IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 21 January 2020 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170010288 APPLICANT REQUESTS: * termination of $12,169.80 debt associated with the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) * refund of $1,526.81 worth of overpayments made resulting from an invalid debt APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Self Authored letter * DD Form 4 (Enlistment Document) and supporting documents for initial enlistment dated 3 December 2001 * DA Form 3540-R (Certificate and Acknowledgement of U.S. Army Reserve Service Requirements and Methods of Fulfillment * DA Form 4187 (Personnel Action) * Course Reservation Verification form * DD Form 4 (Reenlistment Document) and supporting documents dated 17 March 2010 * Order# * Self Authored letter to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) center * Debt and Claims Management inquiry and response * DFAS Response Letter * Request for Leave and Earnings Statements from 2006-2007 * Copy of Email Communication * Memorandum for Record: Recommendation for Appointment as a Commissioned Officer * Memorandum for Record: Recommendation for Officer Direct Commission * Certificate of Appreciation FACTS: 1. The applicant states in part that she served in the military for 13 years. The DFAS center has initiated a collection of $12,169.80 in relation to loans paid under the SLRP dating back to 5 August 2006. She received notice of recoupment 10 years later. She contends that her unit signed off each time that an SLRP payment was made indicating that she was in satisfactory standing. She has already paid $2,381.80 to DFAS. She is not disputing repayment of the premiums associated with the Service Group Life Insurance (SGLI) ($368.88) nor the portion of her reenlistment bonus ($486.11) that she was not entitled to. In further support of her request, the applicant provides the following chronological history of events: * December 2001 – she enlisted in the Army (while in high school and elected to participate in the SLRP incurring a 5 year service commitment * June 2002 – she attended Basic Combat Training followed by Advanced Individual Training * December 2010 – she submitted a discharge packet (pregnancy/parenthood) and continued to attend battle assemblies (BA) and rescheduled training (RST) events as required while awaiting approval of her discharge request * March 2011 – her unit failed to submit her discharge request prior to the birth of her second child; recommended to request a discharge (family care plan) – permitted to RST as needed and attend BA’s while her unit completed her discharge processing * November 2014 – she was discharged from the Army Reserve; DFAS notified her of the SGLI and Bonus debts * January 2016 – DFAS notified her of a $13,024.79 debt; she attempted to contact DFAS but was unsuccessful * February 2016 – she initiated an inquiry via the DFAS Debts and Claims Management Customer Service online portal * March 2016 – she received a response from DFAS indicating that her online inquiry was emailed to another area that does not utilize the portal and therefore her request was closed * July 2016 – she submitted a dispute letter to DFAS; in response she was provided with a breakdown of the $13,024.79 debt and advised to seek assistance from her unit regarding the supporting documentation * August 2016 – she was advised that the debt was associated with her unsatisfactory participation as of August 2006 (no supporting documents available); Unit Administrator requested her LES’s from 2005-2007, however none were provided * October 2016 – in absence of a response she was advised to initiate a congressional inquiry 2. A review of the applicant’s available service records indicates the following on: * 3 December 2001 – she enlisted in the Army Reserve for 8 years and elected to participate in the SLRP in the amount of $20,000.00 * 17 March 2010 – she reenlisted in the Army Reserve for 6 years with an expiration term of service date of 1 December 2016 * 7 October 2014 (Order# 14-280-00035) – she was discharged from the Army Reserve effective 6 November 2014 3. DA Form 5016 (Chronological Statement of Retirement Points) indicates: a. she served in the military from 3 December 2001 through 6 November 2014. During this time she obtained 7 qualifying years of service towards retirement. She failed to obtain enough points to obtain a qualifying year of service in 2008- 2009 and from 2010 – 2014. b. From 4 December 2005 through 3 December 2006, 4 December 2009 through 3 December 2009 and 4 December 2010 through 6 November 2014, she failed to satisfactorily obtain enough points to receive credit for a qualifying year. Points detail does not reflect participation in training during the month of February, March, April, June, August or October of 2006. If duty was performed during this period, the records do not reflect accordingly. 4. A review of the applicant’s records does not reflect a DA Form 2475 (DOD Educational Loan Repayment Program Annual Application) or Leave and Earnings Statements reflective of duty performed during 2005 – 2007. 5. The applicant provides the following a: * DD Form 4 (Enlistment Document) dated 3 December 2001 – reflective of her initial enlistment in the Army Reserve for 8 years and elected to participate in the SLRP in the amount of $20,000.00 * DA Form 3540-R (Certificate and Acknowledgement of U.S. Army Reserve Service Requirements and Methods of Fulfillment) – reflective of her understanding of her Army Reserve commitment and obligation; contained within is the guidance applicable to what is considered “satisfactory participation” * DA Form 4187 (Personnel Action) dated 1 June 2002 – reflective of her advancement to Private (PV2) * DA Form 4187 (Personnel Action) dated 1 June 2002 – reflective of her advancement to Private First Class * Course Reservation Verification form – reflective of her enrollment in BCT and AIT * DD Form 4 (Reenlistment Document) dated 17 March 2010 – reflective of her reenlistment for 6 years in the Army Reserve; section VIII (Termination) of the USAR Bonus Addendum states that separation from an Army Reserve unit for any reason other than by death, injury, illness or other impairment not the result of the Soldiers own misconduct or becoming an unsatisfactory participant will result in termination of reenlistment bonus and may be subject to recoupment * Order# 