DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
Application for the Correction of
the Coast Guard Record of:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
BCMR Docket No. 2004-149
FINAL DECISION
AUTHOR: Hale, D.
This is a proceeding under the provisions of section 1552 of title 10 and section
425 of title 14 of the United States Code. It was docketed on July 7, 2004, upon the
BCMR’s receipt of the applicant’s request for correction.
members who were designated to serve as the Board in this case.
This final decision, dated February10, 2005, is signed by the three duly appointed
APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS
The applicant asked the Board to correct his military record by voiding his 5-year
reenlistment contract and replacing it with a 6-year reenlistment contract. He alleged
that he was erroneously counseled about the amount of the selective reenlistment bonus
(SRB)1 he would receive for reenlisting in the Coast Guard.
SUMMARY OF THE APPLICANT’S RECORD
On October 9, 2001, the applicant enlisted in the Coast Guard as a Boatswain’s
Mate, third class (BM3) for a term of 4 years, through October 8, 2005. On June 8, 2004,
the applicant signed a 5-year reenlistment contract, through June 7, 2009, to obligate
service for transfer. The applicant signed an administrative remarks (page 7) on June 8,
2004, which stated the following:
I have been advised that my current [SRB] multiple is 1 and is
listed in ALCOAST 182/03, which has been made available to me.
I am eligible to reenlist up to a maximum of 6 years. My SRB
will be computed based on 56 months of newly obligated service.
1 SRBs allow the Coast Guard to offer a reenlistment incentive to members who possess highly desired
skills at certain points during their career. SRBs vary according to the length of each member’s active duty
service, the number of months of service newly obligated by the reenlistment or extension of enlistment
contract, and the need of the Coast Guard for personnel with the member’s particular skills, which is
reflected in the “multiple” of the SRB authorized for the member’s skill/rating, which is published in an
ALCOAST. Personnel Manual, Article 3.C.1.
I hereby acknowledge that I have read and fully understand the
contents and explanation of COMDINST 7220.133 (series).
VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD
On November 15, 2004, the Judge Advocate General (TJAG) of the Coast Guard
recommended that the Board deny the applicant’s request. TJAG alleged that the
applicant failed to carry his burden of production and persuasion and offered no
evidence to support his claim that he was improperly counseled regarding his SRB
entitlements. TJAG also alleged that the applicant was properly counseled regarding
his SRB and was given the appropriate page 7 to document the counseling.
APPLICANT’S RESPONSE TO THE VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD
On November 19, 2004, the Chair sent a copy of the views of the Coast Guard to
the applicant and invited him to respond within thirty days. No response was received.
APPLICABLE REGULATIONS
Article 3.C.3. of the Coast Guard Personnel Manual (Written Agreements) states
that “[a]ll personnel with 10 years or less of active service who reenlist or extend for any
period, however brief, shall be counseled on the SRB program. They shall sign an
Administrative Remarks, CG 3301 (page 7), service record entry outlining the effect that
particular action has on their SRB entitlement.”
Article 3.C.5.1. of the Personnel Manual states that when a member reenlists
before finishing his previous contract term, “[a]ll periods of unexecuted service
obligation … will be deducted from SRB computation.”
ALCOAST 182/03 was issued by the Commandant on April 24, 2003, and was in
effect from July 1, 2003, through July 31, 2004. Under ALCOAST 182/03, BM3s were
eligible for a Zone A SRB calculated with a multiple of 1.
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
1.
The Board has jurisdiction concerning this matter pursuant to 10 U.S.C.
The Board makes the following findings and conclusions on the basis of the
applicant's military record and submissions, the Coast Guard's submission, and appli-
cable law:
§ 1552. The application was timely.
On June 8, 2004, the applicant signed a 5-year reenlistment contract to
obligate service for transfer to Coast Guard Station Southwest Harbor, Maine, in
accordance with Article 4.B.6.a.1. He was counseled that pursuant to ALCOAST
182/03, he would receive a Zone A SRB calculated with 56 months of newly obligated
service. However, the counseling was in error because the amount of previously
obligated service to be subtracted from the SRB was improperly calculated. When the
2.
applicant signed the reenlistment contract on June 8, 2004, his previous end of
enlistment (EOE) date was October 8, 2005. Therefore, when he signed the 5-year
reenlistment contract on June 8, 2004, the applicant had 16 months of previously
obligated service remaining on his original enlistment contract, and he should have
been counseled that pursuant to Article 3.C.5.1., his SRB would be computed with 44
months of newly obligated service, and not 56 months as shown on the page 7 in his
record.
The applicant has proved by a preponderance of the evidence that he was
improperly counseled regarding his eligibility for a Zone A SRB. If the applicant had
been properly counseled, he would have been told that, to receive an SRB based on at
least 56 months of obligated service, he would have to reenlist for 6 years instead of 5.
The Board finds that if the applicant had been properly counseled on June
8, 2004, he likely would have reenlisted for 6 years to receive the larger SRB he was
promised.
6.
above.
Accordingly, relief should be granted in accordance with the findings
[ORDER AND SIGNATURES APPEAR ON NEXT PAGE]
4.
5.
ORDER
The application of XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, USCG, for correction of his
military record is granted as follows:
The term of the June 8, 2004, reenlistment contract in his record shall be 6 years
instead of 5 years. The Coast Guard shall pay the applicant any amount due under
ALCOAST 182/03 as a result of this correction.
James G. Parks
Dorothy J. Ulmer
______________________________
Darren S. Wall
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