DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 
Application for the Correction of 
the Coast Guard Record of: 
 
                                                                                BCMR Docket No. 2011-005 
 
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx   

FINAL DECISION 

 

 
 

 

This is a proceeding under the provisions of section 1552 of title 10 and section 425 of 
title 14 of the United States Code.  The Chair docketed the case after receiving the applicant’s 
completed application on October 16, 2010, and assigned it to staff member J. Andrews to pre-
pare the decision for the Board as required by 33 C.F.R. § 52.61(c). 
 
 
appointed members who were designated to serve as the Board in this case. 
 

This  final  decision,  dated  June  16,  2011,  is  approved  and  signed  by  the  three  duly 

APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS 

The applicant asked the Board to correct his record to show that he sold leave when he 
signed an indefinite reenlistment contract on April 6, 2009.1  The applicant stated that when he 
signed the contract, he did not intend to sell any leave.  However, later he asked a yeoman about 
selling  leave  and  learned  that  his  indefinite  reenlistment  had  been  his  last  opportunity  to  sell 
leave.    The  yeoman  showed  him  ALCOAST  307/08,2  which  advises  members  about  selling 

 

                                                 
1 Whenever a member reenlists, his record automatically shows that he was discharged from his prior enlistment the 
day before the date of reenlistment.  Under 37 U.S.C. § 37(b), a member of the armed forces “who has accrued leave 
to his credit at the time of his discharge, is entitled to be paid in cash or by a check on the Treasurer of the United 
States for such leave on the basis of the basic pay to which he was entitled on the date of discharge. …  However, 
the number of days of leave for which payment is made may not exceed sixty, less the number of days for which 
payment  was  previously  made  under  this  section  after  February  9,  1976.”    This  statute  is  reflected  in  Article 
7.A.20.a. of the Personnel Manual,  which authorizes upon discharge a  lump sum payment of  unused  leave  “to a 
maximum career total of 60 days.”  Members may not carry more than 75 days of accrued leave from one fiscal year 
to the next, and any accrued leave in excess of 75 days is lost at the start of a new fiscal year. Personnel and Pay 
Procedures Manual, PPCINST M1000.2A, Chapter 5.D.2.1. 
2 ALCOAST 307/08, which became effective on September 1, 2008, states the following in pertinent part: 

1.  In order to afford our members serving on indefinite reenlistment contracts the opportunity to 
sell leave prior to separation or retirement, the following change is effective immediately and will 
be reflected in a future change to [the Personnel Manual]. 

leave when they reenlist indefinitely.  The applicant stated that he did not see ALCOAST 307/08 
before he reenlisted and he was not counseled when he signed the contract that it would be his 
last opportunity before retirement to sell leave.  The applicant alleged that, if he had been prop-
erly advised, he would have sold leave because he had accumulated 73 days of leave.  In support 
of this allegation, the applicant submitted a copy of his Leave and Earnings Statement for the 
month of April 2009, which shows that he had a leave balance of 73 days and that he had never 
sold  any  leave.    He  also  submitted  a  copy  of  his  indefinite  reenlistment  contract,  wherein  he 
initialed block 8, which states “Member is not selling any leave at this time.” 
 

VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
On January 5, 2011, the Judge Advocate General (JAG) of the Coast Guard submitted an 
advisory  opinion  recommending  that  the  Board  grant  the  applicant’s  request  and  adopting  the 
findings and analysis provided in a memorandum on the case prepared by the Personnel Service 
Center (PSC). 

 
The PSC recommended that relief be granted.  The PSC noted that although the applicant 
initialed block 8 of his reenlistment contract and signed the contract in block 18, he failed to 
execute blocks 13 or 14, so the contract is invalid even though it is currently in effect.  The PSC 
stated that the Coast Guard’s policy is “to provide members the opportunity to sell leave before 
entering  into  [an  indefinite  reenlistment]  contract.    Had  the  applicant  received  proper  career 
counseling, this should have been the time the applicant sold any leave.”  Therefore, the PSC 
recommended that the Board void the applicant’s invalid contract and allow him to enter into a 
new contract and sell leave. 
 

APPLICANT’S RESPONSE TO THE VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
 
and invited him to respond within 30 days.  No response was received.   

On January 18, 2011, the Chair sent the applicant a copy of the views of the Coast Guard 

 

                                                                                                                                                             

2.  Effective 1 September 2008, members who are currently serving on an indefinite reenlistment 
contract are authorized to enter into a new indefinite reenlistment, one time, during a career for the 
purpose of selling leave.  Those members who desire to enter into a new indefinite contract should 
contact their unit YN and submit a Career Intentions Worksheet (CG-PSC-2045) indicating their 
desire to reenlist and the number of days of leave they desire to sell. 

●   ●   ● 

5.    It  is  important  for  members  to  understand  that  if  they  were  already  in  an  indefinite 
reenlistment, and cancel that contract to sell leave, they will return to an indefinite reenlistment.  
CGPC  (epm-2)  remains  the  cancellation  authority  for  all  other  issues  related  to  enlistment 
contracts. 
6.  Effective 1 SEP 2008, members who have 10 or more years of active service will be allowed to 
reenlist for periods of three years, four years, five years, six years or for an indefinite period up to 
their 30-year active duty anniversary date.  Members reenlisting for an indefinite period on or after 
1 SEP 2008 cannot reenlist again later in their career for the purpose of selling leave.  Paragraph 2 
(above)  applies  to  members  who  entered  into  indefinite  reenlistment  contracts  prior  to  1  SEP 
2008. 
7.    Guidance  to  servicing  personnel  offices  processing  new  Indefinite  reenlistment  transactions 
will be provided by PSC via e-mail ALSPO. 

