| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Edmund P. Mercanti | Analyst |
| Mr. Fred N. Eichorn | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Lester Echols | Member | |
| Mr. Marla J. N. Troup | Member |
2. The applicant requests that she be given the $20,000.00 Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) she contracted to receive.
3. The applicant states that she was told when she inquired about the amount of SLRP she would be entitled to receive for enlisting in a critical MOS. Her recruiter told her that she was entitled to the $20,000.00 SLRP. Based upon that assurance, she signed an enlistment addendum for the $20,000.00 SLRP. When she submitted her student loans for payment on 15 November 2000, she discovered that an error was made, that her MOS was only entitled to the $10,000.00 SLRP when she enlisted. Her student loan payoff is around $14,500.00, and the $4,500.00 not covered under the SLRP has created a financial hardship for her.
4. The applicant’s military records show that she enlisted in the Army Reserve with no prior service on 5 July 1989. She was awarded the military occupational specialty (MOS) of eye specialist, was promoted to pay grade E-4, and was awarded the second MOS of respiratory specialist.
5. On 11 May 1997, the applicant reenlisted for 6 years in the Army Reserve. In conjunction with that reenlistment she signed addenda for a $2,500.00 cash bonus and a $20,000.00 SLRP.
6. Army Regulation 135-7 provides guidance on the SLRP. The SLRP is an educational program administered by the Department of the Army for reservists who enlist, reenlist or extend their enlistments in the selected reserve (USAR unit or individual mobilization augmentee) for 3 or more years. SLRP payments may only be made to lending institutions that made the student loans. The Army will not pay off defaulted student loans or reimburse a soldier or an alternate lending institution for student loans that have been paid in full.
7. Army Regulation 135-178 sets forth the basic authority for the separation of reserve enlisted personnel. Chapter 9 provides for individuals who were promised a benefit in conjunction with their enlistment or reenlistment which the Army cannot honor. These individuals have the option of either requesting immediate discharge or waiving the benefit and remaining in the USAR.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant reasonably believed that she had up to $20,000.00 in student loan repayment under her SLRP addendum.
2. As a result of that belief, she incurred $4,500.00 in student loans over what was covered under the SLRP.
3. It would appear that the $20,000.00 SLRP was a major factor in the applicant's decision to enlist. To offer the applicant a discharge due to defective enlistment now, more than 5 ½ years after her enlistment, is not fair or equitable. The Army has benefited from the applicant's service for a lengthy period of time. If the error had been discovered earlier in the applicant's enlistment, the option of discharge, or retention without the $20,000.00 SLRP, would have been appropriate.
4. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.
RECOMMENDATION:
That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the MOS of the individual concerned was authorized a $20,000.00 SLRP when she reenlisted on 11 May 1997, as an exception to policy, in this case only.
BOARD VOTE:
___fne___ ___mjnt_ ___le____ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
_________Fred N. Eichorn______
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2002072979 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20030410 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | (HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR) |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | YYYYMMDD |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | AR . . . . . |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | GRANT |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. | 128.05 |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
ARMY | BCMR | CY2002 | 2002082445C070215
In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice. The applicant requests...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2001 | 2001065409C070421
The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein. APPLICANT REQUESTS: In effect, that her $20,000.00 Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) enlistment addendum be honored as written. On 18 May 2001 the office of the Chief, Army Reserve, denied her request for exception to policy and informed the applicant she could either remain in the unit without the increased SLRP, she could request discharge, or she could petition...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2002 | 2002072517C070403
The applicant states that she initiated a SLRP contract for $20,000.00 as indicated in the DA Form 5261-4-R (Student Loan Repayment Program Addendum) she includes with her application. In a 30 May 2001 memorandum the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) Office at Fort McCoy stated that although the applicant’s DA Form 5261-4-R was executed with an entitlement of $20,000, she was only eligible for a $10,000 entitlement and payments would be made for that entitlement. The applicant...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110008230
The applicant requests, in effect, correction of his records to show he is eligible for the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) as stated in his enlistment contract. The applicant's military records should be corrected to show his SLRP Addendum was amended to include the statement, "If you enlist for the SLRP and the government fails to verify that you meet the eligibility criteria for entitlement to the SLRP, and such failure results in nonpayment of the loan by the SLRP or the repayment...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110011054
The USAR Pay Center further indicated that the applicant has stated in a phone conversation that there was no longer any outstanding balance on his loans because over the past 6 plus years since his discharge from the USAR, he had paid off all of his loans. The applicants military records may be corrected to show his DA Form 5261-4-R, Student Loan Repayment Program Addendum, section V, was amended to include the sentence If a student loan is accepted by the officials processing you for...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2002 | 2002067902C070402
The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein. APPLICANT REQUESTS: That her records be corrected to show that she was eligible for the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP). While it is unfortunate she was led to believe she qualified for the SLRP, to grant the applicant’s request would be giving her a benefit not available to other reservists with non-qualifying MOS’s who were properly not given a SLRP addendum...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2003 | 2003084356C070212
The applicant requests that the interest on his student loans, which was converted to principal by the loan holder by a process termed capitalization, be paid under the terms of his Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) enlistment addendum. However, when that occurred, the Army was prohibited from paying the converted interest since the Army is limited to paying the original indebtedness, plus interest, under the laws and regulations governing the SLRP. Since the applicant’s student loan...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2001 | 2001060504C070421
The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein. In that response the USARC reiterated that the applicant’s MOS was not eligible for the $20,000 SLRP, and added that the regulation which governs the SLRP limits the amount of SLRP a reservist can receive during his or her career as the amount to which he or she While not a matter of record, it would appear likely that any student loans which existed at the time of the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY1995 | 9509336C070209
APPLICANT REQUESTS: That her educational loans be paid under the provisions of the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) addendum she executed with her reenlistment contract. She remained assigned to that unit, was promoted to pay grade E-5, and reenlisted for 6 years on 10 September 1985, giving her an expiration of her term of service (ETS) of 9 September 1991. These payments continue on a yearly basis unless the soldier loses eligibility by being separated from his or her unit.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2005 | 20050006239C070206
The preponderance of evidence and the advisory opinion shows the applicant enlisted for the postal operations MOS of 71LF5, which was authorized the SLRP in the amount of $20,000, and not for training as a parachutist (MOS 71LP). In the event the applicant has paid her loans as a result of the error in her enlistment contract, her military records may also be corrected to show her DA Form 5261-4-R was amended to include the sentence, “If a student loan is accepted by the officials...