IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  3 April 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140002953 


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 correction of his military records to show entitlement to a $20,000 Critical Skills Retention Bonus (CSRB) in area of concentration (AOC) 21B (Engineer) (or AOC 92A (Quartermaster)).

2.  The applicant states that he has served honorably in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) for more than 17 years.  During that period he deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) for a total of two years and he served overseas in Germany for nearly three years.

   a.  On 6 July 2012, he was ordered to active duty and he is currently serving as the S-3 for the 94th Engineer Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood, MO.  
   
   b.  He initially sought the assistance of his chain of command and U.S. Army, Europe (USAREUR), Inspector General (IG), but they were not willing to help.

   c.  He has been forced to pay the entire $20,000 CSRB back to the USAR.  He began paying back the CSRB while in Germany and the entire alleged debt will be paid off when his 2013 Federal tax refund is garnished.

   d.  He adds that he fulfilled the terms of his CSRB contract, the debt should be waived, and the $20,000 CSRB should be returned to him.

3.  The applicant provides copies of his deployment orders, officer evaluation reports (OERs), and application for waiver of debt.  (He indicates he provided a copy of the CSRB contract; however, it was not included with his application.)
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant was appointed as a Reserve commissioned officer, in the rank of second lieutenant, on 11 May 1996.  He completed the Engineer (EN) Officer Basic Course in 1999 and he was promoted to captain (CPT)/pay grade O-3 on 
1 March 2002.

2.  A DA Form 1059 (Service School Academic Evaluation Report) shows the applicant completed the Quartermaster Officer (QM) Advanced - Reserve Component (Phase 2) course on 3 March 2006.

3.  Headquarters, U.S. Army 89th Regional Readiness Command (RRC), Wichita, KS, memorandum, dated 16 May 2006, subject:  Classification of USAR Officer, withdrew AOC 21B (currently AOC 12B) and awarded AOC 92A to the applicant effective 16 May 2006.

4.  The applicant's Officer Record Brief (ORB), dated 9 September 2013, shows in section IX (Assignment Information) that he served in the following duties:

* AOC 12A from 1 January 1998 through 31 May 2000
* AOC 92A from 1 June 2000 through 30 June 2008
* AOC 12A from 1 July 2008 through 2 July 2012
* AOC 12B from 3 July 2012 through current assignment

5.  A review of the applicant's Army Military Human Resource Record (AMHRR) failed to reveal a copy of the applicant's CSRB Agreement or Addendum.  This review also failed to reveal any evidence of a request for exception to policy for entitlement to a CSRB.

6.  In support of his application, the applicant provides the following documents:

   a.  Headquarters, U.S. Army 89th RRC, Wichita, KS, Orders 07-135-00032, dated 15 May 2007, that ordered him to active duty (AD) in support of OIF on 
13 June 2007 for a period of 400 days.
   
   b.  Orders that were issued by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) pertaining to the applicant, as follows:

* Orders B-09-805793, dated 15 September 2008, that promoted him to major/pay grade O-4 effective 2 September 2008


* Orders A-10-927026, dated 1 October 2009, that ordered him to AD on 
6 October 2009 for a period of 365 days for Contingency Operation for
AD Operational Support (CO-ADOS) in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) with duty at Heidelberg, Germany; AOC 90A (Logistics) (LM)
* Orders A-10-278870, dated 4 October 2010, that ordered him to AD on 
6 October 2010 for a period of 365 days for CO-ADOS in support of OEF with duty at Heidelberg, Germany; AOC 90A
* Orders A-09-120058, dated 13 September 2011 (as amended by Orders A-09-120058A01, dated 20 September 2011, and Orders 
A-09-120058A02, dated 29 February 2012), that ordered him to AD on
6 October 2011 for a period of 270 days for Operational (OP) ADOS (OP-ADOS) with duty at Heidelberg, Germany; AOC 90A
* Orders A-05-208397, dated 9 May 2012 (as amended by Orders 
A-05-208397A01, dated 10 May 2012 and A-05-208397A02, dated 
31 May 2012), that ordered him to AD on 2 July 2012 to fulfill an active duty requirement in a voluntary indefinite status at Fort Leonard Wood, MO; AOC 12B (EN)

   c.  Nine of his DA Forms 67-9 (OERs) that show the following:

    	(1)  four OERs covering the period from 1 May 2003 through 4 June 2005 that show in:

* Part I (Administrative Data):

* block e (Branch):  EN
* block f (Designated Specialty):  12A (1 OER) / 21A (3 OERs)

* Part II (Duty Description):

* block a (Principal Duty Title):  Detachment Commander
* block b (Position AOC/Branch):  92A00

    	(2)  one OER covering the period from 5 June 2005 through 31 May 2006 that shows in:

* Part I:

* block e:  EN
* block f:  92A00


* Part II (Duty Description):

* block a:  Battalion S-2/S-3 Officer
* block b (Position AOC/Branch):  92A00

   	(3)  one OER covering the period from 1 June 2006 through 31 May 2007 that shows in:

* Part I:

* block e:  QM
* block f:  92A

* Part II:

