Payment of Variable Reenlistment Bonus

A request was made as to the legality of paying [REDACTED], a variable reenlistment bonus (VRB) in the circumstances involved in his case. The record discloses that Petty Officer [REDACTED] enlisted for a period of 4 years on July 12, 1965. He executed an extension agreement on October 12, 1967, for 1 year and 4 months, effective July 12, 1969. On September 10, 1970, he executed a second extension agreement of 1 year, effective November 12, 1970. He reenlisted for a period of 6 years on August 31, 1971. the member was paid a reenlistment bonus in the amount of $567 for his first and second extensions. He was paid a second reenlistment bonus in the amount of $1,433 for his 6-year reenlistment. Petty Officer [REDACTED] claims he is entitled to VRB for the reason that because his first extension was entered into prior to January 2, 1968, it should not have been combined with his second extension to become his first reenlistment, and, therefore, his first reenlistment should have been on August 31, 1971, and a VRB was authorized for an AD rating at that time. Petty Officer [REDACTED]'s first extension of enlistment became effective July 12, 1969, which was subsequent to the effective date of 10 U.S.C. 509 and 37 U.S.C. 906 and when his second extension became effective on November 12, 1970, he was entitled to and should have been paid a first reenlistment bonus. While his reenlistment on August 31, 1971, had the effect of cancelling the remaining service obligation under his second extension agreement, it had no bearing on his entitlement to a first reenlistment bonus since he had already served in excess of 2 years under his first and second extensions. Consequently, he was correctly paid a second reenlistment bonus for his August 31, 1971, reenlistment.