DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 
Application for the Correction of 
the Coast Guard Record of: 
 
                                                                                BCMR Docket No. 2008-074 
 
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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 on February 15, 2008, upon 
receipt of the applicant’s completed application, and assigned it to staff member J. Andrews to 
prepare 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 November 6, 2008, is approved and signed by the three duly 

APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS 

 

The applicant asked the Board to allow him to sell accrued leave1 as of the date of his 
indefinite reenlistment in 2005.  He alleged that he has 51.5 days of accrued leave and would 
have sold leave if he had been counseled about his opportunity to do so.  However, he was not 
counseled about selling leave and was not told that it was his last opportunity to sell leave prior 
to his retirement. 

 
The applicant stated that he believes he was not properly counseled because his reenlist-
ment  was  “impromptu/expedited.”    He  explained  that  in  April  2005,  he  completed  a  training 
course  in  canine  handling.    Prior  to  beginning  this  training,  his  unit’s  administrative  officer 
should have required him to obligate an additional three years of service, which was a prerequi-
site for the training.  However, they forgot to have him sign a contract to obligate the additional 
three years of service before the training course and did not notice the error until after he com-
pleted the training and had less than three months of remaining obligated service.  Therefore, he 

                                                 
1  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.” 

was  asked  to  reenlist  immediately  to  fulfill  the  obligated  service  requirement  for  the  canine-
handling training, and he was not counseled about his ability to sell leave. 

VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
On April 23, 2008, the Judge Advocate General (JAG) of the Coast Guard submitted an 
advisory opinion recommending that the Board grant relief and adopting the findings and analy-
sis provided in a memorandum on the case prepared by the Coast Guard Personnel Command 
(CGPC).  The JAG stated that the applicant’s record should be corrected to show that he sold 
23.5 days of accrued annual leave upon his discharge and indefinite reenlistment. 

 
CGPC stated that the applicant reenlisted indefinitely on May 3, 2005, and so was tech-
nically  discharged  on  May  2,  2005.    CGPC  stated  that  under  ALCOAST  095/01,  which  was 
issued on March 6, 2001, any member in pay grade E-5 or above who had at least ten years of 
active service and whose enlistment was ending was required to sign an indefinite reenlistment 
contract instead of an extension or reenlistment contract for a set term of years.  In addition, on 
March 29, 2001, the Commandant issued ALPERSRU 1/01 to instruct personnel officers on the 
new indefinite reenlistment policy.  It states that a member serving on an indefinite contract may 
request separation but must do so at least six months in advance of the requested separation date.  
The ALPERSRU further provides the following: 

 
Members subject to the new indefinite reenlistment policy should be counseled concerning lump 
sum leave entitlements.  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]. 
 
CGPC stated that although this counseling is required, “[t]here is no specific requirement 
for documentation of such counseling and the applicant’s record is silent with regards to counsel-
ing.  There is nothing to dispute the applicant’s assertion that he was not counseled as specified 
in ALPERSRU 1/01.” 

 
CGPC noted that the Board has granted relief in two similar cases, BCMR Docket Nos. 
2005-152 and 2004-016 and recommended that the Board likewise grant relief in this case in the 
interest of justice.  CGPC noted that the applicant currently (as of March 2008) has 57.5 days of 
accrued leave and submitted a copy of the applicant’s Leave and Earnings Statement for May 
2005,  which  shows  that  he  began  that  month  with  23.5  days  of  leave;  that  he  took  no  leave 
during the month; and that he had not previously sold any leave. 

 

 

 

APPLICANT’S RESPONSE TO THE VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

On April 30, 2008, the applicant responded to the Coast Guard’s recommendation and 

 
 
stated that he has no objection to it. 

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS 

 
 
military record and submissions, the Coast Guard's submissions, and applicable law: 

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

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

The  Board  has  jurisdiction  over  this  matter  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  10 

 
 
U.S.C. § 1552.  The application was timely. 
 
 
Under 33 C.F.R. § 52.24(b), absent evidence to the contrary, the Board presumes 
that Coast Guard records are correct and that Coast Guard officers have carried out their duties 
“lawfully, correctly, and in good faith.” Arens v. United States, 969 F.2d 1034, 1037 (Fed. Cir. 
1992); Sanders v. United States, 594 F.2d 804, 813 (Ct. Cl. 1979).  Therefore, absent evidence to 
the  contrary,  the  Board  presumes  that  the  applicant  was  properly  counseled  on  May  3,  2005, 
when he signed his indefinite reenlistment contract. 
 
 
 ALPERSRU  1/01  required  personnel  officers  to  counsel  members  who  were 
reenlisting indefinitely about the reenlistment being their last opportunity to sell leave prior to 
their  retirement.    However,  the  ALPERSRU  contains  no  requirement  that  the  counseling  be 
documented by an administrative entry in the member’s record, and the Board knows of no such 
requirement  in  the  Personnel  Manual  or  elsewhere.    Therefore,  the  lack  of  documentation  of 
counseling  about  the  sale  of  leave  in  the  applicant’s  record  is  not  probative  of  whether  such 
counseling actually occurred. 
 
 
In applying to the Board, the applicant—who has completed almost fifteen years 
of honorable service—signed a sworn statement declaring under penalty of law that he was not 
counseled about his opportunity to sell leave when he reenlisted in 2005 or about the effect of his 
indefinite reenlistment on his chance to sell leave prior to retirement.  His Leave and Earnings 
Statement  for  May  2005  indicates  that,  in  accordance  with  Article  7.A.20.  of  the  Personnel 
Manual, he could have  sold up to 23.5 days of  leave  when he signed the contract on May  3, 
2005.  The applicant is supported in his request by CGPC and the Judge Advocate General, and 
the Board has  granted relief in two similar cases.  Therefore, the Board finds that it is in the 
interest of justice to allow the applicant to sell the 23.5 days of leave as of his discharge and 
reenlistment, assuming that he still has sufficient accrued leave to do so at this time. 
 
 
 

Accordingly, relief should be granted. 

5. 

 
  

 
 
 

 

[ORDER AND SIGNATURES APPEAR ON NEXT PAGE] 

 

military record is granted as follows.     
 

ORDER 

The  application  of  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,  USCG,  for  correction  of  his 

The Coast Guard shall correct his record to show that, upon his discharge and indefinite 
reenlistment on May 3, 2005, he sold 23.5 days of leave, provided that he has at least 23.5 days 
of  accrued  leave  on  the  date  this  order  is  implemented.    His  leave  record  shall  be  adjusted 
accordingly, and the Coast Guard shall pay him any amount he may be due as a result of this 
correction. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 Robert S. Johnson, Jr. 

 
 
 Jordan S. Fried 

 

 
 
 Evan R. Franke