IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 4 January 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160016097 BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 :X :X :X GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 4 January 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160016097 APPLICANT'S REQUEST AND STATEMENT: 1. The applicant requests an exception to policy (ETP) to retain her Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) bonus incentive with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard (PAARNG). 2. The applicant states, in effect, she enlisted and contracted as a Non-Prior Service (NPS) enlistee for the SLRP incentive bonus. She agreed to serve in in Unit Identification Code (UIC) PN6T0 for a period of 6 years from 21 August 2013 through 20 August 2019, and she was issued the bonus control number S160400098PA. The incentive for which she contracted was later disapproved. An ETP was submitted on 1 July 2014 stating the SLRP addendum was not uploaded to Soldier's interactive Personnel Electronic Records Management System (iPERMS) and the incorrect documents were labeled under the contract. The ETP was denied at State level. She previously submitted an application to this Board, but the supporting documents were not attached and the outcome of the ETP was not included with packet. She now provides the denial of her ETP along with sworn statements, wherein the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) guidance counselor admitted to the error in her contract. THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records with supporting document(s): * DD Form 1966 (Record of Military Proceedings - Armed Forces of the United States) * National Guard Bureau (NGB) Guard Incentive Management System (GIMS) SLRP Pre-Approval Authorization Memorandum * Direct Loans Promissory Note * National Student Loan Data System Information * MEPS Projection Worksheet/Enlistment Data Sheet * two DA Forms 2823 (Sworn Statement) * Memorandum Requesting ETP, dated 1 July 2014 * Memorandum from NGB, dated 12 February 2015 * Two letters from the Army Review Boards Agency, Case Management Division, dated 8 September 2015 and 5 October 2016 2. Evidence from the applicant’s service record and Department of the Army and Department of Defense records and systems: * DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document) * Guard Annex * NGB Form 600-7-1-R-E (NPS Bonus Addendum) * DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) REFERENCES: 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. 2. Army Regulation 135-7 (ARNG and U.S. Army Reserve Incentive Programs) provided that to be eligible for the SLRP incentive, a person must contractually obligate himself or 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 military occupational specialty unless excused for the convenience of the Government. Entitlement to the SLRP will stop if the Soldier is separated from the Selected Reserve. Each complete satisfactory year of service performed under this SLRP agreement establishes an anniversary date. Any qualifying loan which is at least a year old may then be paid in accordance with the terms of this educational enlistment incentive. 3. ARNG SRIP Policy Number 13-01, effective 1 January 2013 through 30 September 2013, provided guidance to assist leadership and personnel managers in meeting and sustaining ARNG readiness requirements. Specific Criteria for Enlisted SLRP: a. The Soldier must have one or more qualifying and disbursed Title IV Federal loans that are not in default at the time of enlistment or reenlistment/extension. Federal Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students for student use only are eligible for repayment as long as the loans are in the service member's name. The loans must be listed on the Department of Education National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) Aid Summary website sheet. State and private loans are not eligible for repayment under the SLRP program. b. Loans must have been disbursed prior to the date of enlistment, affiliation, or reenlistment/extension in order to be eligible and must be at least 1-year old on the anniversary date of the contract (unless adjusted for authorized period of non-availability). Loans disbursed after the date of enlistment, affiliation, or reenlistment/extension are not eligible for repayment unless the Soldier is reenlisting/extending for a contractual period of not less than 6 years in the ARNG without a break in service from the original SLRP contract start date, except for 09S enlistments. The Soldier must request a new SLRP CN [control number] and complete a new addendum for each additional 6-year repayment period in GIMS. c. The current lifetime maximum amount for the SLRP/09S programs to be repaid is $50,000. The contract effective date also establishes the SLRP/09S anniversary repayment date (month). If the Soldier enters into a period of non- availability, the anniversary date will be adjusted accordingly. A Soldier who reenlists/extends