BOARD DATE:	  8 November 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120007314 


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 payment of the final bonus installment of $10,000.00 of his Critical Skills Retention Bonus (CSRB).

2.  The applicant states:

	a.  a bonus addendum was signed before he was eligible.  The policy stated the Soldier must have 6 years of service as a commissioned officer to be eligible for the CSRB.  He actually signed the bonus agreement 6 days prior to hitting the 6-year mark unintentionally.  The state of Texas submitted an exception to policy for him but the National Guard Bureau (NGB) denied the request, thereby exhausting his administrative options.  He would like to adjust the signature date to the correct eligibility date or take any necessary action that would not negate the CSRB which he believes he is due.

	b.  he continued to serve, as he still does, in the Texas Army National Guard (TXARNG), to include a recent deployment to Iraq as a company commander.  He does not believe that an oversight on his part, as well as everyone in the chain who processed the CSRB and paid the first installment of the bonus to him, should negate the intent of the bonus.  Additionally, according to the bonus paperwork, none of the recoupment actions apply to his situation.

3.  The applicant provides:

* his CSRB contract


* a notice of incentive eligibility termination
* a notification of exception to policy request

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Following a period of enlisted service in the ARNG, the applicant was appointed as a second lieutenant in the TXARNG on 24 August 2002.  His area of concentration (AOC) was 21B (combat engineer).

2.  On 18 August 2008, he signed a Written Agreement for a CSRB wherein he agreed to serve in AOC 21B as a critical skill for a period of 3 years.  Although the amount of the bonus is not indicated on the addendum, All Army Activities (ALARACT) Message 007/2008, subject:  Temporary Policy Message Providing Implementation Guidance for Use of New CSRB for ARNG Officers and Warrant Officers and U.S. Army Reserve Officers, dated 18 January 2008, indicates that a $20,0000.00 CSRB is authorized for AOC 21B.

3.  On 27 July 2009, he was ordered to active duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).  He served in Kuwait/Iraq from 2 December 2009 to 10 August 2010.  He was honorably released from active duty on 2 November 2010 at the completion of required active.

4.  He was promoted to major on 16 June 2011.

5.  On an unknown date, the NGB denied an exception to policy request for the applicant to retain the $20,000.00 CSRB offered to him in August 2008.

6.  He provides a memorandum from the TXARNG, subject:  Notice of Incentive Eligibility Termination, dated 9 April 2012, that states:

* discrepancies found in his incentive contract require eligibility termination
* he signed the CSRB before he was eligible
* he did not meet minimum eligibility requirements (commissioned service time)
* the recoupment amount is $10,000.00

7.  In the processing of this case, a staff advisory opinion was obtained from the Chief, Officer Division, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, Washington, D.C.  The advisory official recommends relief in favor of the applicant.  The advisory official states in order to be eligible for the CSRB, ARNG officers must:


	a.  be serving in the ARNG in the grade of captain (except for chaplains and Judge Advocates);

	b.  have completed any current contractual obligation or bonus contract as a result of participation in either the Officer Accession or Affiliation Bonus;

	c.  be fully qualified in one of the designated critical skills and extend in an Modified Table of Organization and Equipment (MTO&E) or "deployable" Table of Distribution and Allowances (TDA) unit in a valid vacant position or against a projected vacancy within 101-125% of the unit's authorized wartime strength;

	d.  not attain or exceed 25 years of service on active duty or in an active status during the bonus agreement period;

	e.  have not less than 6 years and not more than 12 years of commissioned service;

	f.  not be within 12 months of any transfer from active duty or another component of the Selected Reserve;

	g.  possess a valid baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution of higher learning; and

	h.  not be non-selected for promotion to major by a Department of the Army board.

8.  The advisory official points out:

	a.  the applicant met all eligibility at the time he signed an agreement for the CSRB on 18 August 2008, except that it was 6 days prior to his completion of 
6 years of commissioned service;

	b.  a review of the applicant's Army Military human Resource Record (AMHRR), formerly known as the Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), indicates his primary AOC was 21B, an authorized critical skill for the CSRB, when he signed the agreement;

	c.  while all engineer AOCs have since been redesignated by the Army to AOC series 12, the applicant served the full 3 years of the contracted period as a combat engineer and remains a combat engineer to the present; and


	d.  the applicant would have been eligible for the bonus had he signed the agreement on 24 August 2008, the date after he completed 6 years of commissioned service, instead of 18 August 2008.

9.  A copy of the advisory opinion was forwarded to the applicant for information and to allow him the opportunity to submit comments or a rebuttal.  On 5 June 2012, he responded and indicated everything looked good to him.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request for payment of the final bonus installment of $10,000.00 of the CSRB was carefully considered and determined to have merit.

2.  He signed a Written Agreement for a CSRB on 18 August 2008 for what appears to be the amount of $20,000.00.  He agreed to serve in AOC 21B for a period of 3 years.  He indicated he received his first installment of $10,000.00; however, he did not receive his second installment.

3.  Although an exception to policy was requested, it appears the request to pay the second installment of the CSRB in the amount of $10,000.00 to the applicant was subsequently denied by the NGB because he signed the CSRB agreement
6 days prior to his completion of 6 years of commissioned service.  This was through no fault of the applicant.

4.  Evidence shows the applicant fulfilled the requirements of his Written Agreement for the CSRB, he absolutely did nothing wrong, and he upheld his end of the bargain.  Therefore, it would serve the interest of equity and justice to pay him the second installment of the CSRB in the amount of $10,000.00 according to the parameters of his Written Agreement for the CSRB.

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 State Army National Guard and Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

	a.  showing he executed and signed a properly-prepared Written Agreement for a CSRB in the amount of $20,000.00 on 24 August 2008 and is, therefore, fully entitled to payment of the bonus in accordance with the terms of his agreement; and

	b.  paying to him, from Army National Guard funds, the second installment of the CSRB in the amount of $10,000.00, as a result of this correction.



      _________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)                                         AR20120007314



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120007314



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