IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  16 January 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130018238 


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 a $10,000 Officer Accession Bonus (OAB).

2.  The applicant states:

* on 11 August 2007, he signed a written agreement for the OAB
* on 8 September 2007, he graduated from Officer Candidate School (OCS)
* a bonus control number was not assigned to the contract by the Incentives Branch until after he graduated from the Officer Basic Course (OBC) and his first payment was due
* he was assigned to the 262nd Component Repair Company immediately following graduation from OCS
* he was then transferred to the 1049th Transportation Company in 2008 to fill another critically-short Platoon Leader vacancy 
* in April 2009, he received the first half of the bonus and should have received the second half in 2010
* in 2011 while he was deployed, he submitted an inquiry about the remaining portion of his bonus 
* in May 2012 after his deployment, he received a letter stating he would not be receiving the second half of the bonus and the previously-paid amount would be recouped
* he submitted an exception to policy (ETP) request but did not receive a response until a year later and he was told that he did not respond to the first notice sent in April 2012
* he never received the notice because he was deployed to Afghanistan 
* he submitted a second ETP request which was denied
* the National Guard Bureau (NGB) denied his OAB because:

*	he signed his contract the day he was commissioned; however, the person at the State Headquarters did not sign it until he graduated from OBC and when it was due to be paid
*	he was not serving in the area of concentration (AOC) for which he contracted; however, his contract does not annotate the critical AOC or it is illegible in the space provided

* he contracted in AOC 91A (General Ordnance) and was moved by the State to AOC 88D (Motor/Rail Transportation) for deployment reasons
* he is now serving in a 01A position (Battalion Company Commander) as a 91A 
* he is being penalized for someone else's incompetence 

3.  The applicant provides:

* DD Form 293 (Application for the Review of Discharge from the Armed Forces of the United States)
* self-authored statements
* Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) Record of Proceedings AR20090007581, dated 16 June 2009
* OAB Agreement
* 2 ETP Denial Letters, dated 7 June 2013 and 1 July 2013
* Honorable Discharge Certificate
* NGB Form 22 
* NGB Form 337 (Oaths of Office)

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  He provides a copy of a Written Agreement - OAB Addendum that he signed on 11 August 2007.  This form appears to have been executed at some point prior to his appointment as an officer in the ARNG.  It shows he agreed to serve in the Selected Reserve (SELRES) in an unidentified/unlisted critical officer skill/area of concentration/military occupational specialty that is designated for bonus entitlement by the Secretary of the Army.

   a.  He agreed to:

* serve for 6 years in the SELRES in the critical skill in which he was accessed
* receive a $10,000 bonus to be paid in two installments, 50 percent upon completion of the Basic Officer Leaders Course (BOLC) and 50 percent on his third year anniversary

	b.  The applicant, a service representative, and a witnessing officer authenticated this form with their signatures.  The service representative and witnessing officer both signed the form on 29 April 2009.

2.  With prior enlisted service in the Delaware Army National Guard (DEARNG), the applicant was appointed as a Reserve commissioned officer of the DEARNG and executed the oaths of office on 8 September 2007.  He was assigned to the 262nd Maintenance Company Heavy Equipment, Detachment 1, Dagsboro, DE.

3.  Orders Number 299-502, dated 26 October 2007, issued by the State of Delaware, ARNG, Wilmington, DE, show his basic branch as Ordnance Corps, effective 8 September 2007, with duty assignment as a Maintenance Control Officer.

4.  On 18 December 2008, he completed BOLC Phase II and on 15 April 2009, he completed BOLC Phase III for AOC 91 (Ordnance).

5.  On 1 May 2009, he was awarded AOC 91A.

6.  On 16 June 2009, the ABCMR corrected his records to show:

* he was extended Federal recognition in the rank of 2LT effective 8 September 2007
* he was extended Federal recognition in the rank of first lieutenant effective 8 March 2009
* restoration of back pay and allowances as a result of the corrections

7.  Orders Number 196-508, dated 15 July 2009, issued by the State of Delaware, DEARNG, Wilmington, DE, assigned him to the duty position of Platoon Leader and awarded him AOC 88B (Traffic Management).

