IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	    13 March 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110006723 


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 she be paid an Officer Accession Bonus (OAB) in the amount of $10,000.00 and the Chaplain Loan Repayment Program (CLRP) in the amount of $20,000.00.

2.  The applicant states:

	a.  she accessed into the California Army National Guard (CAARNG) as a chaplain.  It was her understanding, based on information provided to her (verbally and via email), she was entitled to a $10,000.00 OAB and $20,000.00 in loan repayment upon completing the Chaplain Basic Officer Leader Course (CHBOLC).  She has not received the bonus and has no information on her loan repayment.

	b.  in October 2008 she received her commission in the CAARNG as a first lieutenant with the expectation she would receive a $10,000.00 bonus to be awarded upon successful completion of the CHBOLC.  She was told she was entitled to the bonus by her recruiter and the recruiter's assistant.  She was provided documentation supporting this understanding in emails with the recruiter's assistant.  The bonus was also advertised and was a primary reason she joined the National Guard as opposed to other branches of service.

	c.  in June 2008 she had conversations with her original recruiter in the Bay area.  She explained the importance of the bonus to her recruiter and questioned when she would receive it.  He told her the documents were complete and she would receive the bonus as she accessed.
	d.  in September 2008 she had several conversations with the recruiter's assistant regarding her bonus.  They discussed whether the appropriate documents were in place and when the bonus would be received.  The assistant told her the bonus would not be received until after she finished the CHBOLC.  Based on the information she had received there was no reason to suspect that anything additional was needed. 

	e.  when she finished the CHBOLC in September 2010 she expected her bonus to be available.  She was told that it was delayed because there were problems with the bonus system in the CAARNG.  She was also told the problems would be straightened out and she would receive her bonus.

	f.  she tried again to resolve this issue in October and November.  She was informed that paperwork might be missing from her packet.  She explained that she completed all of the appropriate paperwork and was told so by the recruiter's assistant.  She expected this issue to be resolved quickly.

	g.  she is currently deployed to Iraq and she contacted her chain of command in December and January to work this issue.  In March 2011 she was told she needed to appeal.  She is still uncertain which paperwork is missing.

	h.  denial of the bonus is improper because the accession bonus for chaplains was widely advertised by the National Guard.  A chaplaincy bonus is still widely advertised on the web.  She inquired about this bonus as she went through the recruitment process.  To deny the bonus when she inquired several times about the benefit seems unfair.

	i.  she specifically inquired regarding her bonus throughout the accession process and time and time again she was given a different time frame when she would receive it.  The first recruiter told her the bonus would be given as she joined.  The second recruiter, through her assistant, told her it would be given to her upon graduation from CHBOLC.  She was never given a time frame regarding the loan repayment but assumed it would follow the same rules.

	j.  she signed every form provided to her by both recruiters and the recruiter's assistant.  She completed CHBOLC within the prescribed time frame.  Only after she finished all and inquired about her bonus was she told there was a problem.

	k.  she did everything required of her to receive the bonus.  The bonus has been denied to her based on missing paperwork.  This is her first experience with the Army.  She put her trust into the Army's hands, deployed, and fulfilled all that has been required of her.  She requests the promises made to her be fulfilled.   

3.  The applicant provides email correspondence regarding the bonus.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant was appointed as a first lieutenant in the CAARNG on 
9 October 2008.

2.  The available records do not contain a written agreement for an OAB or the CLRP.  However, the applicant provided emails, dated 17 September 2008, from a chaplain recruiting administrative assistant in Los Alamitos, CA which states, in pertinent part:

* I finally got the info [information] on your accession bonus
* It will be quite awhile before you receive it
* You do not receive it until you are in and you have gone to all four phases of training
* Your accession bonus is the same as a signing bonus

