BOARD DATE: 5 January 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110000508
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 that his records be corrected to show he is entitled to the Critical Skill Retention Bonus (CRSB).
2. The applicant states he believes he is entitled to the CRSB because he was qualified in both 25A (General Signal Officer) and 53A (Information Systems Management Officer) areas of concentration (AOCs), his assignment to the AOC 53A in 2008 was not voluntary, and he is now in a 25A AOC position.
3. The applicant provides copies of a 1 February 2008 Army National Guard CRSB implementation memorandum, his CSRB bonus application, his request for payment of the bonus and subsequent denials, a DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record - Part II), three Officer Evaluation Reports, two sets of transfer orders, and an National Guard Bureau (NGB) memorandum.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. After having had prior service, the applicant was appointed a Signal Corps officer in the Minnesota Army National Guard (MNARNG) on 20 May 2001.
2. His 19 August 2007 DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) lists his AOC as only 25A.
3. On 14 July 2008 the applicant was transferred to the Automation Management Office (in AOC 53A) at his own request. Subsequent transfers reassigned the applicant to different units or positions due to reorganization or similar reasons. All of these transfers were for duty in AOC 53A until 1 September 2009 when he was transferred to a 25A AOC position.
4. A Minnesota Data Verification Form signed by the applicant on 6 September 2008 shows a primary AOC of 25A with no secondary or additional AOC listed.
5. On 6 December 2008 the applicant signed an Army Reserve Components CSRB agreement. He indicated he would continue to serve in AOC 25A for a period of three years.
6. On 1 September 2009, he transferred to a 25A AOC position.
7. A Joint Force Headquarters Minnesota memorandum, dated 2 April 2010, shows the applicant's primary AOC as 25A, (Signal, General) with a functional area of 53A (Information Systems Management) effective 28 September 2005.
8. A 19 November 2010 memorandum for the MNARNG from NGB states the applicant did not comply with the provisions of his CSRB agreement as he voluntarily transferred to the critical skill of 53A, for which he was not qualified. The applicant did not return to AOC 25A until 1 September 2009. NGB determined his agreement was erroneous and the applicant was ineligible for payment of the CSRB.
9. An NGB Memorandum, dated 1 February 2008, provided the implementation policy and procedures for the CSRB incentive. Attached to the memorandum is a listing of the AOCs that are eligible for this bonus. Included in the list are both AOC 25A and 53A.
10. The NGB Incentives Programs advised the staff of the board that both 25A and 53A were still on the critical skills list for entitlement to the CSRB at the time the applicant transferred back to the AOC 25A in September 2009.
11. Staff contact with the applicant determined that the applicant would accept a correction to his CSRB contract to show his three-year commitment would commence with the date he transferred back to the 25A AOC.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant served in either the AOC 25A and 53A throughout his commissioned career. At the time he signed the CSRB agreement the applicant was not in AOC 25A, having voluntarily transferred to a position in AOC 53A several months earlier.
2. The 2 April 2010 Joint Force Headquarters Minnesota memorandum shows the applicant has been qualified in both AOC 25A and 53A since at least 2005, three years prior to the CSRB agreement. While he was not officially in AOC 25A at the time he signed the agreement he was serving in his secondary AOC 53A, which was also a critical AOC for which this bonus was authorized.
3. The 19 November 2010 NGB memorandum incorrectly states the applicant was not qualified in the AOC 53A, as documented by the MNARNG 2 April 2010 memorandum. The CSRB contract was improperly completed and accepted as the applicant at the time was not serving in the AOC indicated on the contract.
4. However, not only has the Army already received the benefit of the applicant's continued service for the period contracted for in his CSRB agreement in a critical AOC for the required three-year period to qualify for award of the bonus, the applicant is willing to accept the commencement date of his three-year obligation as the date he transferred back into the 25A AOC.
5. Therefore, it is appropriate to correct the CSRB contract to show the applicant agreed to serve for three years in AOC 25A, commencing 1 September 2009, and that he is entitled to receipt of the CSRB bonus payment upon completion of that period of service.
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 State Army National Guard and Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by correcting his CSRB contract to show he agreed to serve in AOC 25A for three years, commencing 1 September 2009, and that he is entitled to receipt of the CSRB bonus payment upon completion of that period of obligated service.
_______ _ 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) AR20110000508
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