ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

		IN THE CASE OF:  

		BOARD DATE:  2 March 2022

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20210005217


APPLICANT REQUESTS:  in effect, approval of an exception to policy (ETP) to allow 
him to retain the $50,000.00 Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) incentive for 
which he contracted and recoupment of any funds that have already been taken.

APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD:

*	DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record)
*	Army National Guard Current Annual Statement, prepared on 2 February 2019


FACTS:

1.  The applicant states:

a.	He requests that the termination of his SLRP incentive to be overridden and for 
this incentive to be re-established, and that the attempt of any recouping of the 
incentives, which has already been dispersed, to be cancelled and terminated.

b.	He believes the record to be in error due to an erroneous APFT failure that 
occurred during his recovery period following the expiration of a temporary profile. His 
temporary profile was from 5 November 2017 to 3 February 2018, was followed by a 
recovery period authorized to be twice the length of the temporary profile, not to exceed 
90 pays.

c.	The erroneously recorded APFT took place on 13 April 2018, which was before 
the expiration of the recovery period authorized on 3 May 2018. 

d.	He claims his record shows a valid profile as well as no consecutive failed APFT.

2.  The applicant provides a copy of his ARNG Current Annual Statement, prepared on 
2 February 2019.

3.  The applicant’s service record shows:

a.	He is still a member of the Indiana ARNG (INARNG).
b.	DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document), reflects he enlisted in the 
INARNG on 5 February 2015. 

c.	Annex E (Non-Prior Serve Bonus Addendum ARNG) to DD Form 4, dated 5 
February 2015, shows in:

(1)	Section III (Bonus Amount and Payments: “I will receive a total bonus in the 
amount for the Non-Prior Selection Enlistment Bonus (NPSEB). NPSEB 6 years. I am 
enlisting for 6 years and will received a total bonus in the amount of $10,000 less taxes 
in military occupational specialty (MOS) 12T [Technical Engineer].”

(2)	Section VI (Termination), section (i) states, “I may be terminated from 
incentive eligibility with recoupment [if applicant has] two consecutive record APFT 
failures within this contract term. The effective date of termination is the date of the 
second ‘Record; APFT failure”.

(3)	Annex L (SLRP Addendum ARNG) to DD Form 4, dated 5 February 2015, 
shows in Section VI (Termination), paragraph 2(h), states, the SLRP incentive may be 
terminated without recoupment when “the Service Member has two consecutive record 
APFT failures. The termination date will be effective on the date of the second APFT 
failure. 

d.	DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) shows he 
was honorably released from active duty for training on 13 November 2015, for MOS 
12T. He completed 6 months and 24 days of net active service this period.

e.	Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) Scorecard shows he failed the APFT on  
14 October 2017 and for 13 October 2018.

f.	APFT Scorecard shows he passed the APFT on 18 May 2018.

g.	Army National Guard Current Annual Statement, prepared on 6 February 2019 
shows he has 4 years of creditable service for retired pay.

h.	APFT Scorecard shows he passed the APFT on 20 October 2019.

i.	DA Form 4836 (Oath of Extension of Enlisted or Reenlistment) shows he 
extended his 5 February 2015 enlistment in the INARNG for 1 years on 30 August 2020.

j.	DA form 4836 shows he extended his 5 February 2015 enlistment in the INARNG 
for 6 years on 29 June 2021.

k.	Annex L (Current Member SLRP Addendum) to DD Form 4, dated 29 June 2021, 
shows:

(1)	He has 12 disbursed loans in the amount of $29,750.00 that have been 
approved in the Guard Incentive Management System (GIMS) by the current assigned 
State Incentive Manager prior to executing his contract.

(2)	He agreed to reenlist/extend for a minimum of 6 years in an active status.

(3)	His current paygrade was E4.

(4)	He was reenlisting/extending his Duty MOS Qualified as the primary position 
hold in a MOS that matches the authorized military grade commensurate with the 
position for which he is extending. He extended in MOS 12T

(5)	He has less than 16 years of time in service with a pay entry based dated of 5 
February 2015.

(6)	He is not under any FLAG or suspension at the time of the contract.

(7)	He is not previously contracted for the SLRP and/or received any 
repayment(s) under the LRP and/or SLRP as an affiliation/enlistment or 
reenlistment/extension option. He is also aware that this SLRP contract may not be 
combined with another previous signed LRP and/or SLRP contract.

(8)	He acknowledged that his lifetime maximum amount that may be repaid is 
$50,000.00

(9)	Section VI (Termination): it states, in pertinent part: “I may be terminated from 
eligibility with recoupment for any of the following reasons: Erroneous receipt of 
anniversary payments when not eligible or authorized, Overpayment of an anniversary 
payment, no exception to policy waiver, when needed, that he becomes an 
unsatisfactory participant, and that he failed to pass two consecutive record APFT or 
Army Body Composition (ABCP) failures within this contract term. The effective date of 
termination is the date of the second “for record” APFT/ABCP failure.

l.	His record is void of any medical temporary profile sheet.


