PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           24 March 1999                    
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AC97-06220
				   AR1998005563

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mr. Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. James E. Vick		Chairperson	
	Mr. Roger W. Able		Member	
	Mr. Allen L. Raub		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests, in effect, that the Army pay off her student loans as per her reenlistment contract and that she be reimbursed all Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) monies recouped from her thus far.

3.  The applicant’s military records show that she reenlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve on 4 April 1992, in a military occupational specialty (MOS) that appeared to qualify for the SLRP.  In addition to the normal documents involved in a reenlistment, a Student Loan Repayment Program Addendum was completed wherein both the applicant and her commander acknowledged that she reenlisted for an MOS that was authorized the Student Loan Repayment Option.

4.  On 14 February 1996, the Army discovered that the applicant’s reenlistment MOS was invalid for the SLRP and that she was indebted to the Government for $1,438.32 for payments already made.  The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) has already collected this amount from her.

5.  The SLRP provides for the repayment by the Government of a designated portion of any outstanding student loan(s) secured after 1 October 1975.  The loan amount to be repaid is 15 percent of the original balance of the loan plus accrued interest not paid by the Department of Education, or $500.00 plus the accrued interest not paid by the Department of the Education, whichever is greater.  Payments will be made for each year of satisfactory service in the Selected Reserve.  The maximum amount of loans against which the 15 percent is computed will not exceed $10,000.  This equates to a maximum annual repayment of $1,500 plus interest.  If the amount set for repayment is less than $500.00, then $500.00 becomes the calculated amount for repayment that year. 

6.  The Reserve Component Pay Support Office, Fort, McCoy, WI has determined that if the applicant had been eligible for the SLRP, she would have been entitled to $4542.00, 15 percent of the total amount of her eligible loans.

7.  To be eligible for the SLRP incentive, a person must contractually obligate himself or herself to serve satisfactorily, must serve in a reserve unit for a full term of the contractual agreement and must further obligate himself or herself to continue to serve in the same component and the same MOS unless excused for the convenience of the Government.  Entitlement to the SLRP will stop if the soldier is separated from his or her unit.  Each complete satisfactory year of service performed under this SLRP agreement establishes an anniversary date.  Any qualifying loan which is at least a year old may then be paid in accordance with the terms of this educational enlistment incentive.

8.  The Government will not make any payments to the soldier or reimburse a soldier if he or she pays off a student loan.  The Government will only pay the lending institution.

9.  In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Chief, Army Reserve, Personnel Division.  That opinion recommended approval of the applicant’s request to receive a refund of previous monies recouped for the SLRP but noted that she remains ineligible to continue to receive SLRP.

10.  Title 10, U. S. Code, section 1552, the law which provides for the Board, states that “The Secretary may pay, from applicable current appropriations, a claim for the loss of pay, allowances, compensation, emoluments, or other pecuniary benefits, or the repayment of a fine or forfeiture, if, as a result of correcting a record under this section, the amount is found to be due the claimant on account of his or another’s service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard, as the case may be.”

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Evidence in the records shows that the applicant reenlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve, in good faith, for the Student Loan Repayment Program incentive on    4 April 1992.  Her commander signed her reenlistment documents.

2.  The applicant served the Army in good faith for almost four years thinking she was entitled to the SLRP incentive before the Army discovered and notified her that she was not eligible for entitlement.

3.  Through no fault of her own, and after incurring several debts based upon what she assumed was a valid reenlistment option, she was denied that entitlement.

4.  The advisory opinion recommended approval of the applicant’s request to receive a refund of monies recouped from her for the SLRP. 

5.	 The applicant’s military records may be corrected to show her DA Form  5261-4-R, Student Loan Repayment Program Addendum, section V, was amended to include the sentence “If a student loan is accepted by the officials processing you for reenlistment as payable under the SLRP and it is later discovered that it is not payable for reasons of law or regulation, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records may pay the loan, at its sole discretion, in accordance with Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552.”  This would allow the Board to invoke that provision and pay her the amount her lending institution would have been paid under the SLRP.

6.  In view of the foregoing, it would be in the interest of justice to correct the applicant’s records as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.	That the DA Form 5261-4-R, Student Loan Repayment Program Addendum, section V, be amended to include the sentence “If a student loan is accepted by the officials processing you for reenlistment as payable under the SLRP and it is later discovered that it is not payable for reasons of law or regulation, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records may pay the loan, at its sole discretion, in accordance with Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552.”

2.  That in accordance with Title 10, U. S. Code, section 1552, DFAS shall remit payment to the individual concerned in the amount of $4542.00, the total amount of her loans to which she would have been entitled had she been eligible for the SLRP, as a result of the foregoing correction.  This amount includes the 1438.32 collected from the applicant as a Government debt.

BOARD VOTE:

JEV     RWA     ALR    GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

                       GRANT FORMAL HEARING

                       DENY APPLICATION

					James E. Vick
                                                                                                 
					CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AC97-06220/AR1998005563	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	19990324	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	128.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.