DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 
Application for the Correction of 
the Coast Guard Record of: 
 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
 

BCMR Docket No. 2007-054 
 

 

 

                                                 
1 Coast Guard yeomen are “key problem-solvers, counselors and sources of information to personnel on questions 
ranging  from  career  moves,  entitlements  and  incentive  programs,  to  retirement  options  and  veteran's  benefits.”    
http://www.gocoastguard.com/ratings/ynrate.htm 
 
2  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 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.  
 
3 To be eligible for a Zone B SRB, a member must have completed “at least 6 years but not more than 10 years of 
active  service  on  the  date  of  reenlistment  or  operative  date  of  the  extension.”    Coast  Guard  Personnel  Manual, 
Article 3.C.4.b.3. 
 

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 December 29, 2006, upon 
receipt of the applicant’s completed application, and assigned it to staff members D. Hale and  
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 August  30,  2007,  is  approved  and  signed  by  the  three  duly 

APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS 

 
 
The applicant asked the Board to correct his record by replacing his July 26, 2002, six-
year  extension  contract  with  a  six-year  reenlistment  contract.    He  stated  that  upon  receiving 
transfer  orders  to  the  Coast  Guard  Integrated  Support  Command  (ISC)  and  the  Coast  Guard 
Cutter  Healy  in  Seattle,  he  was  counseled  by  a  Coast  Guard  yeoman1  that  he  was  eligible  to 
reenlist or extend for up to six years for a Zone B Selective Reenlistment Bonus (SRB).2  The 
applicant alleged that the counseling was erroneous because the yeoman failed to determine that 
he would not be eligible for a Zone B SRB because he would have more than 10 years of active 
service when his extension became operative.3   

 

SUMMARY OF THE RECORD 

 

The applicant enlisted in the Coast Guard on December 14, 1993.  In 2002 he received 
transfer orders to the ISC in Seattle/CGC Healy, and on July 19, 2002, he was counseled with a 
Page 74 stating that he was eligible to reenlist or extend his enlistment up to six years for an SRB 
and that it would be computed based on 72 months of newly obligated service. 

 
On July 26, 2002, the applicant signed a six-year extension contract to “obligate service 
for transfer” and the contract became operative on December 13, 2005.  The extension contract 
contains a section in which he acknowledged having (1) received a copy of “SRB Questions and 
Answers” based on the Commandant’s SRB Instruction; (2) had the opportunity to read the SRB 
Instruction; (3) understood the effect of his extension on his future SRB eligibility; and (4) had 
all  his  questions  about  his  SRB  entitlement  answered.    When  the  applicant  reported  to  ISC 
Seattle on October 1, 2002, his EOE date was December 12, 2005.  On October 12, 2002, he 
reported to the Healy.  A full tour on the Healy is three years. 
 

VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
On May 17, 2007, the Judge Advocate General (JAG) of the Coast Guard submitted an 
 
advisory opinion in which he recommended granting alternative relief.  The JAG stated that the 
applicant was not required to extend his enlistment on July 26, 2002, because he still had more 
than three years remaining on his enlistment when he signed the extension contract and did not 
need to obligate service for the transfer to ISC Seattle.  Accordingly, the JAG stated that if the 
applicant had been properly counseled when he received his transfer orders, he would have been 
advised  to  reenlist  within  three  months  prior  to  his  10th  anniversary  (December  14,  2003),  to 
receive a Zone B SRB. 
 

APPLICANT’S RESPONSE TO THE VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

On May 24, 2007, the BCMR sent the applicant a copy of the views of the Coast Guard 

 
 
and invited him to respond within 30 days.  The Board did not receive a response. 
 

 

APPLICABLE REGULATIONS 

 

 

Article 1.G.8.a. of the Coast Guard Personnel Manual provides that a member may only 

reenlist within three months from their end of enlistment (EOE) date.   

 
Article  3.C.5.5.  of  the  Personnel  Manual  provides  that  under  no  circumstances will an 
individual  be  permitted  to  extend  their  enlistment  more  than  three  months  early  for  SRB 
purposes alone.  However, a member may extend when required to obligate service for transfer, 
training, advancement, or tuition assistance. 

                                                 
4  A  Page  7  (CG-3307,  or  Administrative  Remarks)  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. 
 

Article  3.C.5.9.  of  the  Personnel  Manual  provides  that  Commanders  are  authorized  to 
effect  early  discharge  and  reenlist  members  within  three  months  prior  to  their  10th  year 
anniversary, for the purpose of qualifying for an SRB. 
 

Article 4.B.6.a. of the Personnel Manual states that assignment officers will normally not 
transfer  service  members  E-4  and  above  with  fewer  than  six  years  of  active  duty  unless  they 
reenlist or extend to have enough obligated service for a full tour upon reporting to a new unit.   
 

