicant's recruiter stated he had completed the accession paperwork at the applicant's home in June 2008, including the OAB addendum.  The paperwork was left with the sergeant in charge of handling the bonus addendums at Beightler Armory.  The recruiter states the applicant is entitled to the OAB and had properly completed the required paperwork prior to being commissioned.

4.  On 16 September 2009, the Officer Strength Manager, Major P____ M____, accepted responsibility for the loss of the applicant's paperwork by his office.  He stated that through no fault of the applicant the required paperwork was not available and had to be completed after the fact.  He requested an exception to policy be granted showing the applicant was authorized receipt of the OAB.

5.  On 8 October 2009, the Education Services and Incentives Officer, OHARNG, requested an exception to policy to grant the applicant the OAB.  The request stated that through no fault of the applicant, his paperwork for the OAB had been lost.  It was noted that the recruiter had not been available to attend the commissioning, but had made arrangements to complete his paperwork the following week.  The originals of the incentives paperwork were lost somewhere in the Officer Strength Management Office.

6.  On 14 October 2009, the Chief, Education, Incentives, and Employment Division, National Guard Bureau, denied the exception to policy stating that in order for the applicant to receive the OAB, he had to have completed the addendum prior to or at the time he was commissioned and no retroactive eligibility was authorized.

7.  In the development of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Chief, Personnel Division, National Guard Bureau.  It recommended that the applicant not be penalized for the administrative mistake which resulted in the denial of the OAB and recommended he be paid the $10,000 OAB he was told he would receive.

8.  A copy of the advisory opinion was forwarded to the applicant for comment.  As of this time no comments have been received from the applicant.

9.  Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation, volume 7A, provides that an accession bonus may be paid to an officer who enters into an agreement with the Secretary of the Military Department concerned to accept an appointment as an officer in the Armed Forces and to serve in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve or National Guard in a designated skill for the period specified in the agreement.  The accession bonus is payable in lump sum or in installment on the date the Secretary of the Military Department accepts the officer's agreement.


DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant states he was not counseled that he needed to sign an addendum prior to receiving his commission and he has fulfilled all other requirements.  The error was found as a result of the Officer Strength Management Office's misplacing his paperwork.

2.  The available evidence shows the applicant did complete the necessary paperwork in a proper and timely fashion and through no fault of his own, it was lost before being properly processed.  The administrative section has accepted responsibility for the loss of the paperwork.

3.  The applicant's recruiter states in a sworn statement that the applicant was eligible for and properly completed the necessary paperwork to receive the OAB prior to accepting his commission.  The review by personnel confirmed the applicant was eligible for the OAB and supported the recruiter's testimony.  It was determined that through no fault of the applicant, the paperwork was lost and the applicant should not be penalized for the loss of that paperwork.

4.  Therefore, as a matter of equity, the applicant's records should be corrected to show that he completed all necessary documentation including the required addendum for receipt of the OAB on the date of his commissioning and is entitled to receipt of the OAB.

BOARD VOTE:

_____x___  ____x____  ___x_____  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all State Army National Guard and Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

	a.  showing he executed and signed an OAB addendum on the date of his appointment/commissioning and is, therefore, fully entitled to payment of the OAB in accordance with the terms of his contract and

	b.  having the Defense Finance and Accounting Service remit payment to him in the amount of $10,000, the total amount of the OAB, as a result of this correction.



      ____________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)                                         AR20090020668



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090020668



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