DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 
Application for the Correction of 
the Coast Guard Record of: 
 
                                                                                BCMR Docket No. 2007-052 
 
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. 
Xxx xx xxxxx, CWO 
   

 

 

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.  The Chair docketed the case on December 19, 2006, 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 August  16,  2007,  is  approved  and  signed  by  the  three  duly 

APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS 

 
 
The applicant alleged that the Coast Guard failed to counsel him regarding his eligibility 
for a selective reenlistment bonus (SRB)1 when he reenlisted on September 13, 1997.  He alleged 
that  as  a  result  of  the  error,  he  missed  his  opportunity  to  reenlist  for  an  SRB  on  his  6th 
anniversary  (December  13,  1999).2    Shortly  after  the  applicant  submitted  his  application,  an 
employee of the BCMR contacted him to clarify the relief he was seeking.  The applicant stated 
that he is not seeking a 6th anniversary SRB; rather, he wants to receive an SRB for reenlisting on 
December 12, 1997.  He stated that he only reenlisted on September 13, 1997, because his ship’s 
                                                 
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.  Coast Guard members who have at 
least 21 months but no more than 6 years of active duty service are in “Zone A”, while those who have more than 6 
but less than 10 years of active duty service are in “Zone B”.  Members may not receive more than one SRB per 
zone.  Articles 1.A. and 1.B. of Enclosure (1) to COMDTINST 7220.33. 
2 On a member’s 6th and 10th active duty anniversary, the member is eligible to reenlist for either a Zone A or a Zone 
B  SRB  if  one  is  authorized  for  his  rating  and  the  member  has  not  already  received  one.    The  member  must  be 
counseled  about  this  opportunity,  and  the  counseling  must  be  documented  on  a  Page  7.  Article  3.d.(1),  Article 
3.d.(2), and Article 2 of Enclosure (1) to COMDTINST 7220.33. 
 
 

yeoman told him that he needed to reenlist on that date because he was within 90 days of his end 
of enlistment (EOE).3  He alleged that he would have waited to reenlist on December 12, 1997 
(the date on which his enlistment would have expired), if he had known that he might be eligible 
for an SRB on that date. 
 

 

SUMMARY OF THE RECORD 

 

 

 

The applicant enlisted in the Coast Guard on December 13, 1993, with an EOE date of 
December 12, 1997.  On April 30, 1997, he signed a 19-month extension contract to obligate 
additional service for transfer, and the extension’s operative date was December 13, 1997.  His 
record  does  not  contain  a  copy  of  the  April  30,  1997,  extension  contract.    On  September  13, 
1997, he canceled the extension contract by reenlisting for six years, but he did not receive an 
SRB  because  he  was  not  eligible  for  one  at  the  time.    However,  on  September  30,  1997,  the 
Coast Guard issued ALDIST 226/97, under which members with the applicant’s grade and rate 
were  eligible  for  a  Zone  A  SRB.    His  record  does  not  contain  a  Page  74  documenting  SRB 
counseling  upon  his  September  13,  1997,  reenlistment.    On  June  14,  2003,  the  applicant 
reenlisted for six years and received a Zone B SRB.   
 

VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

On May 7, 2007, the Judge Advocate General (JAG) of the Coast Guard submitted an 
advisory  opinion  and  recommended  that  the  Board  grant  alternative  relief  by  voiding  the 
applicant’s  September  13,  1997,  reenlistment  contract  and  reenlisting  him  for  six  years  on 
December 12, 1997.  The JAG stated that the record supports the applicant’s allegation that he 
was not counseled regarding SRBs when he reenlisted on September 13, 1997, and that he was 
eligible to cancel the April 30, 1997, extension contract before its operative date (December 13, 
1997) and reenlist for an SRB.   
 

 

APPLICANT’S RESPONSE TO THE VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
 
On May 9, 2007, the BCMR sent the applicant a copy of the views of the Coast Guard 
and invited him to respond within 30 days.  In his response, the applicant stated that he did not 
object to the Coast Guard’s recommendations. 
 

