DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
Application for the Correction of
the Coast Guard Record of:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
FINAL DECISION
BCMR Docket No. 2009-237
SUMMARY OF THE RECORD
The applicant asked the Board to correct the date of his June 19, 2009, reenlistment contract to
June 23, 2009. He believes that this correction would make him eligible for a selective reenlistment
bonus (SRB) under ALCOAST 286/08. The contract and a Page 7 in his record show that he was
advised he was eligible for an SRB for reenlisting on June 19, 2009. However, the bonus was not paid.
The applicant’s 6th anniversary on active duty was September 22, 2009, and he was told that to receive
the bonus, he should have reenlisted within 3 months of the anniversary. His then-current enlistment,
dated September 20, 2007, was not due to end until September 19, 2011, and he received his Zone A
SRB for that contract. His record also contains a 1-year extension contract, which he signed on July 11,
2008, to obligate service to accept transfer orders, but which was canceled by his June 19, 2009,
reenlistment. There is no Page 7 in his record documenting SRB counseling for the extension contract
although a Zone B SRB multiple was in effect for the ET rating on that date under ALCOAST 304/07.
The Judge Advocate General of the Coast Guard recommended that the Board grant relief by cor-
recting the June 19, 2009, contract date to September 22, 2009—the applicant’s 6th anniversary.
However, under ALCOAST 353/09, there was no Zone B SRB multiple authorized for the ET rating after
July 15, 2009. The applicant replied to this recommendation by stating that if it was in his favor he
would accept it, but if not, he wants the Board to correct his record as he originally requested.
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
Article 3.C.4.b.3. of the Personnel Manual states that to be entitled to a Zone B SRB, the member
must “[h]ave completed at least 6 but not more than 10 years active service on the date of reenlistment or
the operative date of the extension.” Therefore, no reenlistment contract that the applicant signed prior
to his 6th anniversary would entitle him to a Zone B SRB, and the promises of the SRB on the contract
and Page 7 dated June 19, 2009, are clearly erroneous. Nor was the applicant eligible for a Zone B SRB
on his 6th anniversary, September 22, 2009, because ALCOAST 353/09, which went into effect on July
16, 2009, eliminated the Zone B SRB multiple for members in the ET rating.
The Board also notes that the applicant could not have signed an extension contract for a Zone B
SRB in the summer of 2009. Article 3.C.5.9. of the Personnel Manual authorizes commanding officers
only to reenlist members—i.e., not to extend their enlistments—within the 3 months prior to their 6th
anniversaries for SRB purposes, and Article 3.C.5.5. states that “[u]nder no circumstances will an indi-
vidual be permitted to extend their enlistment more than 3 months early for SRB purposes alone. How-
ever, a member who must extend for some other reason (i.e., transfer, training, …) may extend for a
period greater than the minimum required for the purpose of gaining entitlement to an SRB.” Since the
applicant’s enlistment was not ending until September 19, 2011, and he was not in receipt of transfer or
training orders in 2009, there was no authorization for him to sign an extension contract.
On July 11, 2008, however, the applicant was in receipt of transfer orders and needed to extend
his enlistment to accept the orders. Because his then-current enlistment ran through September 19, 2011,
his extension contract would become operative in Zone B and so any SRB he received for extending his
enlistment on July 11, 2008, would be a Zone B SRB. Under ALCOAST 304/07, members in the ET
rating were eligible for a Zone B SRB on July 11, 2008. However, the applicant extended his enlistment
for just 1 year even though under Article 3.C.5.5. of the Personnel Manual, he could have extended his
enlistment for a longer period to receive an SRB and, under Article 3.C.4.b.5., an extension or reenlist-
ment contract must be at least 3 years long to make a member eligible for an SRB.
Under Article 3.C.3. of the Personnel Manual, the applicant should have been counseled about
his SRB eligibility when he signed the extension contract on July 11, 2008, and that counseling should
have been documented on a Page 7. There is no Page 7 in his record documenting SRB counseling on
that date. Therefore, although the applicant did not complain about the lack of SRB counseling in July
2008, in light of the erroneous SRB counseling he received in June 2009, the Board believes that he
should have the opportunity to increase the term of his July 11, 2008, extension contract to receive a
Zone B SRB under ALCOAST 307/04 if he so desires. Moreover, even if he does not opt to receive that
SRB, his June 19, 2009, reenlistment contract with the erroneous promise of the SRB should be removed
from his record as null and void and his prior enlistment and extension contracts should be reinstated.
