PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:     

	BOARD DATE:           29 March 2001                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2000047434

	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. John N. Slone		Chairperson	
	Mr. Christopher J. Prosser		Member	
	Mr. Lester Echols		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 reconsideration of his previous application to correct his records by showing that his military occupational specialty (MOS) was on the list of those skills approved for the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) at the time of his enlistment.

3.  The applicant basically reiterates the contentions that he made in his initial application to the Board, but points out that while he enlisted on 26 April 1993, he was not told that his loans were not payable until May 1997, 4 years after his enlistment, and his appeal to the Board was not denied until 24 March 1999, 17 days before his 6-year enlistment was to expire.  The applicant contends that it isn’t fair to offer to discharge him for defective enlistment when he has completed such a substantial portion of the enlistment.  The applicant also points out that he was reclassified into an MOS which was approved for the SLRP shortly after his enlistment.

4.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in a memorandum prepared to reflect the Board's original consideration of his case (AC98-11684) on 24 March 1999.

5.  The applicant’s submissions constitute new argument that requires Board consideration.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was not notified that he was ineligible for the SLRP until he had served over 4 years in his Troop Program Unit.  The Board agrees with the applicant that the Army had derived significant service from him prior to his notification that his enlistment was defective.

2.  While the Army Staff provided a method for the applicant to establish eligibility for the SLRP, it would have required his discharge and reenlistment for another MOS.  In light of the significant service already derived from the applicant, the Board has reconsidered its prior decision and now concludes that the Army Staff’s suggestion is not a fair and equitable resolution of the error.

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 the MOS of the individual concerned, as an exception to policy and in this case only, was approved for the $10,000.00 SLRP.

BOARD VOTE:  

___jns __  ____cjp  _  ___le ___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___________John N. Slone________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010329	
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.