DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 
Application for the Correction of 
the Coast Guard Record of: 
 
                                                                                        BCMR Docket No. 2009-020 
 
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 on November 14, 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). 
 
 
ed members who were designated to serve as the Board in this case. 

This final decision, dated July 16, 2009, is approved and signed by the three duly appoint-

APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS 

 
 
The  applicant,  a  boatswain’s  mate,  second  class  (BM2)  in  the  Coast  Guard  Selected 
Reserve (SELRES), asked the Board to correct his record to show that he is entitled to a $3,000 
SELRES Affiliation Bonus.  He alleged that he was promised the bonus and that it was “a big 
reason why [he] did SELRES.”   However, after signing the paperwork to get the bonus, he was 
informed on October 22, 2008, that he would not receive it.  He alleged that he was never told 
that there was even a possibility that he would not receive the bonus. 
 

In support of his allegations, the applicant submitted a CG-3307 (“Page 7”) dated Sep-
tember  27,  2008,  and  signed  by  the  applicant  and  a  chief  boatswain’s  mate  (BMC)  in  the 
station’s Servicing Personnel Office (SPO), which states the following: 

 

 
I have been advised that I am eligible for an $3,000 dollar [sic] SELRES Enlistment or 
Affiliation Bonus.  Receipt of this bonus commits me to SELRES participation through 
03 July 2010.  I hereby acknowledge that I have read and fully understand the contents of 
COMDTINST 7220.1 (series) and ALCOAST 093/05. 
 

SUMMARY OF THE RECORD 

 
On April 29, 2003, the applicant enlisted in the Coast Guard Reserve for eight years—
through  April  28,  2011—under  the  Delayed  Entry  Program  (DEP).    On  October  7,  2003,  he 

enlisted on active duty in the regular Coast Guard.  The applicant advanced to BM2 and later 
extended his active duty enlistment through July 6, 2008. 

 
On July 3, 2008, the applicant was released from active duty (RELAD) into the Ready 
Reserve.  Because of his original eight-year Reserve enlistment, he had a remaining military ser-
vice  obligation  (MSO)  through  April  28,  2011.    The  Coast  Guard’s  Direct  Access  database 
shows that he affiliated with the SELRES as of July 4, 2008, the day after his RELAD, and that 
he was assigned to a “contingency coxswain” position at the Coast Guard’s small boat station in 
Yankeetown, Florida, on July 8, 2008. 

 
The Page 7 dated September 27, 2008, which was submitted by the applicant, does not 
appear among the Page 7s entered in the applicant’s military record, which the JAG forwarded to 
the Board. 
 

APPLICABLE REGULATIONS 

 
When the applicant was released from active duty and affiliated with the SELRES in July 
2008, ALCOAST 060/08 was in effect.  It stated that “[f]or the purpose of this ALCOAST and 
the SELRES Bonus Program, critical units are defined as port security units (PSU) and Naval 
Coastal  Warfare  Units  (NCW).”    ALCOAST  060/08  provided  for  the  following  types  of 
SELRES bonuses for people with prior military service: 

 
5.  Affiliation Bonus. 
   A.    Eligibility  requirement  for  RELAD  personnel  in  the  MK  rating, who are E-4 or 
above and obligated to serve the remainder of their initial eight-year MSO in the Ready 
Reserve:  Member agrees to affiliate with the SELRES for a minimum of three years.  
The  SELRES  affiliation  agreement  for  bonus  payment  should  be  executed  before  the 
member is released from active duty.  However, if necessary, the agreement may be exe-
cuted up to three months after the RELAD date. 

   D.  Bonus Amount:  The amount of the bonus paid will be determined by multiplying 
200 dollars times the number of months, up to 48, of Reserve obligation the member has 
remaining or, if member is on active duty, will have remaining at the time of discharge.  
For  example,  if  a  member  has  a  remaining  [MSO]  of  one  year  and  nine  months  and 
agrees to affiliate with the SELRES for a minimum of three years, the member is eligible 
to receive only one year and nine months of bonus entitlements. 

●  ●  ● 

●  ●  ● 

●  ●  ● 

7.  Reenlistment/Extension Bonus:  Due to the current high rate of retention, the reenlist-
ment/extension bonus is not offered at this time. 

9.  … Bonus eligibility shall be documented on an Administrative Remarks (CG-3307) 
entry  reading  as  follows:    “I  have  been  advised  that  I  am  eligible  for  a  XXX  dollar 
SELRES Enlistment of Affiliation Incentive Bonus.  Receipt of this bonus commits me 
to  SELRES  participation  through  MM/DD/YYYY.    I  hereby  acknowledge  that  I  have 
read and fully understand the contents of COMDTINST 7220.1 (series) and ALCOAST 
XXX/08.” 

 
 
ALCOAST 093/05 was issued on February 22, 2005, and canceled on February 1, 2006.  
Under ALCOAST 093/05, members in the BM rating who were not assigned to a PSU or NCW 

unit were eligible for an Affiliation Bonus of $1,500 for each full year remaining to run on their 
MSO if they affiliated with the SELRES within 90 days of being RELAD.  No SELRES bonuses 
have been authorized for members in the BM rating since February 5, 2007. 

VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 

 

On April 9, 2009, the Judge Advocate General (JAG) of the Coast Guard submitted an 
advisory opinion in which he recommended that the Board deny the requested relief and grant 
alternative relief.   

 
The  JAG  stated  the  applicant  affiliated  with  the  SELRES  when  he  was  released  from 
active duty in July 2008.  However, on September 27, 2008, his SPO improperly advised him 
that he was eligible for a SELRES Affiliation Bonus and documented that counseling on a Page 
7.    The  JAG  stated  that  ALCOAST  060/08  was  in  effect  in  2008  and  did  not  authorize  any 
bonuses for the BM rating.  Therefore, the Page 7 was erroneous. 

 
The JAG recommended that the Board offer the applicant the option of transferring to the 
active status pool of the Reserve for the remainder of his MSO or of remaining in the SELRES 
without an Affiliation Bonus. 
 

APPLICANT’S RESPONSE TO THE VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
 
On May 11, 2009, the applicant responded to the JAG’s advisory opinion.  The applicant 
stated that several members told him he could receive an Affiliation Bonus and he was counting 
on the money.  He alleged that merely offering him the option of leaving the SELRES is not in 
his best interest or in the Coast Guard’s best interest because he is “a highly valued member at 
my reserve unit as a prospective 25 foot UTB coxswain.”  He said he has been wronged and that 
is not being greedy or spiteful in requesting the bonus. 
 

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: 
 

The Board has jurisdiction concerning this matter pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 1552.  

1. 

The application was timely. 
 

2. 

The applicant alleged that he affiliated with the SELRES in large part because he 
was  promised  a  $3,000  Affiliation  Bonus.    The  record  shows  that  he  was  not  entitled  to  a 
SELRES Affiliation Bonus in 2008 because he was not in the MK rating, which was the only 
critical rating authorized SELRES bonuses in 2008 under ALCOAST 060/08.  In addition, the 
applicant did not sign a contract that would guarantee his affiliation with the SELRES for at least 
three years, which was another requirement for an Affiliation Bonus under that ALCOAST. 

The Coast Guard’s Direct Access database shows that the applicant affiliated with 
the SELRES immediately upon his release from active duty on July 3, 2008, and was assigned to 
a contingency coxswain position at a small boat station on July 8, 2008.  He did not sign the Page 

 
3. 

 
4. 

 
5. 

 
6. 

7 stating that he was eligible for an Affiliation Bonus until September 27, 2008.  Therefore, the 
applicant’s  military  record  does  not  support  his  claim  that  a  promise  of  an  Affiliation  Bonus 
induced him to affiliate with the SELRES because he affiliated with the SELRES almost three 
months before he and the BMC signed the Page 7 concerning his eligibility for a bonus. 

When the applicant signed the Page 7 on September 27, 2008, he was a BM2 in 
the SELRES with more than 5 years of active duty experience, and he had access to Coast Guard 
ALCOASTs, which are published on the Coast Guard’s website.  Yet he and the BMC signed the 
Page  7  referencing  an  ALCOAST  that  had  not  been  in  effect  for more than two and one-half 
years.  ALCOAST 093/05 had been canceled on February 1, 2006, and was superseded annually 
by ALCOASTs 056/06, 064/07, and 060/08.  In fact, members in the BM rating had not been 
authorized any type of SELRES bonus since February 5, 2007.   

The applicant stated that he learned he was not entitled to any SELRES bonus on 
October 22, 2008.  Therefore, assuming the applicant was misled by the BMC into believing that 
he was eligible for a bonus for having affiliated with the SELRES more than two months previ-
ously, based on a two and one-half year old ALCOAST, he was disabused of that notion less than 
four weeks later. 

Given  the  circumstances  of  this  case,  the  Board  finds  that  the  applicant’s  non-
receipt of a $3,000 SELRES bonus is neither error nor injustice.1  The JAG recommended that 
the Board give the applicant the option of transferring to the active status pool of the Reserve for 
the remainder of his MSO because of the BMC’s erroneous advice about the bonus on September 
27, 2008.  Therefore, the Board will give the applicant this option. 
 

Accordingly, the applicant’s request for a $3,000 bonus should be denied, but he 

7. 

should have the option of transferring to the active status pool of the Reserve. 

 
 
 

[ORDER AND SIGNATURES APPEAR ON NEXT PAGE]

                                                 
1 For the purposes of the BCMRs, “‘[i]njustice’, when not also ‘error’, is treatment by the military authorities, that 
shocks the sense of justice, but is not technically illegal.” Reale v. United States, 208 Ct. Cl. 1010, 1011 (1976). 

ORDER 

 

The application of BM2 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, USCGR, for correction of his military 
record  is  denied,  except  that  within 60 days of the date of this decision he shall be given the 
option of transferring from the SELRES to the active status pool of the Reserve at his discretion. 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

        

 
 Lillian Cheng 

 

 

 
 Nancy L. Friedman 

 

 

 
 Vicki J. Ray