The application of xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, USCG, for correction of his military record is
granted in part as follows:
ORDER
• The June 19, 2009, reenlistment contract shall be removed from his record as null and void.
• His September 20, 2007, reenlistment contract and 1-year extension contract dated July 11, 2008,
shall be reinstated.
• Within 60 days of the date of this decision, the Coast Guard shall counsel him about SRBs and
about his options under this order. After this counseling, if the applicant so elects, the Coast
Guard shall correct the term of his July 11, 2008, extension contract to 3, 4, 5, or 6 years, at his
discretion, to entitle him to a Zone B SRB under ALCOAST 304/07.
• The Coast Guard shall pay him any amount he may be due under ALCOAST 304/07 as a result
of any correction made to his record pursuant to this order.
Julia Andrews
June 8, 2010
Date
*The third member of the Board was unavailable. However, pursuant to 33 C.F.R. § 52.11(b), two
designated members constitute a quorum of the Board.
Dorothy J. Ulmer
*
The JAG recommended that the Board authorize payment of the SRB for the extension contract. of the Personnel Manual states that to be eligible for a Zone B SRB, the member must “[h]ave completed at least 6 but not more than 10 years active service on the date of reenlistment or the operative date of the extension.” Article 3.C.2.6. states that the operative date is “[t]he date the extension begins to run.” In addition, Article 1.G.19.
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. His record does not On July 1, 2007, the applicant reported for duty to Station Miami Beach, and on July 7th...
The Board notes that the JAG alleged that the applicant should also have been advised of his Zone A SRB eligibility on his 6th anniversary, April 28, 2009, pursuant to Article 3.C.9. There is no Page 7 in the applicant’s record documenting SRB counseling on his 6th anniversary, but since he had already extended his enlistment through February 26, 2016, to receive a Zone B SRB and so could not reenlist for just 6 years, through April 27, 2015, to receive a Zone A SRB, he was not actually...
2009-258 SUMMARY OF THE RECORD The applicant asked the Board to order the Coast Guard to pay him the selective reenlistment bonus (SRB) that is cited on his June 29, 2009, six-year reenlistment contract. of the Personnel Manual, was authorized to reenlist for a longer period to receive an SRB. (2) states that enlisted members receiving tuition assistance “do not incur a service obligation but must complete the course of instruction prior to RELAD, separation or retirement.” Therefore,...
However, he stated, “Knowing that the SRB message [a new ALCOAST] was set to come out a month from that time, I opted to just extend for three months to wait and see if the SRB multiple might increase.” The applicant alleged that the YN3 told him that if he extended his enlistment for just 3 months and the SRB multiple changed under the new ALCOAST, he could cancel the extension by reenlisting to get an SRB after he arrived at his new unit. However, there is no Page 7 dated May 1, 2009,...
CG | BCMR | Other Cases | 2009-016
Accordingly, the JAG recommended that the Board correct the applicant’s record by voiding his June 23, 2007, extension contract and his March 9, 2009, reenlistment contract, and entering a six-year extension contract dated July 17, 2007, for a Zone A SRB pursuant to ALCOAST 304/07. The Board finds that when the applicant signed the 30-month extension contract on June 23, 2007, to obligate service for the transfer to Petaluma, he should have received SRB counseling pursuant to Article 3.C.3....
This final decision, dated May 2, 2012, is signed by the three duly appointed members APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS The applicant, a chief operations specialist (OSC) asked the Board to correct his record to show that he is eligible to receive a Zone A selective reenlistment bonus (SRB)1 on his sixth active duty anniversary. 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...
There is no evidence of the July 28, 2009, extension contract in the record submitted to the Board by the Coast Guard, which contains only his original 6-year enlistment dated October 29, 2003, and the 4- year reenlistment dated October 14, 2009, and contains no Page 7s documenting SRB counseling. The JAG alleged that the applicant could have reenlisted for an SRB on July 28, 2009, and recommended that the Board reenlist the applicant for 4 years on that date for an SRB calculated with...
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. 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...
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. On April 5, 2005, the JAG issued a supplemental advisory opinion in this case, in which he withdrew...