APPLICABLE REGULATIONS 

Article  2  of  Enclosure  (1)  to  COMDINST  7220.33  requires  that  all  personnel  with  14 
years or less of active service who reenlist or extend for any period shall be counseled on the 
SRB program and shall sign a Page 7 outlining the effect that particular action has on their SRB 
entitlement. 
 

                                                 
3 A member may reenlist “not earlier than 90 days before the expiration of his or her enlistment, and not later than 
the day following the date of expiration of enlistment.”  Personnel Manual, Article 1.G.10.e. 
4 A Page 7 entry documents any counseling that is provided to a service member as well as any other noteworthy 
events that occur during that member’s military career.  It is required any time a member reenlists or extends their 
reenlistment.  Enclosure (3) to COMDINST 7220.33 

 
 

 

 

 

DATE:    I  have  been  provided  with  a  copy  of  enclosure  (5)  to 
Commandant  Instruction  7220.33  (series)  entitled  “SRB  Questions  and 
Answers.”  I have been informed that: 
 
My current Selective Reenlistment Bonus (SRB) multiple is ______ and 
is listed in ALDIST _________ , which has been made available for my 
review. 
 
In accordance with article 12-B-4, CG Personnel Manual, I am eligible to 
reenlist/extend my enlistment for a maximum of ________ years. 
 
My  SRB  will  be  computed  based  on  _____  months  newly  obligated 
service.  

 

The following SRB policies were unclear to me, but my SRB counselor 
provided me with the corresponding answers:  (list specifics) 

______________________ 
(Signature of Member/date) 
 

 
 

______________________ 
(Signature of Counselor)  

Article 3.d.6. of Enclosure (1) to COMDINST 7220.33 states that extensions may be can-
celed  prior  to  their  operative  dates  for  the  purpose  of  executing  a  longer  extension  or 
reenlistment.  However, such extensions 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.  
 

Enclosure  (3)  to  COMDINST  7220.33  provides  the  language  for  the  Page  7  entry 

mandated by Article 2 of Enclosure (1) to COMDINST 7220.33: 

ALDIST 135/97 was issued on June 5, 1997, and was in effect from July 1, 1997, through 

September 30, 1997.  Under ALDIST 135/97, FS2s were not eligible for an SRB.   
 

ALDIST 226/97 was issued on September 30, 1997, and was in effect from October 1, 
1997, through March 31, 1998.  Under ALDIST 226/97, FS2s in Zone A were eligible for an 
SRB calculated with a multiple of 1.0. 
 

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 section 1552 of title 
10 of the United States Code.  The application was timely under Detweiler v. Pena, 38 F.3d 591, 
598 (D.C. Cir. 1994) (holding that section 205 of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act of 
1940 “tolls the BCMR’s limitations period during a servicemember’s period of active duty”). 
 

The applicant alleged that he was not counseled about his eligibility for an SRB 
when he reenlisted on September 13, 1997.  The Board notes that although he was not eligible 

1. 

2. 

3. 

for  an  SRB  when  he  reenlisted  on  September  13,  1997,  Article  2  of  Enclosure  (1)  to 
COMDINST  7220.33  nonetheless  requires  “that  all  personnel  with  14  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 a Page 7 service record entry, enclosure (3), outlining the effect that 
particular action has on their SRB entitlement.”  There is no Page 7 in the applicant’s record to 
indicate  that  he  was  counseled  regarding  his  SRB  eligibility.    Thus,  he  has  proven  by  a 
preponderance of the evidence that he was not counseled.   
 

The Board finds that the Coast Guard committed an error by not counseling the 
applicant on a Page 7  when he reenlisted on September 13, 1997, as required by  Article 2 of 
Enclosure  (1)  to  COMDINST  7220.33.    If  the  Coast  Guard  had  counseled  the  applicant  as 
required,  the  Page  7  counseling  would  have  required  him  to  verify  that  he  had  reviewed 
Enclosure (5) to COMDINST 7220.33, entitled “SRB Questions and Answers,” which includes a 
thorough discussion of the SRB program.   
 

