BOARD DATE: 8 December 2015 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150005013 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 his records to show entitlement to the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) in the amount of $50,000. 2. The applicant states the payment under the SLRP was denied because he is now in the Active Guard/Reserve (AGR) Program. No payment was made on his behalf in 2012. The payment was incorrectly denied as he was not AGR when the payment was supposed to have been made; therefore, he should receive a payment for 2012. 3. The applicant provides a memorandum. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant’s record shows he enlisted in the South Carolina Army National Guard (SCARNG) on 24 May 2001 and he held military occupational specialty (MOS) 88M (Motor Transport Operator). On 26 February 2002, he was assigned to the 1052nd Transportation Company, Kingstree, SC. On 1 July 2008, he was promoted to the rank/grade of staff sergeant/E-6. 2. On 9 March 2010, he executed a DA Form 4836 (Oath of Extension of Enlistment or Reenlistment) wherein it shows he extended his enlistment in the SCARNG on that date for a period of 6 years for the SLRP. This form shows his initial expiration of term of service (ETS) was 23 May 2010 and, as a result of this extension, his ETS was adjusted to 23 May 2016. 3. His record contains an SLRP Addendum wherein, in part, it shows: * he was a prior service current member extending in an Modified Table of Organization and Equipment unit; he was duty MOS qualified for the position and extending for a term of service of not less than 6 years (emphasis added) * he was not extending to qualify for a Military Technician or AGR position where membership in a Reserve component was a condition of employment * the number of loans and the amount of his disbursed loans was left blank; the total amount of repayment for qualifying loans would not exceed $50,000 * loans must be 1 year or older on the first anniversary eligibility date to qualify for the program * the portion of the SLRP ($50,000) that may be repaid annually on any qualifying loan(s) would not exceed 15 percent (not to exceed $7,500 per year) of the total of all loan principal or $500, whichever was greater * payment would be processed on the anniversary date of his enlistment for each year of satisfactory service * he understood he may be suspended from the SLRP if he entered a period of non-availability; reinstatement of eligibility was not guaranteed * he understood he would be terminated from the SLRP if he voluntarily transferred out of the unit identification code (UIC) or critical skill for which the bonus was approved 4. The applicant, authorized service representative, and the witnessing officer all signed the SLRP Addendum; however, none of them dated the form. The addendum does contain a valid bonus control number (BCN). 5. Orders 336-043, dated 2 December 2010, issued by the Office of the Adjutant General (OTAG), SCARNG, ordered him to active duty for training and assignment to the SCARNG Noncommissioned Officer Academy (NCOA), 3rd Battalion, 218th Regiment, Eastover, SC, to provide instructor support to the Warrior Leader Course (WLC) with a report date of 3 December 2010. This orders state "Type of Incentive Pay: None." 6. On 3 December 2010, he entered active duty for training and was assigned to the NCOA, 3rd Battalion, 218th Regiment, as a small group leader (SGL)-WLC. 7. Orders 004-821, dated 4 January 2011, issued by OTAG, SCARNG, released him from the 1052nd Transportation Company and assigned him to the 3rd Battalion, 218th Regiment, as an SGL-WLC in duty MOS 00F, effective 21 December 2010. This orders show the reason was "Individual's Request." Various OTAG orders continued him on active duty for training through 5 September 2013. 8. His record contains DA Forms 2166-8 (NCO Evaluation Report (NCOER) he received while assigned to the NCOA, 3rd Battalion, 218th Regiment in an M-Day status (traditional National Guard status, not AGR): * an annual report he received in January 2012, covering the rated period 1 November 2010 to 31 October 2011 while performing his duties as an SGL WLC in MOS 00F (MOS Immaterial) * an annual report he received in January 2013, covering the rated period 1 November 2011 to 31 October 2012 while performing his duties as an SGL WLC in MOS 00F 9. He was honorably released from active duty on 5 September 2013. The DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) he was issued shows he completed 2 years, 9 months, and 3 days of creditable active service during this period of service. 10. Orders 249-813, dated 6 September 2013, issued by OTAG, SCARNG, ordered him to full-time National Guard duty in an AGR status for assignment to the McCrady Training Center, 3rd Battalion, 218th Regiment, as a WLC SGL in MOS 00F, effective 6 September 2013. 11. His record contains a DA Form 2166-8 he received while assigned to the NCOA, 3rd Battalion, 218th Regiment; an annual report he received in January 2014, covering the rated period 1 November 2012 to 31 October 2013 while performing his duties as an SGL WLC in MOS 00F. 12. The applicant provides and his record contains a memorandum to the State Incentive Manager (IM), SCARNG, dated 19 March 2014, subject: Request for Exception to Policy (ETP) for SLRP (The Applicant), from the National Guard Bureau), wherein the SCARNG was notified the ETP for the applicant to retain the $50,000 SLRP was denied. a. The State IM would terminate the incentive effective 1 day prior to the applicant's entering AGR status. Any anniversary payment after the date of termination will be forfeited and any amounts overpaid after the termination date would be recouped. b. The applicant became AGR after the contract start date which violated Department of Defense Instruction (DODI) 1205.21. His incentive addendum was missing the signature dates of the Soldier and witnessing official. His contract shows he extended his enlistment for UIC WTWCAA on 9 March 2010 for the amount of $50,000 and MOS 88M. His current MOS was 00F. c. Although there were no signature dates, an incomplete number of loans, and no total amount for the loans listed on the addendum, a review of the BCN request supported an SLRP incentive being offered at the time of his extension. 13. Army Regulation 135-7 (Incentive Programs), restricts the SLRP to those Reservists who either enlist, reenlist, or extend for a skill or unit approved by the Department of the Army and disseminated to the field by a list of MOSs and units, which is updated every 6 months. This educational incentive may only be elected at the time of enlistment, reenlistment, or extension, and an SLRP Addendum must be executed at that time. 14. 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 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. 15. To be eligible for the SLRP incentive, a person must contractually obligate himself/herself to serve satisfactorily, must serve in a Reserve unit for a full term of the contractual agreement, and 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. Each completed satisfactory year of service performed under this SLRP agreement establishes an anniversary date. Any qualifying loan that is at least 1 year old may then be paid in accordance with the terms of this educational enlistment incentive. There are no provisions to reinstate an incentive after it is terminated for cause. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The evidence of record confirms the applicant extended in the SCARNG on 9 March 2010 and he agreed to serve for 6 years in MOS 88M in the 1052nd Transportation Company for the SLRP in the amount of $50,000. The associated SLRP Addendum does not show a number of loans or the amount of any disbursed loans at the time of his extension. The Addendum was also not dated by the signees. In December 2010, after serving in his unit under the SLRP Addendum for about 9 months, he voluntarily entered into an active duty for training status as an SGL-WLC in MOS 00F for almost 3 years before entering full-time National Guard duty in the AGR Program in September 2013. 2. Notwithstanding the fact that he did not enter into an AGR status until September 2013, his SLRP Addendum does not reflect that he had qualifying loans at the time the document was executed and it was missing the required dates. He was voluntarily reassigned to a duty MOS position in a unit other than that for which he agreed in the Addendum to serve. As such, his entitlement to the SLRP should have been terminated on 20 December 2010, the date prior to his reassignment on active duty in a 00F position at the NCOA. As he was not serving in his contracted MOS or unit at the 1 year anniversary date of his addendum, he should not have received any payments under the SLRP. If he had received payments, those monies were subject to recoupment. There is no error or injustice. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING __X______ __X______ ___X_ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. _______ _ 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) AR20150005013 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150005013 5 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1