IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 8 October 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130021685
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 that he be granted an exception to policy to retain his $15,000 Prior Service Enlistment Bonus (PSEB).
2. The applicant states that the reasons behind his bonus being recouped were based on factors beyond his control and resulted from obstacles in the administrative processing. He goes on to state that he completed the extension of his enlistment in a timely manner based on current National Guard guidance. Additionally, he was deployed to Afghanistan during the period he was in the inactive National Guard (ING) and when he returned to an active status he was notified that he was returning to Afghanistan with his unit. Accordingly, because his unit was preparing for deployment he was delayed in getting his extension paperwork processed.
3. The applicant provides a three-page letter explaining his application, copies of his request for an exception to policy to the National Guard Bureau (NGB), and letters of support from his commander and command sergeant major (CSM).
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The NGBs denial of the applicants for exception to policy states he enlisted on 17 November 2007 for a $15,000 bonus. The applicants PSEB addendum is not present in his official records.
2. His records show he deployed to Iraq during the period 20090409 20100117.
3. The applicant was apparently placed in the ING from 30 April 2011 to 30 April 2012.
4. The applicant was serving in the pay grade of E-5 when he extended his enlistment on 17 July 2012 for a period of 1 year.
5. The applicant deployed to Afghanistan during the period 20121216 20130811.
6. On 26 March 2013, the NGB denied the applicants request for an exception to policy to retain his $15,000 PSEB based on his not having extending his enlistment within the prescribed time directed by National Guard directives. The NGB directed the State Incentive Manager to recoup his bonus.
7. He was serving in the pay grade of E-6 when he extended his enlistment on 21 February 2014 for a period of 1 year.
8. The letters of support from his commander and CSM serve to explain that the applicant extended his enlistment at the first opportunity offered by the unit and asserts that the applicant should not be punished for deficiencies made by others.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. Although the applicants bonus addendum is not present in the available records, it appears that the applicant was eligible for his PSEB at the time of his extension and his bonus was paid. However, due to administrative errors that occurred through no fault of the applicant he was unable to extend after being released from the ING and as a result action was initiated to recoup his bonus. However, it is not reasonable to penalize the Soldier for errors made by others and for breakdowns in processes for which the individual Soldier is not expected to know or be responsible for, especially given the applicants repeated service to his country in an imminent danger area.
2. The applicant extended his enlistment reenlisted in good faith for a $15,000 PSEB; however, the State and the NGB have not honored their commitment to the applicant in that they have initiated action to recoup his PSEB.
3. Accordingly, it would be in the interest of equity and justice to grant him an exception to policy and allow him to retain his PSEB.
BOARD VOTE:
____X____ ___X_____ ___X_____ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
1. The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. 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 showing the NGB approved the request for exception to policy, and as a result of this correction voiding the recoupment of his PSEB and paying him back any funds already paid by the applicant towards his debt or recouped by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service.
2. The Board wants the applicant and all others to know that the sacrifices he made in service to the United States during the Global War on Terrorism are deeply appreciated. The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.
_______ _ _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) AR20130021685
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