The applicant alleged that he would not have reenlisted on September 13, 1997, if 
he had known that he was not required to do so until his enlistment expired on July 12, 1999.5  
The Board finds that if the applicant had been properly counseled on September 13, 1997, he 
would have had the opportunity to read Enclosure (5) to COMDINST 7220.33 and would have 
been told that he was not eligible for an SRB under the ALDIST in effect at the time.  Moreover, 
if he had been properly counseled on September 13, 1997, he would have known that since he 
was not required to reenlist until July 12, 1999, he could wait to reenlist because he might be 
eligible for an SRB under subsequent ALDISTs.  In fact, the applicant became eligible for an 
SRB with a multiple of 1.0 under ALDIST 226/97, released on September 30, 1997.  
 

4. 

5. 

The Board is persuaded that the applicant would have waited until December 12, 
1997,  to  reenlist  for  six  years,  if  he  had  received  the  counseling  required  by  Article  2  of 
Enclosure (1) to COMDINST 7220.33.  Since the Coast Guard failed to counsel him on a Page 7 
and failed to require him to review Enclosure (5) to COMDINST 7220.33, he did not have the 
opportunity to learn that he would be better off if he waited to reenlist.  In light of the fact that 
the applicant would have been interested in receiving an SRB and the fact that he was willing to 
make a six-year commitment, the Board is satisfied that if he had been properly counseled on a 
Page 7, requiring him to review Enclosure (5) to COMDTINST 7220.33, then he likely would 
have waited to reenlist, and that once eligible for the SRB, he would have reenlisted for six years 
on December 12, 1997, to maximize his SRB under ALDIST 226/97. 
 

If the applicant had reenlisted for six years on December 12, 1997, he would not 
have been eligible to reenlist again, as he did, on June 14, 2003, because that date is not within 
three months of his EOE.  Therefore, the date of his follow-on reenlistment contract should also 
be corrected from June 14, 2003, to December 12, 2003.6 
 

Accordingly,  relief  should  be  granted  by  correcting  the  date  of  the  applicant’s 
September 13, 1997, six-year reenlistment to December 12, 1997, so that he will be eligible for  
                                                 
5 If the applicant had not reenlisted on September 13, 1997, then his April 30, 1997, extension contract would have 
become operative on December 13, 1997, with an EOE date of July 12, 1999.   
6 If the applicant reenlisted for six years on December 12, 1997, his EOE date would have been December 12, 2003. 

6. 

7. 

a Zone A SRB under ALDIST 226/97.  In addition, the Coast Guard should correct the date of 
his June 14, 2003, six-year reenlistment contract to December 12, 2003,7 and pay the applicant a 
Zone B SRB pursuant to ALCOAST 182/03. 
 
 

[ORDER AND SIGNATURES APPEAR ON NEXT PAGE] 

 

 

                                                 
7 The applicant is eligible to reenlist on December 12, 2003, because his 10th anniversary is December 13, 2003.  
Article 3.d.(9) of Enclosure (1) to COMDTINST 7220.33. 

ORDER 

 

 

 
 

The application of CWO XXXXXXXXXX, xxxxxxxxxxxx, USCG, for correction of his 
military record is granted.  The Coast Guard shall correct the date of his September 13, 1997,  
six-year reenlistment contract to December 12, 1997, so that he will be eligible for a Zone A 
SRB under ALDIST 226/97.  In addition, the Coast Guard shall correct the date of his June 14, 
2003,  six-year  reenlistment  contract  to  December  12,  2003,  for  a  Zone  B  SRB  pursuant  to 
ALCOAST  182/03.    The  Coast  Guard  shall  pay  him  any  amounts  due  as  a  result  of  these 
corrections. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 Kenneth Walton 
  

 
 George J. Jordan 

 
 
 

        

 
 Charles P. Kielkopf