 

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS 

The Board makes the following findings and conclusions on the basis of the applicant's 

 
 
military record and submissions, the Coast Guard's submissions, and applicable law: 
 
 
tion was timely. 
 

The Board has jurisdiction over this matter under 10 U.S.C. § 1552.  The applica-

1. 

2. 

3. 

 The applicant alleged that he was not properly counseled when he reenlisted on 
April 6, 2009, that it would be his last opportunity to sell leave before his retirement and so his 
record should be corrected to show that he sold leave when he reenlisted.  The Board begins its 
analysis  in  every  case  by  presuming  that  the  disputed  information  in  the  applicant’s  military 
record is correct as it appears in his record, and the applicant bears the burden of proving by a 
preponderance of the evidence that the disputed information is erroneous or unjust.3  Absent evi-
dence  to  the  contrary,  the  Board  presumes  that  Coast  Guard  officials  and  other  Government 
employees have carried out their duties “correctly, lawfully, and in good faith.”4  
 
 
The applicant admitted that he knew on April 6, 2009, that he could sell leave and 
opted  not  to  do  so.    He  initialed  block  8  of  his  indefinite  reenlistment  contract,  affirming  his 
intention not to sell leave.  The applicant alleges, however, that he should have been advised that 
it was his last opportunity to sell leave before retirement; that he was not so advised; and that if 
had been advised of this fact, he would have sold leave.  The Board agrees that the applicant was 
entitled to proper counseling about the effect of an indefinite reenlistment on his entitlement to 
sell leave because on March 29, 2001, the Commandant issued ALPERSRU I/01 to instruct yeo-
men on the new indefinite reenlistment policy.  The ALPERSRU states that “[m]embers subject 
to the new indefinite reenlistment policy should be counseled concerning lump sum leave entitle-
ments.  The date the member executes an indefinite reenlistment will be the last opportunity for 
the  member  to  sell  leave  until  such  time  as  the  member  retires/separates,  pursuant  to  article 
7.A.20. of [the Personnel Manual].”  Absent evidence to the contrary, however, the Board pre-
sumes that the personnel officer who reenlisted the applicant on April 6, 2009, performed this 
duty.5 
 

The applicant has not submitted specific evidence showing that he was not coun-
seled when he reenlisted on April 6, 2009, that it would be his last opportunity to sell leave.  In 
this regard, the Board notes that even if his yeoman said nothing about it, the Career Intentions 
Worksheet that members normally  complete when they  reenlist clearly  states in block 24, the 
“Leave Section,” that “[i]f you are entering into an indefinite reenlistment this will be the last 
opportunity  to  sell  leave  before  you  retire  or  are  discharged.”6    However,  the  applicant  has 
proved that his reenlistment contract was improperly completed, which lends some credence to 
his  claim  that  he  was  not  properly  counseled  when  he  reenlisted.    Therefore,  the  Board  will 
accede  to  the  Coast  Guard’s  recommendation  that  the  applicant  be  allowed  to  re-execute  the 

4. 

                                                 
3 33 C.F.R. § 52.24(b). 
4 Arens v. United States, 969 F.2d 1034, 1037 (Fed. Cir. 1992); Sanders v. United States, 594 F.2d 804, 813 (Ct. Cl. 
1979). 
5 Id. 
6 CG-2045 (Rev. 06/08), Career Intentions Worksheet. 

contract and to sell leave on that date, as long as the sale of leave does not exceed the 60-day 
career maximum under 37 U.S.C. § 37(b) and does not leave him with a negative leave balance 
after his leave records are adjusted to reflect the sale. 
 
 
 

Accordingly, relief should be granted. 

5. 

 
  

 
 
 

 

[ORDER AND SIGNATURES APPEAR ON NEXT PAGE] 

 

military record is granted as follows:    
 

ORDER 

The  application  of  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,  USCG,  for  correction  of  his 

 
 
 

 
 
 

Within 120 days of the date of this decision, the Coast Guard shall offer the applicant the 
opportunity  to  execute  a  new  indefinite  reenlistment  contract  dated  April  6,  2009,  and  to  sell 
leave  in  conjunction  with  the  indefinite  reenlistment,  provided  that  the  sale  of  leave  shall  not 
exceed  the  60-day  career  maximum  under  37  U.S.C.  §  37(b)  and  shall  not  leave  him  with  a 
negative leave balance after his leave records are adjusted to reflect the sale.  If the applicant 
executes a new indefinite reenlistment contract dated April 6, 2009, the old one shall be removed 
from his record as null and void, and the Coast Guard shall pay him any amount due as a result 
of this correction.  If the applicant opts not to execute the new contract, no correction shall be 
made to his record. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 Donna M. Bivona 

 
 Randall J. Kaplan 

 

 
 Bruce D. Burkley