PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:             22 August 2000                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR2000035618

	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. Edmund P. Mercanti		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Edward Williamson		Chairperson	
	Ms. Margaret V. Thompson		Member	
	Mr. Kenneth W. Lapin		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 that he be given $20,000.00 loan repayment under his Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) enlistment contract addendum.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was promised the higher SLRP amount in his enlistment contract.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in the USAR with no prior service on 22 March 1997.  At that time he executed an SLRP addendum for $20,000.00.

5.  In a letter to his elected member of Congress, dated 8 July 1999, the applicant stated that when he had submitted his student loans for payment, he was informed that a mistake had been made, that his military occupational specialty (MOS) was not a skill that had been approved for the $20,000.00 SLRP.  When this statement was challenged by his chain of command, the applicant was told that his enlistment was fraudulent and that he could elect to either return to training to obtain an additional skill identifier (ASI) which would make him eligible for the SLRP, or to separate from the USAR.  

6.  In October 1999 the Department of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel (DCSPER) informed the applicant’s command that if the applicant were to complete the training for one of two ASI’s which were eligible for the $20,000.00 SLRP, they would authorize an exception to policy to authorize him payment of his SLRP.  In addition, the DCSPER unilaterally authorized an antedated bonus addendum in the amount of $5,000.00 for the applicant.

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, or $20,000.00 for MOS’s which are selected by the Department for this added incentive.  To be eligible for the SLRP incentive, a person must enlist for an MOS which is approved by the Department for this incentive, he must contractually obligate himself or herself to serve satisfactorily, he must serve in a reserve unit for a full term of the contractual agreement and he 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.  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.  The applicant was given a written enlistment incentive, which was used to induce him to enlist.  It is not unreasonable for him to expect the Army to honor its written promises since he has fulfilled his end of that contract.

2.  It is not fair or just to require the applicant to undergo additional training to qualify for the full $20,000.00 SLRP.

3.  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.

4.  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 SLRP at the time of his enlistment.

BOARD VOTE:  

__ew____  ___mvt__  ___kwl__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_________Edward Williamson_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20000822	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT 	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.