DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS

2 NAVY ANNEX
WASHINGTON DC 20370-5100

 

WJIH : DIC
Docket No. 7426-09
23 Feb 2010

From: Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records
To: Secretary of the Navy

Subj: REVIEW OF NAVAL RECORD ICO

Ref: (a) Title 10 U.S.C. 1552

Enel: DD Form 149 w/attachments

NAVADMIN 075/09 of 12 March 2009
Reenlistment Request form

PERSCOM msg 1000294 Jun 09

NAVADMIN 176/09 of 10 June 2009,

NPC Memo 1160 Ser 811/536 dtd 28 Jul 09
E-mails and papers relating to Petitioner’s

application

AHA oP Wh bP
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1. Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a) Subject,
hereinafter referred to as Petitioner, filed enclosure (1) with
this Board requesting, in effect, that the applicable naval
record be corrected to establish entitlement to a zone “A”
Selective Reenlistment Bonus (SRB).

2. The Board, consisting of Mr. Pfeiffer, Mr. Zsalman, and

Mr. George, reviewed Petitioner’s allegations of error and
injustice on 11 January 2010 and, pursuant to its regulations,
determined that the corrective action indicated below should be
taken on the available evidence of record. Documentary material
considered by the Board consisted of the enclosures, naval
records, and applicable statutes, regulations and policies.

3. The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record
pertaining to Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice,
finds as follows:

a. Before applying to this Board, Petitioner exhausted ail
administrative remedies available under existing law and _
regulations within the Department of the Navy.

b. In early 2009, applicant was an Explosive Ordnance
Disposal Technician Petty Officer Second Class (EOD2) on active
Docket No. 11995-08

duty with an End of Obligated Service (EAOS) date of 4 July
2009. He also had signed a 12 month extension which would
become operative on 5 July 2009 and extend his term of service
until 4 July 2010.

cc. On 12 March 2009, NAVADMIN 075/09 was released
announcing Selective Reenlistment Bonus (SRB) award levels for
Active component personnel. The NAVADMIN listed an award level
of 7.0 for members with an HOD/5333 rate/NEC who reenlist in
zone A-effective on 1 May 2009. Under the guidance contained in
the NAVADMIN, “Commands must submit SRB requests via OPINS
(Officer Personnel Information System) 35-120 days in advance of
the sailor’s EAOS or reenlistment date to ensure the approval or
disapproval message will reach the sailor’s command and the
Defense Finance and Accounting Service before the reenlistment
date. . .Requests submitted less than 35 days prior to the
reenlistment date without substantial justification will be
rejected.” See enclosure (2).

d. From 5 April’ 2009 to 27 June 2009, Petitioner was on
Temporary Additional Duty (TAD) away from his “parent” command
for EOD training in southern California. While TAD, he had only
“limited” access to communication systems.

e. On 18 May 2009, Petitioner submitted a reenlistment
request form for routing through the chain of command.
Petitioner requested authorization to reenlist on 2 July 2009
for a term of 4 years. See enclosure (3)

£. On 19 May 2009, Petitioner’s Commanding Officer
approved the reenlistment request.

g. On 8 June 2009, Petitioner’s Command submitted a
reenlistment bonus request through the Officer Personnel
Information System (OPINS). Note: the OPINS request was not
submitted until 20 days after the Commanding Officer approved
the reenlistment request. The command has stated that they were
conducting field exercises during that timeframe which
interfered with their ability to process OPINS requests in a
more timely manner.

h. On 10 June 2009, the Commander, Navy Personnel Command
(COMNAVPERSCOM) disapproved the OPINS request because it was
received fewer than 35 days prior to the requested reenlistment
date. See enclosure (4).
Docket No. 11995-0908

i. On 10 June 2009, NAVADMIN 176/09 was published. This
NAVADMIN announced the immediate suspension of any new SRB
requests for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2009. See enclosure
(5).

j. On 24 June 2009, the Chief of Naval Operations (N130)
reviewed enclosure 4 (the OPINS disapproval message issued by
COMNAVPERSCOM). After reviewing the circumstances, N130 granted
Petitioner a “waiver” to the limitation that “Commands must
submit SRB requests via OPINS 35-120 days in advance of the
sailor's EAOS or reenlistment date” provided Petitioner

reenlist on 2 July 2009 as originally requested. This “waiver”
effectively nullified enclosure 4 (the 10 June 2009 OPINS
disapproval message). Regrettably, information about the
“waiver” never reached Petitioner.

k. On 27 June 2009, Petitioner returned to his parent
command from his TAD assignment.

