I can't get the arm bones to control the arms

[montblankdesign]

I am trying to build a new character.
But I am stumped

The arms are in a group layer.
The group layer contains a vector layer called sleeves and a switch layer of different hands.

I cannot seem to get the bones to bind.
Region binding is selected. With points selected on the arm vector the commands for bone are greyed out.

The rest of the figure's bones work well enough.
Should I add bones to the switch layer instead?