IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 6 March 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110012443
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 the Army honor its contract to pay him a $10,000 Selective Reserve Incentive Program (SRIP) officer accession bonus (OAB).
2. The applicant states that prior to his separation from active duty he was approached by the command in-service Reserve Component Recruiter, a sergeant major, who informed him that he could qualify for the bonus if he did so before he was discharged because it was time sensitive and may not be available at a later date. However, he has since been told that he is not eligible for the affiliation bonus and he desires that the Army honor its contract.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his bonus agreement and a copy of his Request for an Exception to Policy for payment of his OAB with associated forms and emails.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. On 14 August 2000 the applicant entered into an Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program (AFHPSP) agreement in which he agreed to serve 3 years of active duty and 5 years of service in the Individual Ready Reserve in return for his medical training.
2. He was commissioned as a United States Army Reserve Medical Corps (USAR) captain (CPT) on 8 June 2003. He was ordered to active duty on 1 July 2006 and served as a Regular Army CPT and physician at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
3. On 4 February 2009 he signed a written agreement for an OAB in the amount of $10,000 in return for his agreement to serve in the Selected Reserve in the critical area of concentration (AOC) of 61H.
4. On 30 June 2009 he was honorably discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 600-8-24, paragraph 3-5 for miscellaneous/general reasons. He had served 3 years of active service and on the same day he accepted a USAR appointment as a MC CPT. He was transferred to a troop program unit in California. He was promoted to the rank of major on 3 October 2009.
5. On 25 January 2011 the applicants commander submitted a request for an exception to policy to pay the applicant his OAB. He indicated that the applicant had been denied his OAB because his AOC of 61H was not on the list of eligible specialties authorized an OAB; however, the applicant would not have chosen to transfer to the USAR had the bonus not been available. The chain of command fully supported the request to pay the applicant his OAB.
6. On 1 June 2011, the US Army Reserve Command (USARC) at Fort McPherson, Georgia disapproved the request for an exception to policy and indicated that the applicant had transferred to the USAR for a 3-year, $75,000 Selected Reserve (SELRES) Special Pay Program and that AOBs were not authorized for health care professionals.
7. Title 37, U.S. Code, section 308j(b), states the Secretary concerned may pay an accession bonus under this section to an eligible person who enters into an agreement with the Secretary to: (a) accept an appointment as an officer in the Armed Forces and (b) to serve in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve in a skill designated under paragraph (2) for a period specified in the agreement. Paragraph (2)(a) states the Secretary concerned shall designate for an Armed Force under the Secretary's jurisdiction the officer skills to which the authority under this subsection is to be applied. Paragraph (2)(b) states a skill may be designated for an Armed Force under paragraph (2)(a) if, to mitigate a current or projected significant shortage of personnel in that Armed Force who are qualified in that skill, it is critical to increase the number of persons accessed into that Armed Force who are qualified in that skill or are to be trained in that skill. Paragraph (2)(b) states an accession bonus payable to a person pursuant to an agreement under this section accrues on the date on which that agreement is accepted by the Secretary concerned.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. There is no doubt that the applicant entered into an agreement for payment of an OAB; however, the agreement was not a valid agreement because his AOC was not authorized payment of an OAB.
2. It is also noted that while the applicant asserts that the bonus was instrumental in his opting to go into the Reserves after his discharge, he still had a Reserve service obligation associated with his AFHPSP agreement and thus was obligated to re-enter the USAR or pay the cost associated with his education.
3. It also appears, based on the comments of the USARC that the applicant also entered into a SELRES Special Pay Program for Health Care Professionals in Critically Short Wartime Specialties and given the absence of evidence to show otherwise it must be presumed that he has received payment for that contract.
4. Therefore, since there was no authorization to enter the applicant into an additional contract for which he was not authorized, it would not be appropriate to grant the applicant a benefit not afforded to others in similar circumstances.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
____X___ ____X __ ____X___ 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.
_______ _ 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) AR20110012443
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110012443
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