IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  8 November 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120005764 


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, in effect, correction of his record to show he is entitled to a $10,000 officer accession bonus (OAB).

2.  He states he was promised a $10,000 bonus when he was commissioned in the Army National Guard (ARNG), but has not received it.  His request for an exception to policy (ETP) was denied, and he was informed he was not going to get a bonus because his contract was not properly signed and did not bear a bonus control number.  He completed the Basic Officer Leader Course in good faith and assumed he would get the bonus as promised.  He went through his chain of command and the Inspector General (IG) before being denied an ETP.  

3.  He states personnel responsible for assigning a bonus control number did not do so, and the first lieutenant who was the officer in charge (OIC) did not sign his paperwork.  Their failure should not cost him the bonus that he deserves.  He has fulfilled his obligation to this point.

4.  He provides:

* a Written Agreement – OAB Addendum
* his oath of office
* a self-authored e-mail
* two memoranda



CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  On 13 May 2010, the applicant was discharged from his status as a non-scholarship Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) cadet and took the oath of office as a Reserve commissioned officer in the rank/grade of second lieutenant (2LT)/O-1.  

2.  On the same date, he applied for Federal recognition as an ARNG officer and appointment in the ARNG to fill a position as a platoon leader in area of concentration (AOC) 31A (Military Police (MP)).

3.  On 17 June 2010, the Texas ARNG (TXARNG) issued orders appointing him to the ARNG position requested in his application for Federal recognition effective 14 May 2010.  

4.  On 12 November 2010, NGB issued orders extending Federal recognition to him as a 2LT/O-1 in the MP Corps effective 14 May 2010.

5.  A DA Form 1059 (Service School Academic Evaluation Report) shows he completed the MP Basic Officer Leader Course (BOLC) on 7 December 2010.

6.  He is currently serving as a first lieutenant/O-2 in MP Corps assigned to a TXARNG unit.

7.  His record is void of documentation pertaining to a $10,000 OAB.

8.  He provides a Written Agreement – OAB Addendum.  The agreement shows he indicated he was being accessed into the NGB-approved critical skill of "MP" and would receive a bonus of $10,000 paid in two installments.  The first 50 percent (%) installment was to be processed upon completion of BOLC III and qualification in his critical skill.  The second and final payment of 50% was to be processed on the third-year anniversary of his agreement.  

9.  He signed the Written Agreement – OAB Addendum on 13 May 2010.  The spaces provided for the name and grade of a witnessing officer, the signature of a witnessing officer, and a bonus control number are blank.  A note below the space provided for the bonus control number states the bonus control number is a mandatory requirement.

10.  He provides an e-mail, dated 18 October 2011, he sent to a TXARNG noncommissioned officer (NCO) regarding his OAB.  He stated, in part:

I received this contract from the ROTC Brigade that had sent up all of my other paperwork out of [Fort] Sam Houston[, Texas].  [Sergeant F.] was my [point of contact], and [Captain (CPT) P.] was the OIC.  When I signed the contract to choose the National Guard as an officer, they promised me a $10,000 bonus.  The first half was supposed to come upon the completion of BOLC B, and the second half was supposed to come at my three year mark.  The ROTC Brigade told me that I was eligible for the [OAB] since my branch qualified.  In good faith, they told me that the bonus control number would be automatically sent up once branch got my [DA Form] 1059.  In good faith, I completed BOLC B on December 7, 2010, and began to wait on my bonus.  I gave my [DA Form] 1059 and my bonus paperwork to [First Sergeant (1SG) S.] of the 717th MP [Company] and also talked to my commander, CPT [T.] about it.  1SG S. told me that he repeatedly talked to branch but nobody was getting on it for whatever reason.  I did check with my 1SG monthly at drill to see if anything new was going on until June or July when my readiness NCO, [Staff Sergeant K.] told me to try the source of the bonus.  When I went back to the source of the document, CPT P. instructed me to go through IG.  It seems as if somewhere somebody forgot to put the contract number on it, and as a result I have not received the bonus that I was promised.

11.  He provides a memorandum, subject:  Request for ETP on a Bonus Addendum Signed by [the Applicant], dated 1 November 2011.  The memorandum shows the Adjutant, Headquarters, Recruiting and Retention Battalion, TXARNG, Austin, TX, requested an ETP from NGB for the missing signatures on the applicant's Written Agreement – OAB Addendum.  The memorandum states:

* the applicant signed the addendum prior to commissioning, but the service representative and witnessing officer did not sign or date the addendum
* the applicant was entitled to a $10,000 OAB on the effective date of his commission
* the TXARNG established policies to prevent the situation from happening in the future

12.  The memorandum requested that the missing signatures be disregarded, that the effective date of the bonus be the date the applicant was commissioned, and that the applicant be paid his bonus.

13.  He provides a copy of NGB's response to the request for ETP, dated 11 January 2012.  NGB denied the request and directed the State Incentive Manager to void the contract based on the absence of a government representative's signature and the absence of a bonus control number.

14.  National Guard Regulation 600-7 (Selected Reserve Incentive Programs (SRIP)), chapter 4, paragraph 4-5, states, "Affiliation Bonus contracts are not valid without a bonus control number.  Control bonus [Bonus control numbers] will be issued from the State Incentive Management Office and reported to the NGB.  The State Incentive Manager will verify the bonus addendum form for control number, correct MSO [Military Service Obligation] computation and a valid unit position."

15.  Title 37, United States 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.  

	a.  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.  

	b.  Paragraph (2)(b) states a skill may be designated for an Armed Force under subparagraph (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 (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.

16.  National Guard Regulation 600-7 and various policy memoranda govern the administration of the ARNG SRIP, which includes the OAB.  The purpose of the program is to assist ARNG leadership in meeting personnel readiness requirements by targeting personnel strength and readiness issues.  Critical shortages identified through Unit Status Reports are used to focus the incentive program to specific units and AOCs.

17.  The NGB Officer Critical Skill List for the period 1 March 2009 to 16 June 2010 includes AOC 31A.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The available evidence supports the applicant's request for correction of his record to show he is entitled to a $10,000 OAB.

2.  He states he was promised a $10,000 OAB when he was commissioned in the ARNG.  Considering he was commissioned to serve in an eligible AOC, it is certain this would, or should, have happened.  

3. He provides a Written Agreement – OAB Addendum he signed the day prior to being commissioned.  The document does not bear the signature of a witnessing officer or a bonus control number.  In a request for an ETP submitted to the NGB, TXARNG officer verified his entitlement to a $10,000 OAB and implied administrative irregularities were the cause of the missing signature and bonus control number.  There is no evidence indicating cause to doubt the statement of the TXARNG officer.  

4.  In view of the foregoing, it would be appropriate to correct his record to show his Written Agreement – OAB Addendum was signed by a witnessing officer and assigned a bonus control number.  As a result of these corrections, he should be paid the OAB from ARNG funds according to the terms of Written Agreement – OAB Addendum.  

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 to show his Written Agreement – OAB Addendum was signed by a witnessing officer and assigned a bonus control number.  As a result of these corrections, the Board 


recommends paying him the OAB from ARNG funds according to the terms of Written Agreement – OAB Addendum.



      _____________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)                                         AR20120005764





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120005764



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