ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 26 September 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170009955 APPLICANT REQUESTS: * an exception to policy to retention of the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) incentive in the Texas Army National Guard (TXARNG) * a personal appearance before the Board APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * DD Form 4/1 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document – Armed Forces of the United States) * Annex L (SLRP Addendum) * Unit Incentives Request for Information * two DD Forms 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty * DA Form 1059 (Service School Academic Evaluation Report) * Orders Number 280-013, 243-025, and 025-047 * Memorandum For Record (MFR) * ETP memoranda FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three year time frame provided in Title 10, United States Code (USC), section 1552(b); however, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. 2. The applicant states: a. The TXARNG and National Guard Bureau (NGB) are attempting to terminate his SLRP incentive. The reason for this termination is quote, “Service member failed to complete initial military occupational specialty (MOS) training requirements within 24 months from date of enlistment which violated Title 10, USC, subsection 10105.” This was the response from the NGB and the reason his ETP was denied. b. He enlisted into MOS 09S (Commissioned Officer Candidate) on 6 June 2012, went to basic training on 4 September 2012, the Officer Candidate School (OCS) on 19 November 2012, then to the Infantry Officer Basic Course on 22 April 2013 and became branch qualified. The reason behind the injustice is that he was transferred to another unit in order to fill a slot in the next higher grade. The slot he was transferred to was in the Area of Concentration (AOC) 19A (Platoon Leader and Executive Officer. The incentives officer stated, “One of the requirements when you change AOC’s due to reorganization is that you become qualified in your new position within 24 months from the date of the reorganization. He had never heard of an officer becoming branch qualified, serving in a position outside of his/her branch, and having to go back to that particular Basic Officer Leader Course (BOLC). He has currently been in the ARNG for 5 years and he has served with other officers also not branch qualified for the position to which they were serving. 3. Review of the applicant’s service record shows: a. He enlisted in the TXARNG on 6 June 2012. In connection with this enlistment, he executed an Annex L for the SLRP. The addendum stated in: (1) Section II – Eligibility: * he was enlisting in the ARNG under the SLRP * he was enlisting in MOS 09S * he understood that he must complete the BLOC within 24 months upon successful complete of OCS (2) Section VI – Termination: Fail to complete BLOC within 2 years after completion of OCS. (3) Section VII – Recoupment, in cases where relief is not granted through the waiver or ETP processes from the National Guard Bureau (NGB) for anniversary payments received, I must refund the amount due to the Government if termination with recoupment had been deemed appropriate (4) Section VIII – Statement of Understanding: I have read the entire SLRP addendum and understand all of the above statements concerning my enlistment incentive. (3) Section IX – Authentication: he authenticated this addendum with his signature on 6 June 2012. b. He entered on active duty for training (ADT) on 4 September 2012. He completed training and was awarded MOS 09S. He was honorably released from ADT on 20 February 2013 and was transferred to the TXARNG. c. He was honorably discharged from the TXARNG, in pay grade E-4, on 20 February 2013. He was appointed in the U.S. Army Reserve, as a second lieutenant, on 21 February 2013. He was appointed in the TXARNG, as a second lieutenant, on 21 March 2013, with an effective date of 10 January 2013. d. He again entered on ADT on 12 April 2013. He completed the Infantry BOLC on 8 August 2013 and was awarded MOS 11A (Infantry Officer). He was honorably released from ADT on 8 August 2013 and was transferred to the TXARNG. e. The TXARNG issued the following orders on/for: * Number 280-013, 7 October 2013, reassigning him to a vacant AOC 19C (Executive Officer) slot within the TXARNG * Number 043-045, 31 August 2015, reassigning him to an AOC 19C slot f. In a MFR, dated 15 May 2017, the applicant stated: (1) He had no excuse for not successfully completing the Armor BOLC (ABOLC) within 24 months from the time he began serving his current duty position as a 19A at B Troop, 3rd Battalion, 124th Cavalry. He had not read the SLRP contract in full since basic training; therefore, he was not aware of the requirement established in Section 5 of the addendum. He realized that it was ultimately the individual Soldier’s responsibility to maintain a working knowledge of eh contracts in which he/she was obligated. He believed that the reason behind that oversight was due to the fact that he was serving alongside other officers within the squadron that were also infantry branch qualified. (2) He would have attended the ABOLC without hesitation and would request that this situation not be misconstrued as though he was avoiding required training. He would like to request that the designated authority take into consideration that he had, up until that point, met all the requirements demanded of him throughout his 4 years and 11 months of service time. Regardless of the decision made by the designated authority pertaining to this matter, he will happily continue to serve his state and country. g. On 15 May 2017, the TXARNG recommended approval of the applicant’s ETP for the SLRP. The TXARNG official stated the applicant was unaware that he was required to attend ABOLC due to a duty position change that was no fault of his own. h. On 8 June 2017, the NGB denied the ETP request for the SLRP. The NGB official stated: * the ETP to retain the $50,000.00 was disapproved because the service members failed to complete initial MOS training requirements within 24 months from date of enlistment which violated Title 10, USC, subsection 10105 * the applicant contracted for AOC/MOC 09S and his current AOC/MOS was 19C * the State Incentive Manager would termination the incentive with recoupment effective the contract start date i. He completed the Tactical Information Operations Planner Course, Phase 2, on 20 July 2018. j. He is currently serving in an active status in the TXARNG. He was promoted to captain, with an effective date and date of rank of 30 August 2018. 4. DODI 1205.21 (Reserve Component Incentive Programs Procedures) requires each recipient of an incentive to sign a written agreement stating the member has been advised of, and understands the conditions under which continued entitlement to unpaid incentive amounts shall be terminated and which advance payments may be recouped. The agreement must clearly specify the terms of the Reserve Service commitment that authorizes the payment of the incentive. 5. By law, failure to complete initial MOS training requirements within 24 months from date of enlistment will terminate an SRLP incentive. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board determined that it could reach a fair and equitable decision in the case without a personal appearance by the applicant. Additionally, the Board found relief was not warranted. Based upon the documentary evidence provided by the applicant and found within the military service record, the Board noted that the applicant agreed to certain obligations in exchange for receiving the incentive. Board members noted that he transferred to another position for career advancement which is a choice made by the Soldier. By doing so, and failing to complete the required BOLC within 24 months, he breached his contract. Board members unanimously voted to deny relief. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : 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 the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. 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. REFERENCES: 1. Title 10, U.S. Code (USC), section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within three 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 three-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. Department of Defense Instruction 1205.21 (Reserve Component Incentive Programs Procedures) prescribes procedures for incentive programs. Section 6.2 (Written Agreements) states, in part, as a condition of the receipt of an incentive covered by this instruction, each recipient shall be required to sign a written agreement stating the member has been advised of and understands the conditions under which continued entitlement to unpaid incentive amounts shall be terminated and which advance payments may be recouped. That agreement shall clearly specify the terms of the Reserve service commitment that authorizes the payment of the incentive to the member. 3. Title 10, USC, section 10105, provides for termination of the Student Loan Repayment Program incentive when a service member fails to complete initial military occupational specialty training requirements within 24 months from the date of enlistment. NOTHING FOLLOWS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170009955 5 1