IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  19 April 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100023464 


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 DA Form 61 (Application for Appointment) to show he signed this form on 7 September 2007 instead of
7 April 2008 so he can qualify for the $10,000.00 Officer Accession Bonus (OAB).

2.  The applicant states he accepted a commission as an officer based on the promise that he would receive a $10,000.00 bonus once he became branch qualified.  He is now branch qualified, but he has not received the bonus.  Changing the date he signed the DA Form 61 to an earlier date will result in him receiving the bonus.  He states that he signed the DA Form 61 on 7 April 2008, but he began the process on 7 September 2007.  That is when he initiated a local data sheet, scheduled a date to take the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery, and other administrative steps.

3.  The applicant provides the following documents:

* a DA Form 61
* a Correction - Written Agreement Officer Accession Bonus Acknowledgement
* a DA Form 1059 (Service School Academic Evaluation Report)
* his appointment orders
* orders appointing him as a Reserve officer
* his DA Form 71 (Oath of Office - Military Personnel)
* 
a Memorandum for Record (MFR) from an Army Career Counselor and an Army Reserve Recruiter
* a memorandum relating to his exception to policy request
* a letter from the Command Inspector General, 200th Military Police Command
* a memorandum announcing Fiscal Year 2007 2d Half Selected Reserve Incentive Programs (SRIP) Policy Guidance for 1 May 2007 through
30 September 2007 with listing and payment schedule

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR).

2.  His record shows he applied for appointment as a commissioned officer in the USAR by submitting a DA Form 61 (Application for Appointment), dated 7 April 2008.

3.  A memorandum from U.S. Army Human Resources Command, dated
18 August 2008, states that upon his acceptance, he is appointed as a second lieutenant (2LT) in the USAR.  He executed a DA Form 71 on 20 August 2008 that appointed him as a 2LT Reserve commissioned officer.

4.  As a result of his appointment, Orders C-08-815589, issued by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, St. Louis, MO, dated 28 August 2008, assigned him to the 63rd Regional Readiness Command (RRC), effective 20 August 2008.

5.  On 19 June 2009, the applicant submitted an exception to policy request so he could receive the $10,000.00 OAB.  In his request he indicated that he was advised on 14 August 2008 that he was eligible for and would receive the bonus after he became branch qualified.  He further listed the names of those who advised him of his eligibility for the bonus and stated that in good faith, he accepted the word of an Army officer and noncommissioned officer that he would receive the bonus.  However, on 11 February 2010, the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, Headquarters, U.S. Army Reserve Command disapproved his request.  The basis for the disapproval was that he applied for a commission on
7 April 2008 and signed the written agreement on 30 March 2009.  The policy is that eligibility for the bonus is based on the application date.  On the date of his application (7 April 2008), he did not meet the eligibility criteria because his area of concentration (AOC) was not on the FY08 SRIP list.


6.  He submitted a copy of a certified true copy of a Correction - Written Agreement Officer Accession Bonus Acknowledgement that has the date
30 March 2009 next to the applicant's signature.

7.  To support his request he provides a copy a memorandum from the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), subject:  Selected Reserve Incentive Program (SRIP) for Fiscal Year 2007, dated 12 March 2007, that announced approval of the FY 2007 SRIP for the Army National Guard and USAR.  This listing covers the period 1 May 2007 through 30 September 2007 that lists his AOC of 31A as being eligible for the $10,000 bonus.

8.  An MFR from a staff sergeant (SSG) Army Reserve Career Counselor, dated 13 July 2009, shows the SRIP list she used to advise the applicant indicated he would be eligible for the $10,000 Officer Accession Bonus.

9.  An MFR from a sergeant first class (SFC) Army Reserve Recruiter who assisted the applicant, dated 20 July 2010, states he was interviewed in September 2007 and a week later the initial Direct Commission Process started.  He states he met with the applicant several times to ensure the packet building process was going smoothly.  The entire process took approximately 8 months to complete from the initial interview to the DA Form 71 being administered.  The SFC states that any documentation he would have had on file pertaining to the applicant has been shredded in accordance with standing operating procedures.

10.  The applicant became branch qualified when he completed the Military Police Basic Officer Course on 30 September 2009.  He then initiated inquiries into the process required for him to receive the $10,000.00 bonus.   He was informed that he was not eligible for the bonus because his AOC of 31A was not on the FY08 2d Half SRIP list. 

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  According to the applicant's account it took him from September 2007 until April 2008 to actually apply for a commission.

2.  The applicant's AOC was not on the SRIP list to receive a bonus on the date he signed the DA Form 61 applying for appointment as a commissioned officer in the USAR.  

3.  Available evidence, to include an MFR from his recruiter, shows he began the process on 7 September 2007 when he initiated a local data sheet, scheduled a date to take the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery, and took other administrative steps.  His AOC, 31A, was on the SRIP list at that time.  It took several months to gather all the required documents and in that time a new SRIP list was published.  However, his recruiting personnel did not inform him that his AOC was no longer on the list as being eligible for the $10,000 bonus. 

4.  In the applicant's case, he followed all the instructions and complied with all terms of the contract offered to him by his reserve career counselor.  He should not be penalized for an error committed by a career counselor whose job was to ensure accuracy of the information she provided the applicant.  There is no available evidence to show he was told that his AOC was no longer on the SRIP list and he was no longer eligible for the $10,000 bonus.  He acted in good faith and he has fulfilled the terms of his contract.  As matter of equity, he should be entitled to the bonus.

5.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant's request should be granted.

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 showing he signed his DA Form 61 on 7 September 2007, making him eligible for the $10,000 OAB authorized for AOC 31A, and by paying him the $10,000 OAB due him 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)                                         AR20100023889



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100023464



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