FINAL DECISION 

 
ANDREWS, Attorney-Advisor: 
 
 
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 BCMR docketed the case on February 3, 
1999, upon receipt of the applicant’s completed application. 
 
 
appointed members who were designated to serve as the Board in this case. 
 

This  final  decision,  dated  November  18,  1999,  is  signed  by  the  three  duly  

RELIEF REQUESTED 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 
Application for the Correction of 
the Coast Guard Record of: 
 
                                                                                        BCMR Docket No. 1999-058 
 
 
   

 
 
The applicant, a xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx on active duty in the Coast Guard, asked the 
Board  to  correct  his  military  record  to  show  that  he  extended  his  enlistment for four 
years instead of six years on August 31, 1997.  
 

APPLICANT’S ALLEGATIONS 

The applicant alleged that on September 2, 1997, he was wrongly counseled con-
cerning the amount of time he had to extend his enlistment in order to receive a selec-
tive reenlistment bonus (SRB) under ALDIST 135/97.  He alleged that he extended his 
enlistment for six years, through August 30, 2003, because he was told he had to do so 
to  receive  an  SRB  of  $10,000.    He  alleged  that  under  the  regulations,  he  only  had  to 
extend  his  enlistment  for  four  years,  through  August  30,  2001,  to  receive  the  $10,000 
SRB.  

 
The applicant submitted a letter from his commanding officer, who stated that 
the applicant “was incorrectly informed that in order to receive a Selective Reenlistment 
Bonus  of  $10,000,  it  was  mandatory  that  he  cancel  his  three  year  commitment  dated 

12MAY97 and sign up for a total of 6 years of active duty service to expire 30AUG03. 
…[However, the applicant] only needed to obligate one more year of active duty service 
to receive this bonus amount. …  I highly recommend that [the applicant] be allowed to 
change his 02SEP97 commitment to four years of active duty vice six.” 

SUMMARY OF THE RECORD 

 

through August 30, 199x.   

On  August  31,  199x,  the  applicant  enlisted  in  the  Coast  Guard  for  four  years, 

 
In May 1997, the applicant received PCS (permanent change of station) orders for 
a transfer to a new unit in xxxxxx.  To accept these orders, the applicant was told he had 
to  obligate  himself  to  serve  for  at  least  three  years  beginning  on  the  date  he  would 
report  to  his  new  unit.    Therefore,  on  May  12,  1997,  the  applicant  extended  his 
enlistment for three years, through August 30, xxxx.  The applicant’s extension contract 
indicated that there was no SRB authorized for his rating at that time.  It also contained 
the following paragraph: 

EFFECT OF EXTENSION/REEXTENSION ON SRB ENTITLEMENT 

 
I  fully  understand  the  effect  my  extension/reextension  will  have  upon  my  current  and 
future  SRB  eligibility.  …    I  further  acknowledge  that  I  have  been  given  the  chance  to 
review COMDTINST 7220.33 (series) concerning my eligibility for SRB and have had all 
my questions answered. 
 
On June 5, 1997, the Commandant issued ALDIST 135/97, which authorized an 
SRB calculated with a multiple of 1 for xx who enlisted or extended their enlistments 
after July 1, 1997, for three or more years.  The applicant reported to his new unit on 
June 16, 1997. 

 
On August 30, 1997, the applicant canceled the three-year extension contract he 
had signed on May 12, 1997, and signed instead a six-year extension contract, obligating 
him to serve through August 30, xxxx.  The six-year extension contract contains the fol-
lowing paragraph in addition to the one shown above: 

 

 

 

SRB ELIGIBILITY ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

 
I have been provided with a copy  [of] “SRB Questions and Answers” based on Comman-
dant Instruction 7220.33 (series).  I have been informed that:  My current Selective Reen-
listment Bonus (SRB) multiple under zone  A  is  1  and is listed in ALDIST 135/97, 
which  has  been  made  available  for  review.    I  further  understand  the  eligibility  require-
ments for Zone A, B, and C SRB’s and that the maximum SRB paid to my current pay 

grade is $  10,000 .  My SRB will be computed based on  36   months newly obli-
gated service. [1] 

 

VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

On October 28, 1999, the Chief Counsel of the Coast Guard recommended that 

 
 
the Board deny the applicant’s request. 
 
 
The Chief Counsel stated that Article 4.B.6. of the Personnel Manual (COMDT-
INST M1000.6A) required the applicant to commit himself to serve at least three years 
past  the  date  he  reported  to  his  new  unit  prior  to  accepting  his  transfer  orders.    He 
alleged that the applicant’s statement that he was only required to extend his service for 
one year is incorrect. 
 
 
The  Chief  Counsel  further  stated  that  the  applicant  knowingly  extended  his 
enlistment  for  six  years  to  receive  an  SRB  based  on  his  additional  obligated  service.  
Absent evidence of fraud or duress, the Chief Counsel argued, the applicant should be 
bound by his contract. 
 

APPLICANT’S RESPONSE TO THE VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
 
On November 2, 1999, the BCMR sent the applicant a copy of the Chief Counsel’s 
advisory opinion and invited him to respond within 15 days.  On November 15, 1999, 
the applicant responded.  He stated that, when he signed the six-year extension form on 
August 30, 1997, he was “under the impression that 3 years would be active duty, [after 
which  he]  would  process  out  of  the  Coast  Guard  and  have  3  years  active  or  inactive 
reserve time.”  He explained that he was under this impression because (1) the yeoman 
who processed his extension did not inform him that he would have to perform three 
extra years of active duty to receive the SRB, and (2) when he originally enlisted in the 
Coast Guard, he was told that when he was discharged he might be released into the 
Reserve.  Therefore, he asked the Board to correct his record to make his enlistment end 
on August 30, xxxx, even if the correction would make him ineligible for an SRB. 
 