14-280-00035 – she was honorably discharged from the Army Reserve effective 6 November 2014 * Self Authored letter to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) center – reflective of her second official request for assistance concerning debt recoupment * DFAS Response Letter dated 25 August 2016 - reflective of their official response and breakdown of her debt recoupment totaling $13,024.79; as it pertains to her SLRP - it states in part that this debt was initiated by her previous unit in relation to her unsatisfactory participation * Debt and Claims Management inquiry and response dated 27 August 2016 – reflective of her debt inquiry – DFAS provided her with a breakdown of the $13,024.79 debt as follows: $368.88 (SGLI premiums from July 2013 – April 2014 and October 2014 – November 2014) $486.11 (Bonus recoupment of unearned portion due to unsatisfactory participation) and $12,169.80 (collection for SLRP due to unsatisfactory participation effective 5 August 2006) * Request for Leave and Earnings Statements from 2005-2007 – reflective of her request for this documentation to provide proof of satisfactory performance during this period * Copy of Email Communication between the applicant and a reflective of her attempts to obtain clarification and assistance with resolving her SLRP debt related issue; indicated that she was discharged due to expiration term of service because the time had lapsed from when they were initially trying to do other punitive actions for accumulating 9 or more unexcused absences from BA’s * Memorandum for Record: Recommendation for Appointment as a Commissioned Officer dated 2 February 2006 – reflective of her commanders recommendation for her direct commissioning as an Officer * Memorandum for Record: Recommendation for Officer Direct Commission dated 8 February 2008 - reflective of her commanders recommendation for her direct commissioning as an Officer * Certificate of Appreciation dated 1 December 2007 – reflective of her recognition of performance demonstrated during a hospital inventory 7. See all applicable supporting guidance below under REFERENCES. BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. The Board carefully considered the applicant’s request, supporting documents and evidence in the records. The Board considered the applicant’s statement, her record of service, the points shown on her DA Form 5016 (Chronological Statement of Retirement Points), the absence of a DA Form 2475 (DOD Educational Loan Repayment Program Annual Application) or Leave and Earnings Statements reflective of duty performed during 2005 – 2007, the reason for the debt as shown in DFAS documentation. The Board considered the recommendations of the chain of command during the period of service in question and a Certificate of Appreciation. The Board found sufficient evidence to show the applicant to be an unsatisfactory participant which would result on termination of her incentive with recoupment. Based on a preponderance of evidence, the Board determined that the recoupment of the applicant’s bonus and SLRP was not in error or unjust. 2. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found that relief was not warranted. 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, United States 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 ABCMR to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the 3 year statute of limitations if the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. Department of Defense Instruction (DODI) 1205.21 (Reserve Component Incentive Program Procedures) states in Paragraph 6.2, as a condition of the receipt of an incentive covered by this Instruction, each recipient shall be required to sign a written agreement stating that 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. Paragraph 6.8.2 states, a Soldier's incentive will be terminated with recoupment if they separate from the Reserves for any reason (including enlistment or voluntary order to active duty in the active forces). 3. Army Regulation (AR) 130-7 (Incentive Programs) states that the Student Loan Repayment Program Agreement remains in force regardless of subsequent reenlistments or extensions until separation from the Selected Reserve or attaining the maximum authorized limits. To continue an entitlement, a soldier must avoid being designated an unsatisfactory participant per AR 135-91, chapter 4, section III. To be eligible for the SLRP incentive, a person must contractually obligate himself or herself to serve satisfactorily per AR 135-91. A person must serve in the Selected Reserve for the full term of the contractual agreement per paragraph 5.J-3b. He or she 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. Entitlement to the SLRP will stop if the soldier becomes an unsatisfactory participant. For drilling Reservist, the termination date entered into personnel data reporting systems must be the date the soldier attained his or her 9th unexcused absence (AR 135-91, para 4--lla), or the date the soldier is determined to be an unsatisfactory participant for failing to attend or complete the entire period of annual training (AT) or Separates from the Selected Reserve as an enlisted person for any reason including enlistment or voluntary recall into the active forces. 4. AR 135-91 (Service Obligation, Methods of Fulfillment, Participation Requirements and Enforcement Procedures) states that a soldier is an unsatisfactory participant when nine or more unexcused absences from scheduled inactive duty training (IDT) occur during a 1-year period. Unless an absence is authorized, a soldier failing to attend a scheduled single or multiple unit training assembly (MUTA) will be charged with an unexcused absence. When absence involves a MUTA (or any portion of a MUTA), the charge will be one unexcused absence for each 4-hour period not attended, but not to exceed four unexcused absences. The maximum number of unexcused absences charged is four per month. For counting unexcused absences, the 1-year period will begin on the date of the absence. It will end one year later. Beginning dates will be set for each succeeding unexcused absence. When longer than 1-year elapses from the date of an absence, it no longer will be counted. The new 1-year period will begin on the date of the later absence, if any. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170010288 6 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1