BOARD DATE: 11 December 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120004283
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 he be paid the second portion of a National Guard Critical Skills Retention Bonus (CSRB).
2. The applicant states he was granted the bonus and received the first installment of the of it in 2008. When he inquired when he would receive the second portion, he was told that the contract documentation had been lost. He provided information to substantiate his claim and was told he would receive the bonus only to later be told that this later documentation had also been lost.
3. The applicant provides copies of:
* a 2008 bank statement
* a Memorandum For Record from Lieutenant H___-H___
* a Memorandum For Record from Captain (CPT) H____
* A request for an exception to policy (ETP) from the Alaska Army National Guard (ALARNG), Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel,
* his request for the second installment of his bonus the denial memorandum for the bonus
* a National Guard Bureau denial of the ETP
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant is an AKARNG captain with over 14 years of service. He is currently on the promotion list for major.
2. In 2006, he transferred to the AKARNG from the Florida ARNG. He was granted Federal Recognition as an Military Intelligence Officer in the Area of Concentration (AOC) 35D (All Source Intelligence).
3. In 2008, the applicant was serving as the Assistant S2 with reassignment as the Assistant Security/Intelligence Officer for the 207th Infantry Group in November 2008.
4. A review of National Guard critical AOC's for 2008, shows the AOC 35D was considered a critical AOC at that time. The 3-year retention bonus at this time was $20,000.00 to be paid in two increments. Several documents report that the applicant signed a CSRB agreement in August 2008.
5. The applicant's bank statement shows a deposit of $384.81 from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) on 27 August 2008 and a $7,499.25 DFAS deposit on 29 August 2008.
6. The applicant inquired about the second half of his bonus and was advised that there was no record of his CSRB agreement documentation.
7. The two officers who had been assigned, in 2008, as Recruiting and Retention officers submitted Memorandums For Record on the applicant's behalf. Both officers state they recalled the applicant's completion of the CSRB documents and recall that the documents were forwarded for payment and inclusion in the applicant's file.
8. The applicant's command requested he be granted an Exception to Policy (ETP) and afforded the second half of his CSRB.
9. On 8 December 2011, the Nation Guard Bureau, Chief, Guard Strength Directorate, denied the ETP. The Chief stated the applicant had signed the CSRB Written Agreement on 5 August 2008 for the critical skills AOC 35D, for which he was qualified. At the time the second installment was due a copy of the agreement could not be located. The Chief cited Department of Defense Instruction (DODI) 1205.21, paragraph 6.2, which requires each recipient to sign a written agreement to receive the bonus. The State Incentive Manger was to terminate the incentive without recoupment.
10. A copy of the applicant's pay record at DFAS, dated 30 September 2008, shows the applicant was processed for a $20,000.00 CSRB. He received half of the bonus amount, from which $2,499.75 was withheld for taxes, leaving him a payment of $7,499.25.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant qualified for and was granted a $20,000.00 CSRB in 2008.
2. It appears that due to improper record keeping, an actual copy of the agreement was not retained in his Army Human Resource Record (AMHRR).
3. The statements from command personnel, who were involved in the processing of the CSRB, attest to the fact that the applicant signed the proper written agreement in August 2008.
4. These statements are supported by his pay records that clearly show that, in August 2008, he was granted a $20,000.00 CSRB. The pay record shows issuance of payment for half of the bonus, less taxes, and the applicant's bank statement shows he received the first half of the bonus on 29 August 2008.
5. The applicant has met his obligation to serve in his AOC for over three years and it is an injustice to deny him the second half of his CSRB due to loss of the applicable form. The loss of this form was through no fault of his own.
6. Therefore, the applicant's records should be corrected to show he completed the CSRB written agreement on 5 August 2008, a copy of the agreement was properly filed in his records, and he is entitled to the second half of the bonus at this time.
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:
a. showing a completed the CSRB written agreement dated 5 August 2008 was properly filed in his records; and
b. directing DFAS to pay the applicant the second half of the bonus, less appropriate taxes.
_______ _ 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.
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