PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:            23 January 2001                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR2000040184

	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. W. E. Schnupp		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Luther L. Santiful		Chairperson	
	Mr. Thomas E. O'Shaughnessy		Member	
	Mr. Walter T. Morrison		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 permitted to receive the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) for $20,000.

3.  The applicant states that in 1996 he was contemplating reentering the US Army Reserve (USAR).  When he learned that the SLRP had been increased to $20,000 and that the Montgomery GI Bill would also apply to graduate study he decided to reenlist in his old unit.  He was informed that he would receive a bonus for reenlisting in his Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) 37F30.  The recruiter assured him at that time that he could take advantage of the $20,000 SLRP even though he had previously used the SLRP.  He reenlisted in October 1996 and started his graduate study in January 1997.  Since that time he has incurred over $30,000 in debt.

4.  Upon his application for the repayment of his student loans the applicant found out that the SLRP was not applicable to him.  Specifically, once a soldier has reached the monetary amount of $10,000 that amount cannot be increased.  His appeal for an exception to policy was denied by the Department of the Army, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel (ODCSPER).  

5.  The applicant believes that it is his misfortune that his recruiter did not read the regulation correctly or misinterpreted its meaning.  In his case, he merely wants the Army to live up to its contractual obligation and pay his guaranteed student loans pursuant to the SLRP.

6.  In support of his request, the applicant submits a copy of his enlistment contract with associated documents, evidence of his indebtedness, academic reports, an extract of the Army regulation pertaining to the SLRP, copies of correspondence with his elected representative concerning this issue and the correspondence relating the ODCSPER’s denial of his request for an exception to policy.

7.  The applicant’s military records show that at the time of his application, he was a staff sergeant (SSG) in the USAR serving in MOS 37F30 (Psychological Operations Specialist).

8.  The applicant initially enlisted in the USAR on 4 April 1988 for 7 years.  In conjunction with that enlistment, he completed an SLRP addendum, which authorized the SLRP in the amount of $10,000.  After a break in service, he reenlisted in the USAR on 28 October 1996 for 6 years in the grade of SSG.  His enlistment documents show that he completed an addendum (USAREC Form 1122) showing that he was entitled to the Montgomery GI Bill, a DA Form 5261-5-R (USAR Prior Service Enlistment Bonus Addendum) and DA Form 5261-4-R (SLRP Addendum) indicating that he was approved for a maximum of $20,000 in loan repayments and that his eligibility for the $20,000 SLRP was based on MOS 37F30.  All forms are signed and/or initialed by the applicant and the USAR Guidance Counselor.
9.  A Missouri Higher Education Loan letter to the applicant shows that as of December 1999 he had $30,044 in outstanding student loans.

10.  On 25 August 1999 the applicant submitted a request through channels to permit him to receive the SLRP benefits as written in his enlistment contract even though he had already received $10,000 in benefits during his previous enlistment.

11.  His request for an exception to policy eventually reached the ODCSPER who advised the applicant that his office did not have the authority to approve the request.  The disapproval also indicated that the SLRP is a one-time incentive not authorized to be offered a second time based on an increased amount for any particular specialty.  The ODCSPER recommended he appeal to this Board for review of his case.  

12.  Army Regulation 135-7, Incentive Programs, provides in pertinent part, that the maximum amount of loans is not regulated.  However, the monetary unit of $10,000 for an MOS that has not been authorized by Headquarters Department of the Army (HQDA) for the SLRP incentive or $20,000 for a soldier who contracts for a critical MOS that has been established by HQDA, represents the maximum SLRP benefit available throughout a soldier’s service as a Reserve of the Army.  Once a dollar amount of $10,000 has been established for SLRP, it cannot be increased to $20,000 during the soldier’s career.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Boards concludes that an injustice has occurred in this case.

2.  The applicant completed an SLRP addendum at the time of his enlistment on 28 October 1996 showing that he would be entitled to loan repayments in the amount of $20,000 based on the term of his enlistment and the critical MOS for which he was enlisting.  He was aware that he had previously used $10,000 of the SLRP but believed he was entitled to the additional $20,000 in benefits.

3.  There is no doubt that an error was made in this case.  Nonetheless, it appears that the applicant and the guidance counselor believed, in good faith, that he was entitled to the SLRP at the higher amount.  As a matter of equity, it would be appropriate for the Army to honor its promise to provide the additional $10,000 SLRP in this case especially since he has already served over two years of his commitment.

4.  It would, however, not be fair or equitable for him to receive the $20,000 for his second enlistment in addition to the $10,000 he has already received.  Since the SLRP incentive is capped at $20,000 for a soldier’s career the total of his two incentives should be limited to $20,000. 
5.  In order to qualify the applicant for the SLRP in the higher amount, it will be necessary to correct his records to show that, as an exception to policy, his MOS, 37F30, was authorized the $10,000 SLRP at the time of his second enlistment and that the maximum SLRP available to him during his career is $20,000.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by:

a.  showing that as an exception to policy, in his case only, MOS 37F30, of the individual concerned was authorized $10,000 at the time of his reenlistment on 28 October 1996; and

	b.  showing that the individual is authorized a maximum total of $20,000 SLRP for his career.

2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

___lls___  ___teo __  ____wtm_  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__________Luther L. Santiful______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000040184	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010123	
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.  103.01		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.