8.  On 7 June 2013, the NGB's Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1 denied the applicant's ETP request, directed recoupment, and advised the applicant to appeal to the ABCMR.  The NGB stated the request was denied because:

* the contracted/bonus addendum was signed after his accession/ appointment
* the contract/bonus addendum was not annotated with a critical AOC or was illegible in the space provided
9.  A second ETP request was submitted; however, on 1 July 2013, the NGB's Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1 denied the request, directed recoupment, and stated:

* the contract/bonus addendum was signed after his accession/ appointment and violated ARNG SELRES Incentive Program (SRIP) 
07-06
* he was not serving in the AOC for which he contracted which violated ARNG SRIP 07-06
* the contract/bonus addendum was not annotated with a critical AOC or was illegible in the space provided and violated ARNG SRIP 07-06

10.  The NGB ETP denial letters both show:

* the applicant was accessed into the Delaware Unit Identification Code (UIC) 77TAA
* 16 April 2009 was the date of his agreement
* $10,000 was his contracted bonus addendum/agreement amount
* he contracted for AOC 88D and his current AOC is 01A

11.  On 29 July 2013, the applicant was promoted to captain.

12.  NGB Policy Number 07-06, in the form of a memorandum, subject:  SRIP Guidance for Fiscal Year 2007, 2008, and 2009, 10 August 2007 to 
30 September 2009 with updates, provides for Officer Accession/Affiliation Bonus Options.  It states that:

	a.  The ARNG offers a $10,000 Officer Accession Critical Skill/Affiliation Bonus to newly-commissioned officers and newly-appointed warrant officers who agree to serve 6 years in a critical UIC.  Additionally, officers and warrant officers must serve in a critical AOC vacancy within their chosen UIC.  The Critical UIC Officer Accession Bonus will be paid in a lump-sum payment upon successful completion of OBC or Warrant OBC (WOBC) as applicable.

	b.  The ARNG offers a $10,000 Officer Accession/Affiliation Bonus to newly-commissioned officers and newly-appointed warrant officers who agree to serve 6 years in a Modified Table of Organization and Equipment (MTOE) unit.  Additionally, officers and warrant officers must serve in a valid AOC vacancy within their chosen UIC.  The MTOE OAB will be paid in two 50 percent installments.  The first 50 percent installment ($5,000) will be paid upon successful completion of OBC/WOBC, as applicable, and the second 50 percent installment will be processed for payment on the third year anniversary of commission or appointment.
	c.  Eligible officers for the Accession Bonus must sign their bonus addenda on the date that they accept their commission.

	d.  Eligible officers for the Affiliation Bonus must sign their addendum on or before their date of affiliation.

13.  Army Regulation 135-7 (Incentive Programs) establishes a single reference for incentives authorized within the ARNG and the Army Reserve.  Paragraph 1-7 states that SELRES incentives will be offered in designated units and selected skills only when a valid position vacancy exists.  Valid position vacancies are either current or projected from the unit's organization tables.  These tables include TOE, Tables of Distribution and Allowances (TDA), MTOE, and Modification Table of Distribution and Allowances (MTDA).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  In order to be eligible for the SELRES OAB, the individual must meet the eligibility criteria and be appointed in a critically-short AOC listed in the current ARNG SRIP announcement in effect on the date the individual makes his or her application.  A review of the ARNG SRIP policy in effect when the applicant was appointed in the DEARNG on 8 September 2007 shows critical AOC's 88D and 91A were listed.  However, his OAB Addendum does not identify any AOC.

2.  The written agreement he executed appears to have been completed prior to his appointment.  ARNG SRIP 07-06 was in effect on the date he executed his agreement.

3.  His OAB Addendum shows that in return for his agreement to fulfill a 6-year commitment in the ARNG and by successfully completing BOLC within 3 years of his appointment/commissioning date, he would be paid a $10,000.00 OAB in a lump sum or two 50 percent installments upon successful completion of BOLC.

4.  The applicant completed BOLC on 18 December 2008 and was awarded AOC 91A on 1 May 2009.

5.  There is no law or HQDA policy that either requires an applicant to sign a bonus addendum on a specific date in order to be eligible for receipt of the bonus or that precludes Reserve Component officers from applying for a SELRES OAB after appointment/commissioning.  The NGB acknowledged these facts, but chose to adhere to the NGB policy requiring applicants to sign a bonus addendum on the date they accept their appointment/commission.

6.  The applicant also had other problems with his accession as evidenced by corrections directed by the ABCMR.

7.  The evidence shows the applicant fulfilled the requirements of his contract, did absolutely nothing wrong, and continues to uphold his end of the bargain.  Therefore, notwithstanding the recommendations of NGB, it would serve the interest of equity and justice to pay him an OAB according to the parameters of his enlistment contract.

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

* showing he executed an OAB Addendum for $10,000 on 8 September 2007 and it was signed by all appropriate officials in a timely manner
* canceling any action to recoup the OAB he has already received, and, if applicable, returning to him all monies already recouped
* paying him all remaining OAB monies due out of ARNG funds




      _______ _   _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)                                         AR20130018238



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130018238



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