BOARD DATE:	  6 December 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120007850 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests that her Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) benefits be transferred to her U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) contract.

2.  The applicant states she transferred from the Army National Guard (ARNG) to the USAR and was eligible to transfer her SLRP benefits to the USAR; however, the recruiter did not fill out the required addendum and therefore she is unable to use the remaining $8,500.00 of her benefits.

3.  The applicant provides a one-page letter explaining her request, a memorandum of denial of her SLRP benefits from the unit administrator, and a memorandum from her unit personnel services noncommissioned officer.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant served in the Regular Army from 2 July 1991 until she was honorably discharged in pay grade E-5 on 1 December 1998.

2.  On 2 December 1998, she enlisted in the Maine ARNG and she extended her enlistment for a period of 3 years and participation in the SLRP on 17 October 2001.

3.  On 8 May 2003, she was honorably discharged from the Maine ARNG for transfer to the USAR.

4.  On 28 August 2007, she again enlisted in the Maine ARNG and served until she was honorably discharged on 25 August 2010 to enlist in the Regular Army.

5.  On 26 August 2010, she enlisted in the Regular Army and served until she was honorably discharged on 23 November 2010 to accept a commission.

6.  She was commissioned as a Regular Army field artillery second lieutenant on 24 November 2010 and is currently serving in the Regular Army as a first lieutenant.

7.  In the processing of the case a staff advisory opinion was obtained from the USAR Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, which recommends approval of the applicant's request.  The Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, states the applicant was entitled to transfer her SLRP entitlements from the ARNG to the USAR; however, the recruiter was required to complete a new addendum with her USAR contract.  Accordingly, she should be able to retain her entitlements.  The applicant concurred with the advisory opinion.

8.  Army Regulation 135-7 (Army National Guard and Army Reserve Incentive Programs) provides in paragraph 5-1.5.1b(1) that an ARNG Soldier eligible for loan repayment will retain the entitlement at the same level upon transfer to the USAR.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's contention that she should be allowed to retain her SLRP benefits has been noted and appears to have merit.

2.  The applicant transferred from the MEARNG to the USAR and then back to the MEARNG.  Accordingly, a new DA Form 5261-4-R (SLRP Addendum) should have been prepared by the USAR recruiter to allow her to retain her SLRP benefits.

3.  Inasmuch as she completed the terms of her contract in the Reserve Components, she should be allowed to retain her SLRP entitlements.  Accordingly, her SLRP benefits should be reinstated effective the date she transferred to the USAR and an antedated DA Form 5261-4-R should be prepared to accompany her USAR contract.



BOARD VOTE:

__x___  ___x_____  ____x____  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

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 Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by completing an antedated DA Form 5261-4-R to her USAR contract and reinstating her SLRP benefits.



      ___________x_____________
       	     CHAIRPERSON
      
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.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120007850



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120007850



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