DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 
Application for the Correction of 
the Coast Guard Record of: 

 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx   

 
BCMR Docket No. 2009-118 

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 after receiving the applicant’s 
completed  application  on  March  30,  2009,  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  January  14,  2010,  is  approved  and  signed  by  the  three  duly 

APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS 

The applicant, a gunner’s mate, second class (GM2/E-5), asked the Board to correct his 
record to make him eligible for a Zone B selective reenlistment bonus (SRB) for reenlisting on 
July 12, 2005.1  The applicant alleged that he reenlisted on July 12, 2005, and was eligible for a 
Zone B SRB calculated with a multiple of 2 under ALCOAST 306/04, but was not advised of the 
SRB.  In addition, the applicant noted that under ALCOAST 283/06, he was eligible for a Zone B 
SRB calculated with a multiple of 1.5 on his tenth active duty anniversary, March 19, 2007, and 
was not counseled about his eligibility on that date either.  The applicant stated that he discov-
ered his eligibility and these counseling errors only after the fact, on November 6, 2008, when he 
was reenlisting and was told that he was no longer eligible for an SRB because his tenth anniver-
sary had passed.  
 

                                                 
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 17 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.  Personnel Manual, Articles 3.C. and 3.C.4.a. 

SUMMARY OF THE RECORD 

The  applicant  served  on  active  duty  in  the  Marine  Corps from June 27, 1994, through 

 

March 20, 2002. 
 

 

The applicant enlisted in the Coast Guard Reserve on April 23, 2003.  He was assigned to 
a pay billet in the Selected Reserve at Port Security Unit (PSU) 311.  A Reserve drill schedule in 
the  Direct  Access  database  shows that the applicant drilled regularly on  inactive duty training 
(IDT) at the PSU.  During the year before he enlisted on active duty on July 12, 2005, duty orders 
and the drill schedule show that he performed the following duty: 

June 1 – July 30, 2004:  Orders (undated) in the applicant’s record show that he was ordered to 

report for active duty for special work (ADSW) for these 60 days. 

 
Aug. 3 – 5, 2004:  The applicant drilled full days on IDT. 
 
Aug. 6 – 20, 2004:  Orders dated August 6, 2004, which show that the applicant was ordered to 
report to the PSU for fifteen days of active duty training (ADT) for annual training 
from August 6 to 20, 2004.  (Conflicting orders dated July 26, 2004, which show 
that the applicant was to report for ADT from August 6 to 22, 2004, were appar-
ently superseded.) 

 
Aug. 21 – 27, 2004:  The applicant drilled seven full days on IDT. 
 
Sep. 3 – 30, 2004:  Orders dated October 5, 2004, show that the applicant was ordered to report 

to PSU 311 for active duty under Title 10 for this 28-day period. 

 
Dec. 6 – 8, 2004:  The applicant drilled three full days on IDT. 
 
Jan. 13 – 14, 2005:  The applicant drilled two full days on IDT. 
 
Jan. 16 – 21, 2005:  The applicant drilled six full days on IDT. 
 
Feb. 26, 2005:  The applicant drilled one full day on IDT. 
 
Mar. 14 – 15, 2005:  The applicant drilled two consecutive half-days as a readiness management 

period (RMP). 

 
Mar. 16 – 18, 2005:  The applicant drilled three full days on IDT. 
 
Mar. 21 – 25, 2005:  The applicant drilled for a full five-day week on IDT. 
 
Mar. 28 – Apr. 1, 2005:  The applicant drilled for a full five-day week on IDT. 
 
Apr. 4 – 8, 2005:  The applicant drilled for a full five-day week on IDT. 
 
Apr. 11 – 16, 2005:  The applicant drilled for six full days on IDT. 

 
Apr. 17, 2005:  The applicant drilled for one-half day as a RMP. 
 
Apr. 18 – 29, 2005:  The applicant drilled for twelve consecutive days on IDT. 
 
May 1  – June 15, 2005:  Orders dated May 13, 2005, show that the applicant was ordered to 
report to PSU 311 for active duty under Title 10 for these 46 days.  (Conflicting 
orders  dated  March  17,  2005,  that  would  have  placed  the  applicant  at  Gitmo 
(Guantanamo Bay) from April 1 to December 30, 2005, were apparently super-
seded). 

On July 12, 2005, the applicant enlisted as a GM2 in the regular Coast Guard for four 
years, through July 11, 2009.  There is no Page 7 documenting SRB counseling pursuant to this 
enlistment contract in his record. 

 
Because  of  his  prior  active  duty  service  in  the  Marine  Corps  and  the  Coast  Guard 
Reserve, the applicant’s adjusted active duty base date is March 19, 1997.  Therefore, his tenth 
active duty anniversary was March 19, 2007.  There is no Page 7 documenting SRB counseling 
for the applicant’s tenth anniversary in his record.   

