BOARD DATE:	  15 December 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110010464 


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 to be paid an Officer Affiliation Bonus of $10,000.00.

2.  She states that at the time she signed her contract, officers assigned to Table of Distribution and Allowances (TDA) units were not authorized to receive the Officer Affiliation Bonus.  She contends it was not her fault that she was assigned to a TDA unit instead of a Modified Table of Organization and Equipment (MTOE) unit upon her discharge from active duty (AD).

3.  She adds that shortly after her discharge from active duty, the National Guard Bureau (NGB) published Policy Number 10-01, dated 20 January 2010, subject:  Army National Guard (ARNG) Selected Reserve Incentive Program (SRIP) Guidance for Fiscal Year 2010 (FY10), 1 October 2009-30 September 2010, which authorized officers assigned to TDA units to receive the Officer Affiliation Bonus.

4.  The applicant provides:

* DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty)
* assignment orders
* Written Agreement Officer Affiliation Bonus Addendum
* SRIP Contract
* ARNG Information Management and Reporting Center Soldier Information printout
* request for an exception to policy to receive the bonus

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant was commissioned as a U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) second lieutenant on 6 May 2005 with concurrent call to AD.  After completion of training, she served in area of concentration 25A (Signal Officer).  She is currently serving in the North Carolina ARNG in the rank of captain (CPT).

2.  Her record contains a copy of Orders 028-0253, Headquarters, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Bragg, NC, dated 28 January 2010, showing she was reassigned to the Fort Bragg Transition Center with a reporting date of 29 January 2010.

3.  On 30 March 2010, the applicant signed an Officer Affiliation Bonus Written Agreement.  Item 3c of this agreement shows she agreed to affiliation into an MTOE unit that was not identified as an NGB critical unit identification code.

4.  Orders 090-0263, Headquarters, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Bragg, dated 31 March 2010, show Orders 028-0253 were amended to show she was further assigned to Joint Forces Headquarters (JFHQ), Raleigh, NC.  The reason and authority for the amendment shows a DA Form 5691-R (Request for Reserve Component Assignment Orders) was completed.

5.  The Officer Affiliation Bonus Written Agreement also shows she was assigned a bonus control number (BCN) and this document was authenticated by an officer recruiter in the rank of CPT on 19 May 2010.

6.  On 27 May 2010, she was honorably discharged due to miscellaneous/general reasons after serving 5 years and 18 days of net active service.  Item 9 (Command to Which Transferred) of her DD Form 214 shows she was assigned to the USAR Control Group (Reinforcement).

7.  On 28 May 2010, she accepted an appointment as a signal officer in the North Carolina ARNG.  The officer administering the oath was the same officer recruiter who also signed her Officer Affiliation Bonus Written Agreement.

8.  She provides North Carolina ARNG Orders 154-802, dated 3 June 2010, showing she was assigned to JFHQ, Raleigh, as the Joint Incident Site Communications Capability Officer in Charge effective 28 May 2010.

9.  A memorandum for record (MFR) written by her officer recruiter, dated 28 June 2010, subject:  Request Exception to Policy for Bonus on In-Service Recruit [Applicant], states the North Carolina ARNG had a stabilization policy for Soldiers coming off active duty (AD) and it made more sense for the State to place the applicant in a TDA unit until the expiration of her stabilization period.
10.  The MFR also stated the applicant was willing to be reassigned to an MTOE unit and a BCN was issued on 19 May 2010, well in advance of her oath of office.  The MFR also stated that both he and the applicant were unaware of any problems until they were notified by the State Incentive Manager that the bonus was being denied because she was not assigned to an MTOE position.

11.  Her record contains a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), dated 19 July 2010, amending item 9 of her DD Form 214 to read, "JFHQ, W8BPAA, 4105 Reedy Creek Road, Raleigh, NC  27607//Nothing Follows."

12.  The applicant provides a memorandum from the Chief, Education, Incentives and Employment Division, NGB, dated 6 December 2010, subject:  Request for Exception to Policy for an Officer Affiliation Bonus Manual Control Number ([Applicant]), showing her request was denied because she was sworn into a TDA unit versus an MTOE unit on 28 May 2010.

13.  The iteration of the ARNG SRIP Guidance for FY10, dated 20 January 2010, which governs ARNG incentives for contracts written between 1 May and 30 September 2010, lists the eligibility criteria for the Officer Affiliation Bonus in paragraph 12.  Affiliation with an MTOE is not a listed criterion for receipt of this bonus.

14.  On a later date, an update to ARNG SRIP Guidance for FY10 was published which governed contracts written during the period 16 June through 30 September 2010.  Paragraph 12 pertains to the $10,000.00 Officer Affiliation Bonus and does not list affiliation with an MTOE or TDA unit as a criterion for receipt of the bonus.

15.  Both versions of the ARNG SRIP Guidance for FY10 show the criteria for receipt of the Officer Accession Bonus in paragraph 11.  The Officer Accession Bonus applied only to Soldiers who never held a commission as an officer or an appointment as a warrant officer and must have been in the grade of second lieutenant or warrant officer one.  Assignment to an MTOE unit (TDA unit later added) is in the list of criteria for receipt of that bonus.

16.  Title 37, U.S. Code, section 308j, provides the legal authority to provide an affiliation bonus to officers in the Selected Reserves.  It states that the Secretary concerned may pay an affiliation bonus under this section to an eligible officer in any of the armed forces who enters into an agreement with the Secretary to serve, for the period specified in the agreement, in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve of an armed force under the Secretary’s jurisdiction in a critical officer skill.  It further states that upon acceptance of a written agreement by the Secretary concerned under this section, the total amount of the bonus payable under the agreement becomes fixed.  The agreement shall specify whether the bonus is to be paid in one lump sum or in installments.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's contention that she should be paid an Officer Affiliation Bonus in the amount of $10,000.00 per her written agreement was carefully considered and shows merit.

2.  The available evidence shows she transitioned from AD to the North Carolina ARNG and executed an Officer Affiliation Bonus Written Agreement for a $10,000.00 bonus.  On 6 December 2010, her request for an exception to policy was denied because she was sworn into a TDA unit verses an MTOE unit on 28 May 2010.

3.  Paragraph 12 of the ARNG SRIP Guidance for FY10 which was published for the period covered by her contract does not list affiliation with an MTOE or TDA unit as a criterion for receipt of the bonus.  It is reasonable to presume the criteria listed in paragraph 11 for the Officer Accession Bonus was inadvertently used to deny her request.

4.  As such, the facts of the case show the applicant fulfilled her end of the agreement and continues to serve in the North Carolina ARNG.  As a matter of equity, relief should therefore be granted in this case by:

	a.  appropriately amending her Officer Affiliation Bonus Written Agreement in accordance with the prescribed policy in effect at the time she executed her oath of office in the North Carolina ARNG;

	b.  honoring the Officer Affiliation Bonus Written Agreement she executed on 19 May 2010; and

	c.  instructing the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) to remit payment to the individual concerned in the amount of $10,000.00, the total amount of the bonus to which she is entitled, in accordance with Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552, and Title 37, U.S. Code, section 308j.



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 is 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:

	a.  appropriately amending her Officer Affiliation Bonus Written Agreement in accordance with the prescribed policy in effect at the time she executed her oath of office in the North Carolina ARNG;

	b.  honoring the Officer Affiliation Bonus Written Agreement she executed on 19 May 2010; and

	c.  instructing DFAS to remit payment to the individual concerned in the amount of $10,000.00, the total amount of the bonus to which she is entitled, in accordance with Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552, and Title 37, U.S. Code, section 308j.



      __________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)                                         AR20110010464



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110010464



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