1. On 5 July 2009, Petitioner’s 12 month agreement to
extend enlistment (NAVPERS 1070/621) became operative and his
EAOS became 4 July 2010.

m. Thereafter, Petitioner submitted the instant
application to this Board. The application (DD Form 149) is
dated 24 June 2009 and was received on 14 July 2009. Petitioner
claims, essentially, that the failure to submit his SRB request
into OPINS 35 days in advance of his reenlistment date was
through no fault of his own and should be attributed to a
failure of his command. To bolster his application, he
submitted a letter from his Commanding Officer stating that “Due
to all the circumstances surrounding (Petitioner's) pre-
deployment training, limited connectivity and adequate medical
facilities, I honestly believe it was not EOD2 Strausbaugh’s
fault that his (SRB) request was denied. The EOD community is
severely undermanned and over-tasked with global commitments.”

n. On 28 July 2009, the OPINS request, as waived by N130,
was cancelled by the COMNAVPERSCOM because Petitioner did not
reenlist on 2 July 2009.

o. Petitioner subsequently reenlisted on 1 December 2009
for a term of 4 years. For that reenlistment, he received an
SRB with an award level of 5.5. The term of service until 4
July 2010 that Petitioner is obligated to fulfill because the 12
month extension became operative was deducted from his award.
Docket No. 11995-08

p. Petitioner is requesting that his naval record be
corrected to show that he reenlisted on 2 July 2009 with an
award level of 7.0 for the EOD/5333 rate/NEC vice reenlisting on
1 December 2009 with an award level of 5.5. Such a change would
essentially entitle the member to a higher bonus award level.

q. By enclosure (6), the Navy Personnel Command (NPC) has
provided a recommendation that no relief be granted that would
provide the member a higher reenlistment bonus. NPC reasons
that the SRB request was not entered into OPINS at least 35 days
in advance of the requested reenlistment date as required by the
governing NAVADMINS. Additionally, once the “waiver” was
granted, Petitioner did not reenlist on 2 July 2009.

CONCLUSION

Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of
record, and notwithstanding the opinion expressed in enclosure
(6), the Board finds the existence of an injustice warranting
corrective action. The Board relied heavily on the following
factors: Petitioner submitted his reenlistment request to his
command on 18 May 2009, reasonably well ahead of his EAOS (4
July 2009} and his requested reenlistment date (2 July 2009).
His command was unable to submit his reenlistment request into
OPINS until 8 June 2009 (20 days after it was approved by the
commanding officer) because of field exercises and deployment
preparation. If the SRB request, had been entered in OPINS in a
more timely manner, Petitioner would have most likely been
authorized to reenlist for a bonus on 2 July 2009 with an award
level of 7.0. The delay in submitting the SRB request into
OPINS was not attributable to the Petitioner. Additionally,
Petitioner was never advised that a “waiver” had been granted by
N130. Under these circumstances, the Board was of the opinion
that the member should not be penalized for the inability of his
command to submit the request into OPINS in a more timely manner
and that relief should be granted to authorize the payment of an
SRB with an award level of 7.0.

RECOMMENDATION:

That Petitioner’s naval record be corrected, where appropriate,
to show that:

a. Petitioner was discharged and reenlisted on
1/2 July 2009, vice on or about 30 November/1 December 2009.
The term is 4 years.
Docket No. 11995-08

b, This change will entitle the member to a zone “A” SRB
with an award level of 7.0 for the EOD/5333 rate/NEC. Remaining
obligated service to 4 July 2009 will be deducted from SRB
computation.

c. The Petitioner's previous zone "A" SRB payment should
be adjusted to reflect recent zone "A" entitlement.

d. A copy of this Report of Proceedings will be filed in
Petitioner's naval record.

4. It is certified that quorum was present at the Board’s
review and deliberations, and that the foregoing is a true and
complete record of the Board’s proceedings in the above entitled

matter.

[2ébean de $2—
ROBERT D. ZSALMAN WILLIAM J. HESS, “III
Recorder Acting Recorder
5. The foregoing action of the Board is submitted for your

review and action.

23 Feb 2010 ly YF \
W. DEAN PF
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Executive

Reviewed and approved.

Pdf ofl

Assistant General Counsel
Manpower and Reserve Aftairs)