PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:        

	BOARD DATE:            15 August 2000                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR1999026323

	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. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr. Walter Avery, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Thomas D. Howard, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Member	
	Ms. Gail J. Wire		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 his student loans as per his enlistment contract.

3.  The applicant states that he enlisted for the Student Loan Repayment Plan (SLRP) and the Army should honor its written commitment.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 3 February 1997, in a military occupational specialty (MOS) that appeared to qualify for the SLRP.  In addition to the normal documents involved in a reenlistment, a SLRP Addendum was completed wherein the applicant, a recruiter and career counselor, both senior non-commissioned officers acknowledged that the applicant was enlisting for an MOS that was authorized for the SLRP option.

5.  On 19 October 1998, the applicant discovered that his enlistment MOS was invalid for the SLRP.  Therefore he was not entitled to government repayment of this three loans with balances of $3,000.18, $3,999.61 and $6,285.11.

6.  The Reserve Component Pay Support Office, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin has determined that the applicant enlisted for the MOS 91E10 (Dental Specialist).  However, 91E10 must have the additional skill identifier of N5 or X2 to qualify under the SLRP entitlement.

7.  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.  To be eligible for the SLRP incentive, a person must contractually obligate to serve satisfactorily in a unit or MOS which has been approved by the Department as SLRP eligible; must serve in a reserve unit for a full term of the contractual agreement and must further obligate 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 that is at least a year old may then be paid in accordance with the terms of this educational enlistment incentive.  The Government will not reimburse a soldier if he or she pays off a student loan.  The Government will only pay the lending institution.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Evidence in the records shows that the applicant enlisted in the USAR in good faith for the SLRP on 3 February 1997.  His recruiter and career counselor had the responsibility to review the list of eligible SLRP MOS(s) prior to authenticating the applicant’s enlistment documents.  It is not unreasonable for him to expect the Army to honor its written promised to him since he has fulfilled his end of that contract.

2.  In order to qualify the applicant for the SLRP, it will be necessary to correct his records to show that in his case only, as an exception to policy, his MOS, 91E, was authorized the $20,000.00 SLRP at the time of his enlistment.

3.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that in his case only, as an exception to policy, his MOS, 91E, was authorized the $20,000.00 at the time of his enlistment.

BOARD VOTE:  

___tdh__  ___aao           __gjw_  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_________Thomas D. Howard, Jr.__
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999026323	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20000815	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	112.04	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.