 
The applicant signed an indefinite reenlistment contract on November 6, 2008.   

 

 

VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
 
On August 26, 2009, the Judge Advocate General (JAG) of the Coast Guard submitted an 
advisory opinion and recommended that the Board deny the requested relief and grant alternative 
relief.  The JAG stated that the applicant did not meet the SRB eligibility criterion under Article 
3.C.4.b.1.  of  the  Personnel  Manual  on  July  12,  2005,  because  he  had  not  been  discharged  or 
released from active duty within the three-month period leading up to that date.  Under Article 
3.C.4.b.1., the first criterion for a Zone B SRB is that the member must “[r]eenlist not later than 
3 months after discharge or release from active duty in a rating authorized an SRB multiple.” 
 
 
The JAG stated, however, that the applicant was eligible for a Zone B SRB on his tenth 
anniversary under ALCOAST 283/06 and that the lack of a Page 7 documenting SRB counseling 
for the anniversary supports the applicant’s allegation that he was not timely counseled.  There-
fore, the JAG recommended that the Board grant relief by reenlisting the applicant for six years 
on his tenth anniversary, March 17, 2007, for a Zone B SRB calculated with a multiple of 1.5 
under ALCOAST 283/06. 
 

RESPONSE TO THE VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
 
In response to the advisory opinion, the applicant alleged  that he  was told that he was 
serving  on  active  duty  under  Title  10  orders  during  the  year  before  he  enlisted  in  the  regular 
Coast Guard on July 12, 2005.  He did not realize that he was “being paid from so many different 
accounts until he began to have problems receiving his pay on time.”  Therefore, he alleged, he 
should  have  been  offered the Zone B SRB under ALCOAST 306/04 because he was released 
from active duty during the three months before July 12, 2005. 

 

 

APPLICABLE REGULATIONS 

Article 1.G.1. of the Personnel Manual is entitled “Definition of Reenlistment” and para-
graph (a) states, “The enlistment of any person who has previously served in the Regular Coast 
Guard shall be considered a reenlistment.  The enlistment of Coast Guard Reserve personnel who 
are serving on extended active duty and who have served on extended active duty of 12 months 
or more shall be considered a reenlistment.” 
 
 
Figure 3-1 in the Reserve Personnel Manual (RPM) shows that for a reservist, there are 
two main types of “active duty”:  “active duty for training” (ADT), which includes initial active 
duty training (IADT) and annual training (ADT-AT), and “active duty other than for training” 
(ADOT), which includes active duty for special work (ADSW), extended active duty (EAD), and 
involuntary recall under Title 10. 
 
 
Article 3.A.4.b. of the RPM states that EAD is “active duty for reservists who serve in an 
Active component duty status.  It is used to provide Reserve support to fill occasional personnel 
shortages in specific pay grades, ratings or specialties when active duty Coast Guard resources 
fall short of requirements.” 
 
 
or non-consecutively.  All other types of active duty shall be performed consecutively.” 
 
 
enlistments shall be counseled on a Page 7 regarding their SRB eligibility.  

 
Article 3.B.2. of the RPM states that ADT and ADSW “may be performed consecutively 

Article 3.C.3. of the Personnel Manual states that members who reenlist or extend their 

 
Article 3.C.4.b. of the Personnel Manual states that to receive a Zone B SRB, members 

must meet the following criteria: 

 
1.  Reenlist not later than 3 months after discharge or release from active duty in a  rating author-

ized an SRB multiple. 

2.  Have  completed  17  months  continuous  active  duty  (including  extended  active  duty  as  a 
Reserve) at any point in their military career. The 17 months continuous active duty need not 
have been completed immediately prior to the reenlistment or extension. 

3.  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. 

4.  Be serving in pay grade E-5 or higher. Personnel who are changing rate, as approved by the 
Commandant, are eligible as an E-4 provided they were E-5 or higher immediately prior to 
changing rate. 

5.  Reenlist or extend enlistment in the Regular Coast Guard for a period of at least 3 full years, 
provided the reenlistment or extension, when added to existing active service, will provide a 
total active duty of no less than 10 years. 

6.  Have not previously received a Zone B SRB. 
7.  Attain eligibility prior to the termination of a multiple for that particular rating. 
8.  Meet any additional eligibility criteria the Commandant may prescribe. 
 