APPLICABLE REGULATIONS 

 
Article 4.B.6.a. of the Personnel Manual states that “[s]ervice members … E-4 and 
 
above  with  less  than  six  years  of  active  duty  will  not  normally  be  transferred  unless 

                                                 
1    SRBs  vary  according  to  the  length  of  each  member’s  active  duty  service,  the  length  of  the  period  of 
reenlistment or extension of enlistment, and the need of the Coast Guard for personnel with the member’s 
particular skills.  Coast Guard members who have served between 21 months and 6 years on active duty 
are in “Zone A,” while those who have more than 6 but less than 10 years of active duty service are in 
“Zone B.”  On August 30, 1997, the applicant was still in Zone A.  Members may not receive more than 
one bonus per zone. 

they reenlist or extend to have enough obligated service for a full tour on reporting to a 
new unit.” 
 

Section  2  of  Commandant  Instruction  7220.33  (Reenlistment  Bonus  Programs 
Administration) provides that “[a]ll personnel with 14 years or less active service who 
reenlist  or  extend  for  any  period,  however  brief,  shall  be  counseled  on  the  SRB 
program.    They  shall  sign  a  page  7  service  record  entry,  enclosure  (3),  outlining  the 
effect that particular action has on their SRB entitlement.” 
 
 
Enclosure (3) to the instruction requires that members sign a page 7 administra-
tive  entry  indicating  that  they  have  received  and  read  Enclosure  (5),  entitled  “SRB 
Questions  and  Answers.”    Enclosure  (5)  explains  that  previously  obligated  service 
reduces an applicant’s SRB.  It further advises members, “[w]hen coming up on your 
end of enlistment, carefully consider the advantages/disadvantages of reenlisting vice 
extending.”  
 

Paragraph  3.d.(6)  of  Enclosure  (1)  to  the  instruction  states  that  extensions  can-
celed prior to their operative dates for the purpose of receiving an SRB reduce the SRB 
by the number of months of previously obligated service unless the extension is for a 
period of two years or less, in which case the SRB is not diminished.  

  
ALDIST 135/97, issued on June 5, 1997, established SRBs for personnel in certain 
skill ratings who reenlisted or extended their enlistments on or after July 1, 1997.  The 
multiple  to  be  used  for  calculating  SRBs  for  members  in  the  xx  rating  was  one.    The 
ALDIST indicates that the maximum possible SRB authorized for members in the E-4 
pay grade.  
 

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 appli-
cable law: 
 

1. 

The Board has jurisdiction concerning this matter pursuant to section 1552 

of title 10, United States Code.  The application was timely. 
 

2. 

Prior to accepting his PCS orders to xxxxxxxx, the applicant was required 
under  Article  4.B.6.a.  of  the  Personnel  Manual  to  obligate  himself  to serve for a “full 
tour,” or at least three years, after the date he would report to his new unit.  Therefore, 
the  applicant  extended  his  enlistment  for  three  years,  through  August  30,  xxxx.    The 
contract signed by the applicant indicates that he understood the effect of this extension 
on any future SRB for which he might become eligible. 

 

3. 

After ALDIST 135/97 became effective on July 1, 1997, the applicant was 
eligible to receive an SRB if he canceled his three-year extension prior to its operative 
date,  August  31,  199x,  and  signed  a  new  contract  extending  his  enlistment  for  more 
than three years. 

Under Paragraph 3.d.(6) of Enclosure (1) to COMDTINST 7220.33, exten-
sions of three years may be canceled prior to becoming operative so that a member may 
extend his enlistment or reenlist to receive an SRB.  However, the awarded SRB is based 
only  on  the  months  of  service  newly  obligated  by  the  subsequent  extension  or 
reenlistment contract.  Because on May 12, 1997, the applicant obligated himself to serve 
through August 30, xxxx, the SRB due to the applicant is properly based on only the 
three years of service (August 31, xxxx, through August 30, xxxx) newly obligated by 
the contract dated August 30, 199x.  The applicant’s new extension contract clearly indi-
cated  that  the  SRB  would  be  based  on  only  36  months  (3  years)  of  newly  obligated 
service. 
 
5. 

The applicant is mistaken in thinking that he can receive the same SRB for 
a shorter extension.  SRBs are based on the number of months of service to which mem-
bers  newly  obligate  themselves  in  their  reenlistment  and  extension  contracts.    More-
over,  the  $10,000  SRB  claimed  by  the  applicant  is  clearly  indicated  in  both  ALDIST 
135/97 and the applicant’s extension contract as the maximum SRB a member in his pay 
grade  could  receive;  nowhere  is  it  indicated  that  the  applicant  himself  will  receive 
$10,000. 
 
6. 

While  the  applicant  may  have  misunderstood  the  terms  of  his  six-year 
extension  contract,  he  has  not  proved  that  his  misunderstanding  was  the  fault  of  the 
Coast Guard.  The contract clearly states that the term of the extension is for six years, 
ending on August 30, xxxx.  It also clearly states that it requires 36 months of newly 
obligated service.  The Coast Guard Reserve is not mentioned in the contract.  There-
fore,  the  applicant  has  failed  to  prove  any  error  or  injustice  on  the  part  of  the  Coast 
Guard in holding him to his commitment to serve through August 30, xxxx. 

 
4. 

 
7. 
 

Accordingly, the applicant’s request should be denied. 

 
 
 
 

[ORDER AND SIGNATURES APPEAR ON NEXT PAGE]

The  application  for  correction  of  the  military  record  of  XXXXXXXX,  USCG,  is 

ORDER 

 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 
George Kuehnle, Jr. 

 

 

 
Gareth W. Rosenau 

 

 

 
Coleman R. Sachs 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

hereby denied.