BOARD DATE: 1 October 2015 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150002889 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests correction of her military records to show she timely requested to receive additional monies for the Health Care Professional Loan Repayment (HPLR) Program. The applicant requests to personally appear before the Board. 2. The applicant states she is requesting the date of her signature on AHRC Form 4117 (Amendment to DA Form 5536-R) be changed to 27 August 2010, the date she was eligible to receive additional monies for the HPLR Program. She completed her initial obligation with HPLR on 18 March 2006 for $50,000 for which she was eligible. The HPLR Program increased the limit to $250,000 on 27 August 2010. She was serving in an aviation brigade at the time. She was not told about the increase. It is unclear why the information concerning this increase was not provided to her. She deployed in December 2011 with a combat support hospital and still was not informed about the HPLR Program increase. In the spring of 2013, she received an email from the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Command (USARC) regarding a retention bonus. She still was not informed about the increase in the HPLR Program. She signed a bonus agreement on 14 May 2013. During the week of 17 February 2014, she was finally informed by a colleague in the hospital who serves in the National Guard about the HPLR Program increase to $250,000. She requested an exception to policy (ETP) through USARC to grant her the ability to recoup the money she lost due to not being informed of the increase. Her ETP was disapproved. She has continued to serve and has met all the requirements to receive the increased HPLR Program. She has continued to maintain 2 critical wartime area of concentration (AOC) specialties. She has deployed and is currently deployed within a critical wartime AOC. She lost out on 3 years of HPLR equating to $120,000. She pays approximately $6,000 per year in interest on these student loans. This is a significant financial burden for her and her family that would have been avoided had she been informed of the change in a timely manner. Based on her investigation, she believes her unit was not informed about the HPLR Program increase because her unit is not a medical unit. 3. The applicant provides tabbed copies of the following documents: * DA Form 5536 (Agreement, Health Professionals Loan Repayment (HPLR), dated 18 March 2005 * AHRC Form 4117 (Amendment to DA Form 5536) dated 20 February 2014 * Memorandum for Record, Medical Loan Reimbursement, 7th Battalion, 108th Regiment, dated 4 December 2014 * Memorandum, Request for ETP, USARC, dated 22 April 2014 * Memorandum for Record, Request for Recoupment of Incentive Payment, 11th Aviation Command, dated 30 January 2015 * Memorandum, Request for ETP, 11th Aviation Command, undated CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing. 2. At the time of her application, the applicant was serving as a colonel, USAR, in the 11th Aviation Command. 3. On 18 March 2005, the applicant signed a DA Form 5536 for an HPLR of $50,000. She identified her area of concentration (AOC) as 61H (Family Medicine). 4. On 20 February 2014, the applicant signed an AHRC Form 4117, wherein she initialed the paragraph stating: In accordance with the current published fiscal year Incentives Policy, she understood the maximum aggregate amount of repayment under this agreement has been increased to $40,000 per year for the first six annual payments or the remaining balance of the loans, whichever is less. The seventh annual payment will not be more than $10,000.00 or the remaining balance of the loan(s) whichever is less. The total program repayments for all years will not exceed the maximum amount authorized of $250,000. 5. In a memorandum for record, dated 4 December 2014, the Commander, 7th Battalion, 108th Regiment, stated the applicant worked as a flight surgeon for the 244th Aviation Brigade. During her tenure there, the HPLR Program limits were increased from $50,000.00 to $250,000.00. The commander stated that the 11th Aviation Command, the applicant’s higher command, did not inform the 7th Battalion Commander of the increased benefit. At the time, the applicant was still serving her country and had outstanding student loans totaling more than $150,000.00. She should be afforded the opportunity to take advantage of the increased limits that HPLR is now offering. 6. In an undated memorandum that was written prior to January 2015, the Commanding General, 11th Aviation Command, strongly requested an ETP for HPLR on behalf of the applicant. At the time of eligibility for this incentive, the command was without a career counselor to advise the applicant about her options. An ETP would correct the error and provide the applicant what she was authorized to during her tenure with the command. The applicant is in a critical wartime AOC that is under 67 percent. The applicant was scheduled to deploy in January 2015. 7. In a memorandum dated 22 April 2014, from the Chief, Manning Division, USARC, the ETP for the applicant was disapproved. The memorandum states: The applicant completed DA Form 5576-R on 18 March 2005. At the time the maximum payment for HPLR was $50,000.00. Fiscal Year 2010-2011 HPLR was amended to allow the maximum amount of Reserve Component HPLR to be equal to the amount authorized for Active Duty HPLR, $250,000.00, as determined by the Secretary of Defense. HPLR agreements can be executed at any time that the specialty appears on the current Army Reserve Critical Wartime Shortage List. Also, healthcare professionals who entered into previous HPLR agreements may reenter into an agreement to have the HPLR program pay up to the new authorized lifetime maximum for their specialty. The applicant did not complete a new HPLR agreement until 20 February 2014. Back payment for time served prior to 20 February 2014 is not authorized. The applicant may apply directly to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to pursue any perceived injustice. 8. The HPLRP was established in 1998 as an incentive to acquire and retain an adequate number of health professionals to provide health services in designated shortage health care skills. HPLRP provides annual payments to repay qualifying loans incurred for health care education in exchange for an active duty/Reserve commitment. Eligible individuals must qualify as an Army Reserve commissioned officer, sign a service agreement, and be a fully qualified health care professional or full-time student in the final year of a course of study (other than physicians) or trainee in the final year of an approved graduate program leading to specialty qualification in the designated health care skill. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant contends that her military records should be corrected by showing she timely requested to receive additional monies for the HPLR Program. 2. The applicant requested a personal appearance before the Board; however, because there is sufficient evidence available to fully consider this case, a formal hearing is not warranted. If the applicant is not satisfied with the results of the informal Board hearing, she may request reconsideration and provide new evidence that was not previously considered by the Board. 3. The available evidence shows the applicant signed a contract for the HPLR in 2005. She also signed a contract to obtain the increased HPLR as authorized in fiscal year 2010-2011, wherein the maximum for her specialty was increased to $250,000.00. 4. The evidence shows that the applicant was not informed in a timely manner about the HPLR increase. The ETP was disapproved because she did not submit a contract until 2014. It is not reasonable to believe the applicant would have intentionally delayed her submission of a new agreement had she known about the benefit increase. 5. In view of the foregoing and as a matter of equity, it would be appropriate to correct the applicant’s records to show she signed an agreement for the increased HPLR benefit in a timely manner. Furthermore, her military pay records should be audited and payment made for all monies due as a result of the corrected agreement. BOARD VOTE: ___x_____ ___x_____ __x______ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. showing she properly and timely signed an HPLR contract amendment providing for the higher incentive of $250,000.00 maximum; and b. paying her all monies due as a result of this correction. _________x________________ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130015094 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150002889 5 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1