IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  3 September 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130013345 


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 remainder of his Critical Skills Retention Bonus (CSRB) in the amount of $10,000.00.

2.  He states:

	a.  He was awarded a CSRB of $20,000.00 with payment of 50 percent at the beginning and the remaining 50 percent payment after 3 years.  The requirements of the bonus were very specific and he fulfilled each requirement.  The bonus was paid and he received two payments of $5,000.00.

	b.  The paperwork and bonus payments were all processed while he was performing temporary duty (TDY) at the UH-60A Blackhawk Qualification Course.  All correspondence was done through email and telephone calls.  After fulfilling his obligated 3-year contract, the State Human Resources Specialist requested his second $10,000.00 payment.  At this point, the State Incentive Manager (IM) was unable to find his contract.  He gave the IM a copy of the contract with his signature and control number.  This contract was the copy he sent to the former State IM, but he didn't have the copy with the current IM's signature.

	c.  He requested an exception to policy because he didn't have the final copy of the CSRB contract with the State IM's signature.  The National Guard Bureau (NGB) denied his request and ordered recoupment of the first $10,000.00 payment.  He maintains he was eligible and qualified for the bonus.

	d.  It is policy for the State IM to keep a copy of the contract and to have a copy of the contract scanned into the interactive Personnel Electronic Records Management System.  The government is now requesting repayment and he shouldn't be required to repay a bonus he earned.  He also fulfilled his 3-year obligation and should be paid the remaining $10,000.00.

	e.  It has been his privilege to have deployed three times for his country.  He has tried to contact Colonel Z____, Utah Army National Guard (UTARNG) Deputy G-1, seven times; Chief Warrant Officer Three D____ P____, UTARNG Human Resources Specialist; and Sergeant First Class S____ P____, UTARNG IM.  He has also attempted to find the previous IM without success.  His evidence of record should verify he completed the required CSRB paperwork prior to the deadline.

3.  He provides his CSRB contract, two Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) Military Leave and Earnings Statements (LES's), orders for active duty for training (ADT), three memoranda, and extracts from his ARNG electronic records.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is currently serving in the UTARNG in the rank of major/O-4.

2.  Following prior enlisted service, the applicant was appointed as a commissioned officer in the UTARNG on 5 October 1999 and was granted Federal recognition.  He was ordered to ADT on 2 March 2000.  Upon completion of ADT, he was awarded area of concentration (AOC) 15A (Aviation General).

3.  On 2 January 2004, he was ordered to active duty in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.  He served in Afghanistan from 18 April 2004 to 6 April 2005 and he was released from active duty on 23 April 2005.

4.  He provided UTARNG Orders 021-211, dated 21 January 2009, ordering him to ADT for the period 25 January to 11 March 2009 to attend the UH-60 Aviator Qualification Course.

5.  On 25 February 2009, he signed an Officer/Warrant Officer Written Agreement – Army Reserve Components CSRB agreement for payment of $20,000.00 for a period of 3 years.  He acknowledged he met the eligibility requirements for the CSRB in connection with his assignment to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne), a unit of the Selected Reserve and AOC designated as a critical unit for a CSRB.  He agreed to serve in AOC 15B for a period of 3 years from the date of this written agreement.  The Service Representative's and Witnessing Officer's signatures are not on the contract.  The CSRB control number is recorded as "ORB09030002UT."

6.  His service records contain a DA Form 1059 (Service School Academic Evaluation Report), dated 2 March 2009, which shows he completed the UH-60 Aviator Qualification Course on 7 March 2009.

7.  He provided two LES's for the periods 11 March 2009 and 13 March 2009 which show he received two bonus payments of $5,000.00 each.

8.  On 15 March 2010, he was ordered to active duty in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.  He served in Africa from 1 April to 11 November 2010 and he was released from active duty on 24 December 2010.