3.  She completed the CHBOLC in September 2010.

4.  She was promoted to captain effective 16 June 2011.

5.  In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Chief, Personnel Policy Division, National Guard Bureau.  That office recommended disapproval of the applicant's requests for payment of the OAB in the amount of $10,000.00 and CLRP in the amount of $20,000.00.  The opinion states:

	a.  according to the CAARNG, the applicant failed to execute a contractual agreement for an OAB.  Title 37, U.S. Code (USC), section 308(j)(c) and (e), requires officers to enter into an agreement to serve for a period of time not less than 3 years and specifies that a written agreement is required.    

	b.  no written agreement exists for an OAB in the applicant's permanent record or accessions packet.  Army Reserve/National Guard Selected Reserve Incentives Program Policy Number 07-06 requires that Soldiers enter into a written agreement for an OAB by signing an OAB addendum on the date they accept commission as an officer or appointment as a warrant officer.  Entering into an agreement after the fact for an OAB is not authorized and is in violation of paragraph 1-6 of Army Regulation 135-7 (Incentive Programs) and National Guard Regulation 600-7 (Selected Reserve Incentive Programs).   

	c.  CAARNG memorandum validates there is no record in the applicant's file pertaining to a CLRP agreement.  Title 10, USC, section 16303, authorizes CLRP only for Soldiers who meet qualifications for appointment or commission as a chaplain and who have "signed a written agreement with the secretary concerned to serve not less than three years in the selected reserve."  According to paragraph 1-6 of National Guard Regulation 600-7 retroactive entitlement to contracting for CLRP is not authorized.

	d.  it is a violation of Title 37, USC, section 308j(f), for a Soldier to receive educational assistance that includes CLRP in conjunction with an OAB for an overlapping period of service.  As a result, the applicant may not receive both CLRP and an OAB for the same period of service.  

	e.  the State concurs with this recommendation.  

6.  A copy of the advisory opinion was provided to the applicant to provide comment or rebuttal.  The applicant did not respond within the given time frame.

7.  On 6 March 2012, via email, the applicant indicated her student loans total approximately $130,000.00.

8.  The Loan Repayment Program and the Selected Reserve equivalent,          the Student Loan Repayment Program, are Department of the Army enlistment/accession options authorized by Public Law 99-145.  

9.  The Student Loan Repayment Program provides for the repayment by the Government of a designated portion of any outstanding student loan(s) secured after 1 October 1975.  The loan amount to be repaid is 15 percent of the original balance of the loan plus accrued interest not paid by the Department of Education, or $500.00 plus the accrued interest not paid by the Department of the Education, whichever is greater.  Payments will be made for each year of satisfactory service in the Selected Reserve.  The maximum amount of loans against which the 15 percent is computed will not exceed $20,000.  

10.  The Government will not make any payments to the Soldier or reimburse a Soldier if he or she pays off a student loan.  The Government will only pay the lending institution.






DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends it was her understanding, based on information provided to her (verbally and via email), she was entitled to a $10,000.00 OAB and $20,000.00 in loan repayment (CLRP) upon completing the CHBOLC.  She provided email documentation pertaining to the OAB. 

2.  Although there is no evidence of record which shows she signed a written agreement for an OAB or the CLRP, it appears there may have been an error on the part of her recruiter.  As a matter of equity, therefore, it would be appropriate to grant her some relief.

3.  Since a Soldier may not receive an OAB and the CLRP for the same period of service, and the applicant’s student loans total approximately $130,000.00, it would be more advantageous to correct her records to show she was appointed in the CAARNG on 9 October 2008 for the CLRP but to deny her request for the OAB.   

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

___X____  ___X___  ___X____  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army and Army National Guard records of the individual concerned be corrected by showing she was appointed as a first lieutenant in the CAARNG on 9 October 2008 with the CLRP and that all addenda required for this accession incentive were completed in a timely manner.

2.  The applicant should go through the normal channels/process for loan repayment. 




3.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented was insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result, the Board recommends 
denial of so much of the application that pertains to paying her an OAB in the amount of $10,000.00.  



      _______ _  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)                                         AR20110006723





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110006723



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