IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  13 May 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130021669 


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, in effect, payment of the second installment of his Officer Accession Bonus (OAB).   

2.  He states payment of the second installment of his OAB was denied because his area of concentration (AOC) was not on the critical skill list.  Recruiting staff provided bonus paperwork for AOC 35D (All Source Intelligence).  The first installment was paid, but not the second.  This is unjust because he was promised a bonus during commissioning and a bonus control number (BCN) was issued.  

3.  He provides:

* National Guard Bureau (NGB) Form 337 (Oaths of Office)
* Written Agreement – OAB Addendum
* e-mail
* list of documents in his record in the integrated Personnel Electronic Records Management System (iPERMS)

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  On 26 September 2009, the applicant took the oaths of office as a second lieutenant/O-1 in the North Carolina Army National Guard (NCARNG).

2.  On the same date, he signed a Written Agreement – OAB Addendum acknowledging he met the eligibility criteria for a $10,000 OAB based on his accession into the NGB-approved critical skill of AOC 35D.  The agreement shows the OAB was payable in two installments:  the first half upon completion of Basic Officer Leader Course III and qualification in his critical skill and the second half on the third-year anniversary of his agreement.  The agreement was signed by a service representative and a witnessing official, and it was assigned a BCN.  

3.  His record shows he completed training, and he was awarded primary AOC 35D.  

4.  He provides an e-mail, dated 26 September 2013, from the State Incentives Manager, NCARNG, who gave him guidance on submitting a claim to this Board and advised him to explain that his payment was denied because his AOC was not on the authorized critical skill list on his accession date.

5.  Effective 31 October 2013, he was discharged from the NCARNG due to medical disqualification for retention.

6.  On 27 February 2014, during the processing of this case, the Chief, Officer Division, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, provided an advisory opinion, which states:

	a.  To be eligible for the Selected Reserve OAB in the ARNG, an individual must meet Headquarters, Department of the Army, eligibility criteria and be appointed in a critically short AOC listed in the ARNG Selected Reserve Incentive Program (SRIP) announcement in effect on the officer's appointment date.  To receive the bonus, the officer must sign an OAB agreement acknowledging an obligation to serve in the critical skill for 6 years.  

	b.  At the time the applicant signed his OAB agreement, AOC 35D was not an authorized critical skill for the OAB.  NCARNG recruiting officials had a responsibility to ensure the applicant's AOC was eligible for the OAB.  After he signed the agreement and before a BCN was issued, NCARNG officials should have again verified that his AOC was eligible for the bonus.  The applicant was erroneously offered the OAB and the Government paid a bonus to him that it should not have.  

	c.  Based on the above, the application should be disapproved with regard to any further payments and the OAB should be terminated with a waiver of recoupment for payments already received.

7.  On 19 March 2014, the applicant responded to the advisory opinion.  He states he agrees with the recommendation to waive recoupment for payments already received, but he disagrees with the rest of the advisory opinion.
	a.  He states that his family should not suffer financially because of irresponsible performance by recruiting staff.  Had he been correctly informed of the authorized critical skills for the OAB he would have chosen a qualifying AOC.  

	b.  Failure occurred on multiple levels because a BCN was issued for his OAB agreement.  Someone should have realized that his AOC was not on the critical skills list.  

	c.  The failure by NCARNG recruiting personnel is not his responsibility.  The $10,000.00 incentive was, and still is, needed by his family during these hard economic times.  His wife and six children should not suffer because the recruiting personnel failed.  

	d.  He asks that the Army Board for Correction of Military Records require payment of the second half of his OAB based upon his OAB agreement, which reflects the choices he made based on the representations of recruiting personnel.  

8.  Review of the ARNG SRIP critical AOC list in effect from 1 March 2009 to 16 June 2010 confirms that AOC 35D was not listed.  

9.  Title 37, U.S. Code, section 308j(b), provides the legal authority to provide an accession bonus to officers in the Selected Reserve.  It states the Secretary concerned may pay an accession bonus under this section to an eligible officer in any of the Armed Forces who enters into an agreement with the Secretary to accept an appointment as an officer of the armed forces and serve for the period specified in the agreement in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve of an Armed Force under the Secretary's jurisdiction in a critical officer skill.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence shows the payment of the second half of a $10,000.00 OAB was denied because the applicant was not accessed into a critical AOC.  

2.  Notwithstanding the administrative errors evident in this case, the simple fact remains that, by law, the applicant was not eligible for an OAB because he was not accessed into a critical AOC.  Payment of the first half of the bonus was made in error, and there is no legal basis for paying him the second installment based on his invalid contract.

3.  If any action is taken to recoup the first half of the OAB that he received in error, he may submit a new application to this Board requesting relief from recoupment.  
BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____x___  ____x___  ____x____  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned.



      _______ _   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)                                         AR20130021669



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130021669



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