9.  He was promoted to the rank/pay grade of major on 12 April 2010.

10.  He provided a self-authored memorandum, dated 4 June 2012, subject:  Request for Exception to Policy, requesting an exception to policy to receive his anniversary payment of the Army Reserve Components CSRB without having the original contract on record.  He stated:

	a.  The $10,000.00 anniversary payment was due on 25 February 2012.  He was TDY to attend the UH-60 Aviator Qualification Course in Annville, PA.  His Readiness Noncommissioned Officer notified him that he was eligible for the $20,000.00 CSRB and that he needed to sign and initial the required contract and return it for further processing.  He complied with the instructions given and received his first CSRB payment of $10,000.00 in two installments of $5,000.00.  The first payment was received on 11 March 2009 and the second payment was received on 13 March 2009.

	b.  He was notified in February 2012 that he needed to provide a copy of the contract that was signed in 2009.  He learned that neither his unit nor the State Incentive Office retained a copy of the signed/approved contract.  After he received the first $10,000.00, he assumed all of the documentation for the CSRB anniversary payment was on file at both the unit and the State Incentive Office.  He never received a copy of the contract with all of the signatures.

	c.  Since February 2012, his unit has made multiple unsuccessful attempts to locate the original signed CSRB contract.

11.  He provided a memorandum from the Commander, Headquarters, 97th Aviation Troop Command, UTARNG dated 6 June 2012, subject:  Recommend Approval for Exception to Policy – (Applicant) (CSRB), who recommended approval of the exception to policy for the applicant to receive the $10,000.00 anniversary payment of his CSRB, without the original contract on file.  The Commander stated the applicant was a member of another command when he qualified for the CSRB in 2009 and complied with the instructions given and the terms of his contract.  The Commander further stated the missing documentation was no fault of the applicant and a new contract was generated to correct the issue of the missing contract within their system.

12.  He provided a memorandum from the ARNG Deputy G-1, NGB, dated 10 July 2012, subject:  Request for Exception to Policy for Officer CSRB (Applicant), who denied the UTARNG's request for an exception to policy to allow the applicant to retain the $20,000.00 CSRB incentive offered on 25 February 2009.  The ARNG Deputy G-1 stated the State IM would terminate the incentive with recoupment.  In accordance with ARNG Implementation Guidance CSRB, dated 1 February 2008, eligible applicants were offered the CSRB.  The applicant signed a CSRB agreement with the UTARNG on 25 February 2008 in critical AOC 15B.  The Service Representative and Witnessing Officer failed to sign the agreement and the bonus control number was not requested or approved until 2 March 2009.  Therefore, the intent of the government to offer an incentive to the applicant cannot be validated.  The State IM was required to terminate the incentive with recoupment.  The ARNG Deputy G-1 advised that the applicant could file a claim with the Army Board for Correction of Military Records.

13.  Title 37, U.S. 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.  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.  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.



DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's claim for entitlement to payment of the remainder of his CSRB in the amount of $10,000.00 was carefully considered and was found to have merit.

2.  He signed a written agreement for a CSRB on 25 February 2009 in the amount of $20,000.00.  He agreed to serve in AOC 15B for a period of 3 years.  He received his first installment in two payments of $5,000.00 on 11 March 2009 and 13 March 2009.  His second installment would be payable on 25 February 2012, but he did not receive his second installment.

3.  Although an exception to policy was requested, the request for payment of the second installment of the CSRB in the amount of $10,000.00 was subsequently denied by NGB because the working copy of the CSRB agreement was filed in his records rather than the signed/dated documents.  This was due to no fault of the applicant.

4.  The evidence shows the applicant fulfilled the requirements of his written agreement for the CSRB and did absolutely nothing wrong.  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.

BOARD VOTE:

____X____  ____X____  ___X_____  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army and State ARNG 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 25 February 2009 and is, therefore, fully entitled to payment of the bonus in accordance with the terms of his agreement; and

	b.  paying him the second installment of the CSRB in the amount of $10,000.00 from 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)                                         AR20130013345



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130013345



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