BOARD DATE:	  11December 2012 

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120007760 


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 second installment of her non-prior service enlistment bonus (NPSEB), that recoupment of the first installment be stopped, and that the monies already recouped be returned to her.

2.  The applicant states she enlisted in the Minnesota Army National Guard (MNARNG) on 15 January 2009 with an enlistment bonus.  She received her first installment but she has received a letter from the National Guard Bureau (NGB) stating they could not find her bonus addendum and her first installment was being recouped.

3.  The recruiter uploaded her enlistment contract into the system but he did not upload the bonus addendum.  The State incentives representative confirmed that they both have seen the enlistment contract and bonus addendum.  Three years later, she is being penalized with recoupment action because the recruiter did not upload her bonus addendum into the Information Management and Reporting Center (iMARC) and in the Standard Installation/Division Personnel Data System (SIDPERS).  She is currently deployed to Kuwait and does not have the ability to check her files at her home of residence.

4.  She had a valid bonus control number (BCN) E*******4MN for a $20,000 enlistment bonus.  On 20 August 2009, the State incentives representative validated her BCN in iMARC and made the comment "seen contract/addendum." On 28 August 2009, the State incentives representative submitted the SRIP bonus for $10,000 to the U.S. Property and Fiscal Office (USPFO) on TL#**-**.

5.  The applicant provides:

* a letter, dated 22 March 2012, from NGB
* a letter, dated 25 March 2012, from the Acting Commander, 1st Battalion, 194th Armor Regiment (CAB) 
* a letter, dated 7 February 2012, from her company commander
* her Enlistment/Reenlistment Agreement, Army National Guard, Service Requirements and Methods of Fulfillment (Guard Annex), dated 
15 January 2009

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  On 15 January 2009, she enlisted in the MNARNG for a period of 8 years.  According to her Guard Annex she enlisted for military occupational specialty (MOS) 92A (Automated Logistical Specialist).  In Section IV - Acknowledgement, paragraph 1b, she agreed to serve 6 years as an assigned member of a troop program unit in the Selected Reserve.

2.  Section VII - Addendums of her Guard Annex lists addendums that "have been attached and are part of my enlistment agreement:" Listed is an "Enlistment Bonus Form."  However, the Enlistment Bonus Form is not a part of her Army Military Human Resource Record in the integrated Personnel Electronic Records Management System (iPERMS).

3.  Effective 27 May 2011, she was ordered to active duty for mobilization in support of Operation Enduring Freedom for a period not to exceed 400 days.

4.  Her company commander submitted a letter, dated 7 February 2012, to the Army Education and Incentives Branch, Saint Paul, MN, recommending she receive the second half of her bonus.  Copies of the Remarks Screens from iMARC were enclosed.

	a.  She enlisted in MOS 92A with a $20,000 bonus.  She received half of the bonus late in 2009 but she is now being told this amount will be recouped because there is no Bonus Addendum in iPERMS.

	b.  Remarks in iMARC, dated 20 August 2009, indicate "Validated - seen contract/addendum."  Her first payment was released on 28 August 2009.  Based on this information the Bonus Addendum existed in iPERMS or another database in 2009.

	c.  The second bonus payment is due and, unfortunately, the Bonus Addendum is missing from iPERMS.  This is not the fault of the Soldier and appears to be strictly a records keeping error.  She is a fully qualified 92A and still has a valid BCN.  She should not be penalized due to an administrative error but must instead receive the compensation she has earned for fulfilling her contract.

5.  A review of Remarks in iMARC, provided by the applicant's company commander, shows the following for the BCN E*******4MN:

* 20 August 2009 - Validated - seen contract/addendum
* 28 August 2009 - SRIP Bonus - $10,000 sent to USPFOR on TL#**-** 
28 August 2009
* 4 January 2012 - SRIP - emailed unit, addendum is missing from iPERMS file
* 18 January 2012 - SRIP - SRIP PAYMENT changed "scheduled" to Suspended" (15 January 2012 $10,000); SRIP bonus suspended

6.  The letter, dated 22 March 2012, from NGB denied her request for an exception to policy to retain her $20,000 NPSEB.  The NGB based their denial on the fact that the written agreement (Bonus Addendum) could not be located.

7.  The applicant submitted a letter, dated 25 March 2012, from the acting battalion commander, who stated the NGB rejected the exception to policy based on the fact the written agreement could not be located.

	a.  He stated this logic fails to account for all of the supporting documentation indicating that the written agreement existed properly in 2009 when the bonus was issued.

	b.  The recruiter established the existence of the addendum in Section VII of the applicant's Guard Annex of her enlistment contract.  According to Remarks in iMARC, her BCN was validated - seen contract/addendum.

	c.  The applicant is owed the bonus proper channels confirmed this prior to her first bonus payment.  If the written agreement cannot be found now, this is not the fault of the Soldier.  Any non-payment or recoupment of the bonus is a contractual violation of the Army's agreement with the Soldier.

8.  National Guard Regulation 600-7, chapter 2, paragraph 2-5, provides enlistment bonus contracts are valid only with bonus control numbers which will be issued from the State Incentive Management Office to Military Entrance Processing Station counselors and reported to NGB on a monthly basis.  The State Incentive Manager will verify accession packets as prescribed by state policy for bonus control numbers, accuracy of enlistment contract and bonus addendum, critical skill and bonus unit eligibility, valid position vacancy, and required educational level.

9.  Title 37, U.S. Code, section 308c, paragraph (c)(2) states the Secretary concerned may pay an accession bonus to a person who:

* has not previously served in the Armed Forces
* executes a written agreement to serve as an enlisted member in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve of an Armed Force for a period of not less than three years upon acceptance of the agreement by the Secretary concerned

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The entries shown in iMARC indicate her BCN was properly validated, her contract/addendum was seen on 20 August 2009, $10,000 was sent to the USPFO on 28 August 2009, and payment was made on 15 September 2009.  There is no justification for recouping the first payment she received in 2009.  It would be appropriate to stop any recoupment action and return any monies that have been withheld.

2.  Remarks in iMARC, dated 4 January 2012, indicate her bonus addendum is now missing from iPERMS.  On 18 January 2012, her bonus payment was changed from scheduled to suspended.

3.  Her bonus addendum was obviously seen on 20 August 2009 in order for her BCN to be validated and for her to receive her first bonus payment.  Therefore, it appears that her BCN remains valid based on the entry in iMARC on 20 August 2009.  At that time her bonus addendum would have been required to be entered in iPERMS.  However, due to an administrative error it appears as though this was not done.  It is not equitable for the applicant to suffer due to responsible parties failing to enter her entire contract into iPERMS.  Therefore, it would be appropriate to reconstruct her Bonus Addendum, dated 15 January 2009, showing she enlisted for an NPSEB in the amount of $20,000.

4.  In view of the above, it would be equitable to pay the applicant the second installment of her enlistment bonus in the amount of $10,000 using the validated BCN E*******4MN.


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 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.  reconstructing her Bonus Addendum, dated 15 January 2009, showing she enlisted for an NPSEB in the amount of $20,000 showing she is fully eligible to receive the first installment and any subsequent installments of the NPSEB;
   
   b.  stopping recoupment of the first bonus payment in the amount of $10,000 and refunding from Army National Guard funds any monies already recouped from the individual; and

   c.  paying the individual the second bonus payment out of Army National Guard funds in the amount of $10,000 based on her validated BCN E*******4MN.




      _______ _ 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)                                         AR20120007760



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120007760



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