BOARD DATE: 7 March 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150015838 BOARD VOTE: _____x____ ___x____ ___x_____ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration BOARD DATE: 7 March 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150015838 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 and State Army National Guard records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. showing he met the eligibility requirements for the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP), b. showing he has a student loan that is eligible for payment under the SLRP, and c. authorizing payment of his student loan under the terms of his SLRP Addendum. ______________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. BOARD DATE: 7 March 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150015838 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 payment toward his student loans under the terms of his National Guard Bureau (NGB) Form 600-7-5-R-E (Annex L to DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document – Armed Forces of the United States) – Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) Addendum – Army National Guard (ARNG) of the United States)). 2. The applicant states he has only received one payment toward his student loans despite numerous requests and submissions. Five additional payments remain unpaid. 3. The applicant provides: * SLRP Addendum * Federal Stafford Loan Master Promissory Note CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant enlisted in the ARNG for a period of 8 years on 13 February 2009. 2. His DD Form 4 specifies the additional details of his enlistment and cites Annex L. 2. His SLRP Addendum (Annex L), dated 13 February 2009, shows he enlisted in the ARNG for a term of service of at least 6 years and for assignment to the 216th Engineer Mobility Augmentation Company, which was authorized for the SLRP. He had one existing loan in the amount of $41,000.00 for which the total amount of payment would not exceed $20,000.00. He was authorized to acquire new loans during the contracted period. He provided his Federal Stafford Loan Master Promissory Note, dated 29 January 2007. 3. He was discharged from the ARNG on 12 February 2015 after completing 6 years of service. He transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Annual Training) to complete his Reserve Component service obligation. 4. An advisory opinion from the Chief, Personnel Policy Division, NGB, dated 26 August 2016, recommends approval of the applicant's request for payment of his student loan through the SLRP. The Personnel Policy Division Chief states: a. The applicant enlisted in the California ARNG as a health care specialist on 13 February 2009. His DD Form 4 clearly annotates the SLRP Addendum as being part of his enlistment packet. b. The applicant served in the California ARNG from 13 February 2009 to 12 February 2015, at which time he received an honorable discharge for fulfillment of his obligation. He met all of the eligibility requirements necessary to receive the SLRP incentive and he remained in good standing. There is nothing to indicate his incentive should be terminated. c. The applicant received his initial payment of SLRP in 2010, but contends that no other payments were received despite his numerous attempts to provide documentation. The Guard Incentive Management System (GIMS) displays the applicant's SLRP as an "Active Loan," yet GIMS also indicates the Fiscal Year 2011 and Fiscal Year 2012 payments were deleted due to missing documentation. The required DD Form 2475 (Department of Defense Educational Loan Repayment Program Annual Application) and the National Student Loan Data System statements were not provided to verify the accuracy of the system information. d. The applicant clearly met the eligibility requirements for the SLRP, served his term of enlistment in good faith, and has a loan that is eligible for the SLRP based on the guidance in National Guard Regulation 600-7 (Selected Reserve Incentive Programs) and the Higher Education Act of 1965. e. It appears that a communication or administrative error may have occurred in processing the remaining SLRP payments, which contributed to their lack of disbursement. f. The NGB Bonus and Incentives Branch and the California ARNG concur with this recommendation. The California ARNG Incentives Team expressed their intent to attempt correction of the issue and pay the applicant prior to receiving a favorable board decision from the Army Board for Correction of Military Records. REFERENCES: National Guard Regulation 600-7 governs incentive policies, procedures, and eligibility criteria for persons entering into an incentive agreement at the time of enlistment, affiliation, reenlistment, extension, commission or appointment into the ARNG. a. Paragraph 2-24 states the SLRP may be offered to a non-prior service applicant who meets the following requirements: * enlist for a minimum 6-year obligation * enlist into a critical skill vacancy which is approved for SLRP entitlement * enlist in a valid vacant position and not an excess, overstrength, or manually loaded vacancy * have one or more disbursed qualifying loan(s) that were pre-approved in the incentive management system * meet the minimum AFQT score * be a secondary school graduate * not enlist to qualify for a military technician position (includes temporary and indefinite technician position unless the temporary position is for 179 days or less) or Active Guard Reserve position under Title 10 or Title 32 * have a pre-approval authorized prior to signature date from the GIMS b. Paragraph 2-27 states repayment of such loan(s) shall be made on the basis of each complete year of service performed by the borrower. The portion or amount of a loan that may be repaid is 15 percent or $500.00, whichever is greater, for each year of service, plus the amount of any interest that may accrue during the current year. A lender or note holder may consolidate all previous loan(s) into a new note each time a Soldier obtains a new loan to cover the current year’s expenses or when the note is sold to a new lender. However, when the Soldier reaches the anniversary date and the loan is still not at least 12 months old, disbursement will be made based on that portion of the consolidation loan (the original principal plus interest) which is 12 months old when the Soldier reaches his/her anniversary date. Nothing in this section will be construed to authorize refunding any repayment of a loan. This includes payment made against the loan by any individual or agency, including the member. c. Paragraph 2-31 states written agreements/addenda (NGB Form  600-7-5-R-E) will be published by NGB as required. The DD Form 2475 is initiated on a Soldier's anniversary date and used to process claims of eligible participants. DISCUSSION: 1. His SLRP Addendum shows he enlisted in the ARNG for a term of service of at least 6 years and for assignment to a unit that was authorized for the SLRP. 2. He served in the California ARNG from 13 February 2009 to 12 February 2015, at which time he received an honorable discharge for fulfillment of his obligation. 3. He clearly met the eligibility requirements for the SLRP, served his term of enlistment in good faith, and has a loan that is eligible for the SLRP. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150015838 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150015838 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2