ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS BOARD DATE: 4 February 2020 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20180006180 APPLICANT REQUESTS: her Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) debt to be eliminated or reduced to a prorated amount of $61.65 APPLICANT’S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Retirement Orders * Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) debt information * attempts to resolve debt FACTS: 1. The applicant states: a. She was billed $1,500 as an overpayment of SLRP in 2016. She is requesting the debt be eliminated or reduced to a prorated amount of $61.65 for the $4.11 a day payment. b. She retired on 1 September 2016. Her SLRP payment was processed on 16 September 2016. She would be happy to pay the prorated amount for the 15 days she did not serve that year. She earned the majority of that year's payment. She attended annual trainings which was a major hardship on her family. She attended all the regular battle assemblies until her retirement date. 2. The applicant's service records are void of an SLRP addendum. 3. The applicant provides the following documents for the Board's consideration: a. Orders 16-167-00035, published by Headquarters, 81st Regional Support Command, dated 15 June 2016 which show the applicant was transferred to the Retired Reserve effective 1 September 2016. b. A DFAS debt information statement, dated 26 December 2017 which shows the applicant has a debt of $1,500 with interest of $1.38 for a total of $1,501.38. c. A document entitled Previous Attempts at Resolution Report which shows: * on 13 January 2018, the applicant called DFAS when she received the bill and she submitted a help ticket * on 16 January 2018, the applicant sent an email to her unit administrative noncommissioned officer regarding the debt and requesting assistance from the unit to remove the debt 4. The applicant contacted her Congressman on 4 September 2019 and stated: a. She retired from the Army Reserves on 1 September 2016. Her 21 year anniversary would have been 5 September 2016. Because she was a few days short of a full year, the government said she had to pay back her SLRP for that year plus administrative fees. b. She completed every drill and extra annual trainings in 2016 that were hardships on her family. She earned the SLRP payment. There was not any scheduled battle assemblies between her retirement and her annual anniversary date. c. She sent an application to the Board to appeal the debt on 14 February 2018. The government took her tax return in 2018 even though she told them she was disputing the charge. d. She received another threat letter from a debt collection agency for $54.62. She spent hours battling for the money. She held up her end of the deal serving honorably for every scheduled duty. It is shameful she is not able to contact the Board or get a response since February 2018 about the status of her appeal. She had filed other forms before so a lot of time had been invested in trying to get the error straightened out. 5. The applicant provided the following documents to her Congressman and they are available for the Board's consideration: a. A memorandum from US Army Human Resources Command, dated 10 December 2015 subject Notification of Eligibility for Retired Pay at Non-Regular Retirement (20-Year Letter). b. An undated letter to her Loan Official, informing them the Army would repay a portion of her loan through the SLRP. c. A letter from a collection agency, dated 5 August 2019, requesting payment of $54.62. 6. See below for applicable regulations. 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 terms of her SLRP agreement and the reason and date of her retirement. The Board considered the applicant’s statement regarding repayment of SLRP for the unserved portion of her obligated service and the amount submitted to her for collection. The Board found sufficient evidence of the applicant’s repayment to show that she repaid the debt and should no longer be accountable for the remaining debt. Based on a preponderance of evidence, the Board determined that a portion of the applicant’s debt should be remitted. 2. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found that partial relief was warranted. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF : X :X :X GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 1. The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected to show that the applicant’s debt was reduced to the amount proportionate to the length of her unserved obligated service. 2. The Board further determined the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief. As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to the request for relief from the applicant’s total debt. 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. Department of Defense Instruction 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. 2. Army Regulation 601-210 (Active and Reserve Components Enlistment Program), states, the SLRP is normally not recouped because time is served prior to receipt of the incentive. However, when overpayment is made, recoupment may occur when a waiver of indebtedness is not obtained. 3. Army Regulation 600-4 (Remission or Cancellation of Indebtedness) in accordance with the authority of Title 10 USC, section 4837, the Secretary of the Army may remit or cancel a Soldier’s debt to the U.S. Army if such action is in the best interests of the United States. Indebtedness to the U.S. Army that may not be canceled under Title 10 USC, section 4837 when the debt is incurred while not on active duty or in an active status. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20180006180 4