Article  4.C.11.b.9.  of  the  Personnel  Manual  states  that  members  assigned  to  a  polar 

icebreaker must have enough active obligated service to complete the tour of duty. 
 

ALCOAST 585/01 was issued on December 20, 2001, and was in effect from February 1, 
2002, through August 4, 2002.  Under ALCOAST 585/01, MK1s in Zone B were eligible for an 
SRB calculated with a multiple of 2.0. 

 
ALCOAST 182/03 was issued on April 24, 2003, and was in effect from July 1, 2003, 
through July 31, 2004.  Under ALCOAST 182/03, MK1s in Zone B were eligible for an SRB 
calculated with a multiple of 2.0. 
 

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. 

The applicant alleged that he was  erroneously counseled that he was eligible to 
receive a Zone B SRB for signing a six-year extension contract.  The record contains a July 19, 
2002, Page 7 documenting that the applicant was eligible to extend his enlistment for up to six 
years and that his SRB would be computed based on 72 months of newly obligated service.  This 
counseling was erroneous because under Article 3.C.4.b.3. of the Personnel Manual, to receive a 
Zone B SRB, the member must have completed “at least  6 but not more than 10 years active 
service on the date of reenlistment or the operative date of the extension.”  The applicant’s July 
26, 2002, extension contract became operative on December 13, 2005, but his 10th anniversary on 
active duty was December 14, 2003.  Accordingly, the applicant was not eligible for the SRB 
because he had more than 10 years of active service on the operative date of the extension.   

The applicant’s record also contains a July 26, 2002, six-year extension contract 
which states that he would receive a Zone B SRB based on 72 months of newly obligated service.  
This information is incorrect because, as noted in Finding No. 2, he was ineligible for the SRB 
because  he  would  have  more  than  10  years  of  active  service  on  the  operative  date  of  the 
extension.    The  Board  also  notes  that  there  was  no  authority  for  the  applicant  to  extend  his 
enlistment on July 26, 2002.  Pursuant to Article 3.C.5.5. of the Personnel Manual, a member is 
allowed to extend when required to obligate service for transfer, training, advancement, or tuition 
assistance.    The  applicant  had  more  than  three  years  remaining  on  his  enlistment  when  he 
reported to ISC Seattle on October 1, 2002, and was not required to obligate additional service 

 

 
1. 

 
2. 

 
3. 

4. 

for the transfer.  Accordingly, there was no authority for him to extend his enlistment on July 26, 
2002.  
 

The Board finds that if the applicant had been properly counseled, he would have 
been advised that since he was not eligible to extend his enlistment for an SRB on July 26, 2002, 
he  should  wait  and  reenlist  on  his  10th  anniversary  (December  14,  2003)  for  a  Zone  B  SRB, 
pursuant to ALCOAST 182/03.  Personnel Manual, Article 3.C.5.9. 
 

In his application, the applicant asked the Board to correct his record by replacing 
his July 26, 2002, six-year extension contract with a six-year reenlistment contract.  However, the 
Board is unable to grant this request because there was no authority for the applicant to reenlist 
on July 26, 2002.  Pursuant to Article 1.G.8.a. of the Personnel Manual, a member may reenlist 
within three months of the end of their enlistment, or within three months prior to their 6th or 10th 
anniversary.  When the applicant signed an extension contract on July 26, 2002, his EOE date 
was December 12, 2005, and his 10th anniversary was December 14, 2003.  Thus, he was not 
eligible to reenlist until September 12, 2003 (90 days prior to his 10th anniversary).   
 

Accordingly,  relief  should  be  granted  by  voiding  the  applicant’s  July  26,  2002, 
extension contract and reenlisting him for six years on his 10th anniversary, December 14, 2003, 
to receive a Zone B SRB pursuant to ALCOAST 182/03.5   

6. 

[ORDER AND SIGNATURES APPEAR ON NEXT PAGE] 

5. 

 

 
 

                                                 
5 Reenlisting the applicant on December 14, 2003, in lieu of September 12, 2003, will presumably result in a larger 
SRB, since it will reduced by less previously obligated service. 

 

ORDER 

The application of xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, USCG, for correction of his military 
record is granted.  His record shall be corrected to show that he reenlisted for six years on his 10th 
active  duty  anniversary  to  receive  a Zone  B SRB as provided under ALCOAST 182/03.  The 
Coast Guard shall remove his July 26, 2002, extension contract from his record as null and void.  
The Coast Guard shall pay him the amount due as a result of these corrections.   

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 
 Francis H. Esposito 

 

 

 
 Nancy L. Friedman 

 

 

 
 
 Darren S. Wall