BOARD DATE:	  12 January 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100015216 


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 remaining warrant officer accession bonus in the amount of $9,700.00.

2.  The applicant states that due to unclear guidance spelled out in Army Policy Guidance and Policy updates with regard to eligibility of Soldiers and his transfer from a Troop Program Unit (TPU) to the Individual Mobilization Augmentation (IMA) Program he had been unjustly denied the total payment of his warrant officer accession bonus which at the time of his application was $10,000.  He goes on to state that when he originally applied he was found eligible under his TPU.  The terminology “Selected Reserve” was used as the basis for determining eligibility and it was his understanding that Selected Reserve was inclusive of TPU, IMA, and Active Guard Reserve (AGR) Soldiers and he has never been counseled differently.  He further states that he has read messages clarifying eligibility and he believes that the lack of clarity in the written and verbal guidance expressed to him was unclear and created an environment of misinformation that led him to make an uninformed decision of unit transfer and benefits.

3.  The applicant provides:

* A copy of his bonus packet submitted to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS)
* An Explanation Memo signed by the applicant
* A letter from his commander


CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant was serving in the pay grade of E-6 in a United States Army Reserve (USAR) military intelligence company as a counter-intelligence agent when he submitted his written agreement Officer Accession Bonus acknowledgment on 6 March 2006.  His agreement stated that in connection with his appointment as an officer and agreement to serve with the USAR he met the eligibility criteria for the bonus because he was not being accessed for continuous active duty.  His accession bonus was for $10,000.

2.  The applicant accepted appointment as a USAR warrant officer one (WO1) on 20 May 2008.  He completed the warrant officer candidate course in May 2008 and the warrant officer basic course on 22 August 2008.  On 28 August 2008, he requested his unit process his paperwork to receive his warrant officer accession bonus.  He was assigned to the 301st Military Intelligence Battalion in Phoenix, Arizona at the time.   

3.  On 12 September 2008, he accepted a voluntary assignment to the Joint Exercise Deployment Detachment (JEDD) in Alexandria, Virginia which involved his being ordered to active duty for 365 days.  His records indicate that he has continued to serve on active duty and was promoted to the rank of chief warrant officer two (CW2) on 20 May 2010.

4.  It appears that the applicant was paid $300.00 of the bonus for the portion of time he served in the TPU before the bonus was terminated by the U.S. Army Reserve Command.

5.  Meanwhile, on 26 April 2010, the applicant’s commander submitted a request for an exception to policy for the applicant to receive his accession bonus based on his receiving less than adequate information regarding his decision to transfer to an IMA position or to remain in place.

6.  A review of the available records failed to show any indication that the applicant attempted to return to his TPU when informed that he would lose his bonus entitlement.

7.  In the processing of this case a staff advisory opinion was obtained from the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff G-1 which opines, in effect, that the applicant’s request should be disapproved because Department of Defense Instruction 1235.11 states that IMAs shall not be assigned to units of the Reserve Component force structure and the USAR G-1 published USAR FY08 2d Half Selected Reserve Incentive Program (SRIP) Policy guidance on 26 March 2008 (6 months before the applicant’s transfer) that specified the accession bonus is not authorized for assignment to an IMA or AGR position.  Accordingly, the Reserve Command properly terminated his bonus.

8.  The advisory opinion was provided to the applicant for comment and to date no response has been received by the staff of the Board.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s contention that he should be paid his accession bonus because he was not properly informed that he would become ineligible to receive it if he accepted an assignment to the JEDD has been noted and found to lack merit.

2.  The applicant has provided no evidence to show that he inquired about his eligibility before accepting the assignment and it is noted that he has been on continuous active duty almost immediately since becoming eligible for the bonus, which clearly was specified in his contract as being a disqualifier. 

3.  Additionally, there is no evidence in the available records to show that he attempted to return to his TPU or an eligible status in order to receive his bonus when he discovered that he was no longer eligible. 

4.  In any event, the policy guidance for payment of the SRIP clearly specifies that IMAs are not eligible for payment.  Accordingly, his payment was properly terminated and he has failed to show through the evidence submitted with his application and the evidence of record that the termination of his bonus was unjust and not in accordance with published guidance.

5.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy the aforementioned requirement.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION


BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned.




      _______ _   _______   ___
               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)                                         AR20100015216





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100015216



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