Article  3.C.5.2.  of  the  Personnel  Manual  states  that  “[m]embers  with  exactly  10  years 
active duty on the date of reenlistment or operative date of extension will be entitled to the Zone 

B multiple in effect for their rating if they are otherwise eligible.”  Article 3.C.11.2. states that 
members  must  be  counseled  about  their  eligibility  for  an  SRB  within  the  three-month  period 
before  their  tenth  anniversary,  and  that  counseling  must  be  documented  on  a  Page  7.   Article 
3.C.5.9. states that  
 

[c]ommanding  officers  are  authorized  to  effect  early  discharge  and  reenlist  members  within  3 
months prior to their 6th, 10th, or 14th year active service anniversary dates (not to be confused 
with the normal expiration of enlistment), for the purpose of qualifying for a Zone A, B, or C SRB.  
In  such  cases,  SRB  payments  will  be  reduced  by  any  portion  of  unserved  service  obligation.  
Commanding officers shall ensure that such personnel are fully qualified to receive an SRB and 
advise them that all periods of unserved obligated service will be deducted from their bonus enti-
tlement. Any such discharges shall be under authority of Article 12.B.12., indicating discharge for 
the purpose of immediate reenlistment at the Convenience of the Government. 
 
ALCOAST  306/04,  which  was  in  effect  from  August  1,  2004,  to  July  31,  2005,  authorized  a 

Zone B SRB multiple of 2 for members in the GM2. 

 
ALCOAST 283/06, which was in effect from July 1, 2006, to July 15, 2007, authorized a Zone B 

SRB multiple of 1.5 for members in the GM2 rating. 
 

1. 

 
2. 

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS 

The Board makes the following findings and conclusions based on the applicant’s mili-

 
 
tary record and submissions, the Coast Guard’s submission, and applicable law: 
 

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

The application was timely. 

3. 

The applicant alleged that he was eligible for a Zone B SRB on July 12, 2005, and 
that he should have been counseled about his eligibility and received an SRB for the four-year 
contract he signed on that date.  He argued that his July 12, 2005, contract met the criteria for a 
Zone B SRB because he had spent the prior year serving on active duty and had been discharged 
from active duty within the three-month period before July 12, 2005. 
 

Article 3.C.4.b. of the Personnel Manual states that to be eligible for a Zone B 
SRB, a member must be reenlisting in the Coast Guard.  Article 1.G.1.a. of the Personnel Manual 
defines  “reenlistment”  as  “[t]he  enlistment  of  any  person  who  has  previously  served  in  the 
Regular Coast Guard shall be considered a reenlistment.  The enlistment of Coast Guard Reserve 
personnel who are serving on extended active duty and who have served on extended active duty 
of 12 months or more shall be considered a reenlistment.”  The applicant had never previously 
served in the Regular Coast Guard.  Nor had he, as a reservist, been serving on extended active 
duty for 12 months on July 12, 2005.  Therefore, the Board finds that the applicant was enlisting, 
rather than reenlisting, in the regular Coast Guard on July 12, 2005, and so he was not eligible for 
an SRB on that date. 
 
 
The Board acknowledges that the applicant performed a large amount of full-time 
duty during the year prior to his enlistment in the regular Coast Guard.  His IDT drill schedule 
and the ADSW and Title 10 orders in his record show that of the 365 days from July 12, 2004, 
through July 11, 2005, he performed 166 full days of duty and 3 half days of duty.  However, the 

4. 

applicant’s records also show that he was clearly not serving on extended active duty that year 
because most of his full-time duty consisted of days in which he performed two IDT drills, rather 
than active duty, and because his duty was not consecutive or continuous throughout the year.  
Although the applicant performed a substantial amount of full-time duty during the year before 
he  enlisted,  his  July  12,  2005,  contract  is  not  a  reenlistment  contract  given  the  definition  of 
“reenlistment” in Article 1.G.1.a. of the Personnel Manual. 
 

As the applicant alleged and the JAG admitted, however, the applicant was eligi-
ble for a Zone B SRB on his tenth active duty anniversary, March 17, 2007.  The lack of a Page 7 
documenting counseling about his eligibility for a SRB on the anniversary proves by a prepon-
derance  that  he  was  not  properly  counseled,  as  required  by  Article  3.C.11.2.  of  the  Personnel 
Manual.  Under Articles 3.C.5.2. and 3.C.5.9., the applicant was entitled to reenlist for a Zone B 
SRB on his tenth anniversary.  Since the applicant signed an indefinite reenlistment contract on 
November 6, 2008, the Board finds that if the applicant had been counseled about his eligibility 
for a Zone B SRB on his tenth anniversary, he would have reenlisted for six years to receive the 
maximum SRB for which he was eligible. 
 
 
Accordingly, the Board finds that partial relief should be granted by reenlisting the 
applicant for six years on his tenth active duty anniversary for a Zone B SRB in accordance with 
ALCOAST 283/06. 
 
 
 

[ORDER AND SIGNATURES APPEAR ON NEXT PAGE]

5. 

6. 

ORDER 

 

 

The  application  of  GM2  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,  USCG,  for  correction  of  his  military 
record is granted in part.  The Coast Guard shall correct his record to show that he reenlisted for 
six  years  on  his  tenth  active  duty  anniversary  to  receive  a  Zone  B  SRB  in  accordance  with 
ALCOAST 283/06. 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 
 Donna M. Bivona 

 

 

 
Evan R. Franke 

 

 

 
 James E. McLeod