IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	    12 November 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130004746 


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 reconsideration of his previous request for the issuance of a manual bonus control number and payment of his Officer Accession Bonus (OAB) in the amount of $10,000.00 in accordance with the terms of his enlistment in the South Dakota Army National Guard (SDARNG).

2.  The applicant states, in light of new evidence, he is requesting that his case be reconsidered due to an error made by the SDARNG recruiting staff, a bonus control number was not secured for him and he did not receive the OAB that he was promised by his recruiter.  He was appointed in the ARNG for several reasons, one of which was to serve his country and God as a chaplain.  Another was to provide financial benefits to his family.  He fully intends to complete his commitment to the ARNG and he humbly asks the ARNG to uphold the promise made to him. 

3.  The applicant provides:

* Two memoranda
* Officer/Warrant Officer OAB Addendum
* Four pages of electronic mail (Email)
* Two letters
* Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) Record of Proceedings Docket Number AR20120005011 and associated documents



CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the ABCMR in Docket Number AR20120005011 on 28 August 2012.

2.  The applicant provides an Officer/Warrant Officer OAB Addendum, letters from his battalion commander, the Assistant Inspector General (AIG), SDARNG, and email which were not previously reviewed by the ABCMR.  Therefore, it is considered new evidence and as such warrants consideration by the Board.

3.  Having prior active service in the U.S. Navy, the applicant was appointed as a Reserve officer, in the rank/grade of first lieutenant (1LT)/O-2, effective 10 March 2011, with assignment to the 1st Battalion, 147th Field Artillery Regiment, Watertown, SD, in duty position area of concentration (AOC) 56A (Chaplain (CH)).  His records do not contain an OAB Addendum.

4.  He attended and successfully completed the Chaplain Basic Officer Leadership Course (BOLC) from 22 May to 17 June 2011.

5.  On 13 July 2011, he was awarded AOC 56A.

6.  On 6 September 2011, the National Guard Bureau (NGB) published Special Orders Number 209 AR extending him Federal recognition for his initial appointment to 1LT with an effective date of 10 March 2011.

7.  On 3 February 2012, the Deputy G-1, NGB, denied the applicant's request for an exception to policy to receive a $10,000.00 OAB that was offered at the time of his accession.  The official stated the applicant was accessed in the SDARNG on 10 March 2011 and he was informed by his recruiter that he was eligible for the OAB.  However, it was later discovered that the OAB Addendum was misplaced and a bonus control number was never requested.  Due to the fact the OAB Addendum could not be located, the applicant was deemed ineligible to receive the OAB.

8.  On 28 August 2012, the ABCMR stated there was no evidence that the applicant signed the OAB Addendum on the date he was appointed or that a bonus control number was requested/obtained.  The ABCMR determined there was an insufficient evidentiary basis for granting the applicant's request for relief.




9.  The applicant provides as new evidence:

     a.  A letter from the AIG, SDARNG, dated 6 March 2013, who states he coordinated with the Recruiting and Retention Battalion (RRB) for proof that an addendum was signed on 10 March 2011, the date of his appointment.  The RRB requested assistance from the Communication and Information Officer (CIO) to access an email and attached accession bonus addendum that was sent to an RRB employee the day after his appointment.  They determined that before the bonus control number oversight was realized, the employee was issued a new Common Access Card (CAC) and was no longer able to access the recruiter's email.

   b.  An Officer/Warrant Officer OAB Addendum signed by the applicant and a witnessing officer dated 10 March 2011.  The document shows he agreed to serve in the Selected Reserve for a period of 6 years in AOC 56A, a critical officer skill designated for bonus entitlement by the Secretary of Defense.  He acknowledged he would receive a $10,000.00 bonus paid in one lump sum upon successful completion of BOLC.  In addition to the applicant's dated signature, the document bears the dated signature of a witnessing officer.  However, the name, signature and date of a service representative are not present.  In addition, an approved bonus control number is absent from the form.
   
   c.  Four pages of email which corroborate the findings enclosed in the letter from the AIG, SDARNG, dated 6 March 2013.
   
   d.  A letter from a Specialty Branch Recruiter, SDARNG, to the Board dated  6 March 2013, that states, "On 5 March 2013, following an IG inquiry, the signed bonus addendum in question was discovered in an encrypted email that had been sent from the Officer Recruiter to the Officer Strength Manager (OSM).  The email shows the addendum was signed and forwarded to the OSM for action at the time of the applicant's appointment in the SDARNG.  The failure of the OSM team to secure the bonus control number is in no way the fault of the applicant and he should not be penalized for such."
   
   e.  A letter from his battalion commander who states, in effect, after the NGB and ABCMR denied the applicant's request for issuance of a manual control number, on 5 March 2013, after an inquiry by the IG's office, an encrypted email was discovered by CIO containing the signed bonus addendum for the applicant's OAB.  His staff sincerely apologizes for the error and does not want to see a young officer pay for their mistake.  In addition, they have taken steps to improve their officer recruiting operations and have incorporated checks and balances to ensure the mistake is not repeated.
    
10.  NGB Policy Number 07-06, dated 10 August 2007, Subject:  ARNG SRIP Guidance for Fiscal Year 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, with updates, provided the general criteria for the OAB.  The ARNG offered two OABs (one of which was paid in a lump sum with the other paid in two installments of
50 percent each).  Requirements to be met by officers included:

* agreeing to serve for a period of not less than 6 years in an active drilling status to receive a $10,000.00 bonus
* agreeing to serve in a critical skill AOC for the full length of the incentive contract term
* signing the OAB Addendum on the date they accept their appointment
* successfully completing the BOLC in their designated AOC within 36 months of the date of their appointment

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record confirms, on 10 March 2011, the applicant was eligible for and executed an OAB Addendum for a critical AOC, 56A, and $10,000.00.  However, through no fault of his own it appears his recruiter, service representative, and OSM failed to coordinate and properly process the applicant into the ARNG with the promised OAB.
 
2.  The reason the NGB G-1 denied the applicant's $10,000.00 OAB was based on the inability to locate the OAB Addendum.  Therefore, a bonus control number was never requested on or before the date of his appointment.  

3.  Based on the new evidence provided by the AIG which shows the OAB Addendum was signed on the date of his appointment and that it was transmitted in an encrypted email to a responsible party, it would serve the interest of equity and justice to correct the applicant's record to show his request for a manual bonus control number and authorization of payment of a $10,000.00 OAB was approved.

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 amendment of the ABCMR's decision in Docket Number AR20120005011, dated 28 August 2012.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army and State ARNG records of the individual concerned be corrected by showing all appropriate officials properly prepared and signed the OAB Addendum and that a manual bonus control number was issued for placement on his OAB Addendum on the date of his appointment/commissioning and paying him the $10,000.00 bonus, out of ARNG funds, 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)                                         AR20130004746



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130004746



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