will be eligible for repayment on the anniversary date of his or her reenlistment/extension contract start date. d. The ARNG offers a NPS SLRP as an enlistment incentive for NPS enlistees. It may be offered in addition to any NPS enlistment bonus. An NPS SLRP or 09S recipient must meet eligibility requirements to receive the SLRP: (1) An NPS recipient is eligible for SLRP as a stand-alone incentive to include enlisting under the Split-Option and/or CASP options. (2) The recipient must enlist for a minimum 6-year term of service. (3) The recipient must have an AFQT score of 50 or higher. DISCUSSION: 1. While 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. The applicant enlisted in the PAARNG on 21 August 2013. Section VII (Addendums) of her Guard Annex lists the SLRP Form and other addendums as a part of her enlistment agreement. Her NPS Bonus Addendum indicates she was eligible to receive the SLRP and/or the MGIB-Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR) Kicker simultaneously with this incentive. 3. Her DD Form 1966 shows she enlisted for military occupational specialty (MOS) 92F (Petroleum Supply Specialist) and options of NPS Enlistment Bonus ($7,500), SLRP ($50,000), and NPS MGIB Kicker ($200). She acknowledged that she was eligible for the SLRP and she accepted the SLRP. She noted that she had 10 loans in the amount of $33,250. 4. A search of her military personnel documents in the iPERMS failed to reveal a copy of her SLRP Addendum. 5. On 19 August 2013, her 10 student loans in the amount of $33,250 were verified and approved for repayment in the ARNG SLRP program. 6. On 6 January 2014, she was ordered to active duty for training (ADT) in MOS 92F and was released from ADT on 5 June 2014. On the following day, she was transferred back to her ARNG unit. 7. On 10 June 2014, Sergeant First Class (SFC) EDN, ARNG Service Representative, submitted a sworn statement. He stated that on 21 August 2013, he completed the enlistment process for the applicant. At the time of enlistment the applicant was fully eligible and qualified, to receive the Enlisted Loan Repayment Program (ELRP). The representative also stated the applicant had 10 qualifying loans in the amount of $33,250.00. However, he could not fully explain why documentation was not in the applicant's record, but he verified that it is not in her record. As previously stated, the applicant was fully eligible and qualified to receive the ELRP and an ETP granted for the applicant. 8. On 16 June 2014, she submitted a sworn statement. She stated that she enlisted at Pittsburgh Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) on 21 August 2013. She was enlisted with the SLRP that was included on her DD Form 4 enlistment contract; however, there was no SLRP addendum in her enlistment packet. Her student loans were pre-approved prior to enlistment. 9. On 1 July 2014, the G1 PAARNG submitted a recommendation that an ETP be approved for the applicant to retain the SLRP incentive that was contracted on 18 August 2013 in the amount of $50,000. The applicant requested an ETP due to the SLRP Addendum not being uploaded into iPERMS. The incorrect documents were labeled under the contract and the incentive was listed on the DD Form 4. All supporting documents have been uploaded to GIMS. The G1 PAARNG indicated that, by approving this request, the action would follow through on the promises given to the applicant and allow the Pennsylvania's recruiting force to maintain its credibility. 10. On 12 February 2015, the NGB denied the request for an ETP to retain the $50,000 SLRP incentive. The NGB stated the State Incentive Manager will terminate the incentive without recoupment as no payments had been processed. The NGB stated the applicant did not enter into an agreement for SLRP due to never signing a contract/incentive addendum which violates Department of Defense Instruction 1205-21 and the applicant's Bonus Control Number was requested after the date of enlistment which violates ARNG SRIP 13-01. 11. On 8 September 2015, the Army Review Boards Agency, Case Management Division administratively closed the applicant's application, dated 18 August 2015, because she had not first applied to her State Adjutant General and the NGB. 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 the State Army National Guard and Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. showing the applicant and all appropriate officials signed an SLRP Addendum on 21 August 2013, the date of her enlistment in the Army National Guard; b. showing she is eligible for payment of any outstanding student loans totaling up to $50,000 under the SLRP in accordance with the terms of her SLRP Addendum; and c. paying the student loans totaling up to $50,000, out of Army National Guard funds, as specified in the SLRP Addendum. 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. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160005706 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160016097 6 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2