BOARD DISCUSSION:

After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found that 
relief was not warranted. The Board carefully considered the applicant's record of 
service, documents submitted in support of the petition and executed a comprehensive 
and standard review based on law, policy and regulation. Upon review of the applicant’s 
petition, available military records and the National Guard Bureau Special Actions 
Branch advisory, the Board agreed with the advising official finding the applicant was 
not entitled to an automatic recovery period after his profile based on the new guidance 
within Field Manual (FM) 7- 22. The Board determined the new profile system 
incorporates the recovery period into the total length of the profile.  Furthermore, based 
on the evidence in the record, the Board determined the applicant was not available to 
take his AFPT verses the applicant’s contention that he was unable to complete his 
AFPT.  The Board agreed based on the preponderance of evidence termination of his 
incentive was warranted. Therefore, the Board denied 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.  Department of Defense Instruction 1205.21 (Reserve Component Incentive 
Programs Procedures) prescribes policy, assigns responsibilities, and provides 
procedures for management of the Reserve Component incentive programs.  Section 
6.2 (Written Agreements) states that 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.

2.  Title 10, USC, section 16301 Subject to the provisions of this section, the Secretary 
of Defense may repay any loan made, insured, or guaranteed under part B of title IV of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.); any loan made under part D 
of such title (the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, 20 U.S.C. 1087a et 
seq.); any loan made under part E of such title (20 U.S.C. 1087aa et seq.); or any loan 
incurred for educational purposes made by a lender that is an agency or instrumentality 
of a State; a financial or credit institution (including an insurance company) that is 
subject to examination and supervision by an agency of the United States or any State; 
a pension fund approved by the Secretary for purposes of this section; or a nonprofit 
private entity designated by a State, regulated by that State, and approved by the 
Secretary for purposes of this section. Repayment of any such loan shall be made on 
the basis of each complete year of service performed by the borrower.

3.  Army Regulation 135-7 (Incentive Programs) restricts the SLRP to those Reservists 
who either enlist, reenlist, or extend for a skill or unit approved by the Department of the 
Army and disseminated to the field by a list of MOSs and units, which is updated every 
6 months. This educational incentive may only be elected at the time of enlistment, 
reenlistment, or extension, and an SLRP Addendum must be executed at that time. 

	a.  The SLRP provides for the repayment by the Government of a designated portion 
of any outstanding student loan(s) secured after 1 October 1975. The loan amount to be 
repaid is 15 percent of the original balance of the loan plus accrued interest not paid by 
the Department of Education, or $500 plus the accrued interest not paid by the 
Department of the Education, whichever is greater. Payments will be made for each 
year of satisfactory service in the Selected Reserve.  

	b.  To be eligible for the SLRP incentive, a person must contractually obligate 
himself/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 MOS unless excused for the convenience of the 
Government. Each completed satisfactory year of service performed under this SLRP 
agreement establishes an anniversary date. Any qualifying loan that is at least 1 year-
old may then be paid in accordance with the terms of this educational enlistment 
incentive. In addition, the service member must meet all physical fitness standards. 

4.  Army Regulation 621-202 (Army Educational Incentives and Entitlements) paragraph 
6-2 (Eligibility) states an eligible Soldier is one who executes NGB Form 600–7–5–R–E 
on the same date of the Service contractual agreements. Once a Soldier has executed 
an ARNG addendum to participate in the SLRP, the provisions of the ARNG addendum 
will remain in force until the earlier occurrence of one of the following: (a) Participation in 
the SLRP is terminated in accordance with this regulation. (b) The maximum SLRP 
benefit as appropriate has been paid.

5.  The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense published a memorandum, dated 21 
May 2008, subject: Repayment of Unearned Portions of Bonuses, Special Pay, and 
Educational Benefits or Stipends. This memorandum states, "A member who enters into 
a written agreement with specified conditions for receipt of a pay or benefit, is entitled to 
the full amount of the pay or benefit if the member fulfills the conditions of that pay or 
benefit.  The Deputy Secretary of Defense Policy Memorandum recognized that, at the 
time, members were subject to statutory repayment for any unearned portion of a pay or 
benefit, as appropriate."

6.  Field Manual 7-22 (Army Physical Readiness Training) states Soldiers recovering 
from injury, illness, or other medical conditions must train within the limits of their 
medical profiles (DA Form 3349) and be afforded a minimum train-up period of twice the 
length of the profile. Prescribed train-up periods must not exceed 90 days before APFT 
administration or other unit physical readiness goal requirements according to AR 350-1 
(Army Training and Leader Development).

7.  Soldiers who fail a record APFT for the first time or fail to take the APFT within the 
required period will be flagged.  In the event of a record test failure, commanders may 
allow Soldiers to retake the test as soon as the Soldier and the commander feel the 
soldier is ready. Soldiers without a medical profile will be retested not-later-than 3 
months following the initial APFT failure.

8.  Army Regulation 601-210 states in paragraph 10-6b that APFT failure or failure to 
meet body fat standards within a one-year period will result in the suspension of an 
incentive. Two consecutive APFT or body fat standard failures will result in the 
termination of an incentive.

9.  Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552, the law which governs the operation of this Board, 
states "The Secretary may pay, from applicable current appropriations, a claim for the 
loss of pay, allowances, compensation, emoluments, or other pecuniary benefits, or the 
repayment of a fine or forfeiture, if, as a result of correcting a record under this section, 
the amount is found to be due the claimant on account of his or another's service in the 
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard, as the case may be."

//NOTHING FOLLOWS//

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)	AR20210005217

1

1