* block a:  Battalion S-2/S-3 Officer
* block b:  92A
   
    	(4)  one OER covering the period from 1 June 2007 through 24 April 2008 that shows in:

* Part I:

* block e:  LG
* block f:  90A

* Part II:

* block a:  Battalion S-2/S-3 Officer
* block b:  90A/LG

    	(5)  two OERs covering the period from 25 May 2008 through 5 October 2009 that show in:

* Part I:

* block e:  LG
* block f:  90A




* Part II:

* block a:  Battalion Operations and Training Officer, S-3
* block b:  21B

   d.  A copy of an email from the applicant to the U.S. Treasury, dated 27 June 2013, and a DD Form 2789 (Waiver/Remission of Indebtedness Application), dated 13 November 2013, with a statement of explanation and enclosures, that show the applicant disputed his Department of Defense (DoD), Army Reserve debt of $20,000.

    	(1)  He indicated he signed a 3-year contract as a QM officer and received a $20,000 CSRB as an Army Reserve captain with a branch of QM and EN on 
5 March 2008, while deployed to Kuwait and assigned to the 243rd QM Battalion.

    	(2)  He met both critical skill shortages by completing the EN Officer Basic Course and QM Officer Advanced Course.
   
    	(3)  He returned from deployment in June 2008, his unit was scheduled to deactivate, and he joined the 1st EN Battalion, 102nd Training Division, Fort Leonard Wood, MO.

    	(4)  He acknowledged that he first became aware of the debt in January 2009 for allegedly violating the CSRB contract.  He also stated that the USAR failed to timely notify him and, if he had been notified, he would have found a QM or branch immaterial position.

    	(5)  He stated that he coordinated with his chain of command and they were working on an ETP; however, he had no knowledge of the action being submitted.

    	(6)  After being reassigned to Germany, he contacted the USAREUR IG and filed a complaint, but the IG was unable to help him.

   e.  Two Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) letters, dated 
23 August 2013 and 30 November 2013, that show, based on the applicant's inquiries disputing his indebtedness with the DoD, his account was reviewed and it was determined his debt in the principal amount of $8,475.08 remains valid.  It also shows that his debt is comprised of two bonus debts; however, due to submissions, the differences could not be distinguished.  He was advised of the options available to request waiver of the debt or filing a petition to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR).

7.  Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Washington, DC, memorandum, dated 12 December 2007, subject:  CPT CSRB, approved the Army's request to pay Reserve CPT's who execute a written agreement to serve in an active status for not less than 3 years in certain AOC fields designated as critical for CSRB purposes.  The Army was authorized to target eligible officers using programmed funding for FY 2008 and bonuses paid in FY's 2009 and 2010 would be subject to funding availability.

8.  Army Regulation 15-185 (ABCMR) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army acting through the ABCMR.  The regulation provides that the ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity.  The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends, in effect, that his records should be corrected to show entitlement to a $20,000 CSRB in AOC 21B or AOC 92A, or, in the alternative, waiver of his $20,000 CSRB debt.  He also contends he did not receive timely notification of the debt and that his unit was working on an ETP for CSRB, but he was unaware of the status.

2.  A copy of the applicant's CSRB Agreement or Addendum is not available in his AMHRR and the applicant did not provide a copy of his CSRB contract.  However, he states that he signed a 3-year contract as a QM officer and received a $20,000 CSRB as a USAR CPT with a branch of QM and EN on 5 March 2008.

3.  The evidence of record shows the applicant:

* completed the EN OBC and was awarded AOC 21A in 1999
* was promoted to CPT in March 2002
* completed the QM OAC and was awarded AOC 92A in 2006
* was promoted to MAJ in September 2008

4.  A CSRB agreement is based on the applicant's current AOC (being a critical skill) or contingent upon completion of training and award of an AOC that is identified as a critical skill, and then continued satisfactory performance of duty in that critical AOC for the entire period of the contract.  Thus, the applicant's contention that he contracted for a $20,000 CSRB as a USAR CPT with a branch of QM and EN (emphasis added) is unlikely.

5.  It is not clear why the applicant did not initiate and sign the request for ETP and submit it to his unit or why he would not have a copy of the request for ETP. In any event, there is no evidence that a request for ETP for entitlement to a CSRB was submitted or acted upon.

6.  The applicant's OERs show his AOC was 90A and that he performed duty in AOC 21B from 25 May 2008 through 5 October 2009.  His ORB shows he performed duty in AOC 12A from 1 July 2008 through 2 July 2012.  Thus, the applicant's records offer evidence that he did not perform duty in his awarded (primary)/CSRB AOC (90A) during the period of service under review.

7.  The evidence of record shows DFAS determined that the applicant's debt based on a bonus is valid.

8.  The regulations governing the Board's operation require that the military records and bonus process must be presumed to have been administered in accordance with applicable law and regulations unless the applicant can provide evidence to overcome that presumption.  Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the determination that the applicant violated the terms of his CSRB contract and that his CSRB debt is valid is presumed to have been, and still is, appropriate.

9.  Therefore, in view of all of the foregoing, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to grant the applicant's requested relief.

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)                                         AR20140002953



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140002953



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