RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            17 JUNE 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003096181


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Ms. Deborah L. Brantley           |     |Senior Analyst       |


  The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Margaret Patterson            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. William Powers                |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Mae Bullock                   |     |Member               |

      The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests cancellation of her debt.

2.  The applicant states that she served in the Army Reserve as agreed,
until she was discharged.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of her discharge certificate.

COUNSEL'S REQUEST, STATEMENT AND EVIDENCE:

1.  Counsel requests forgiveness of the applicant’s debt.

2.  Counsel states that the applicant was honorably discharged from the
Army and, to her knowledge, left the service having incurred no unpaid debt
or obligations.

3.  Counsel provides a copy of his 28 May 2002 letter to the Diversified
Collection Services, and a copy of the applicant’s 15 May 2002 letter to
the Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS).  He also submitted
copies of documents showing the applicant’s debt.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Records available to the Board were extremely limited and consisted
mainly of the applicant’s appointment as a United States Army Reserve
officer, her assignment orders to a Reserve unit, and copies of the letter
notifying her that she had been twice nonselected for promotion to major.

2.  Information available to the Board indicates that the applicant was
appointed as a United States Army Reserve officer for an indefinite period
on 20 September 1989.  She was appointed in the rank of captain based on
previous medical training.  That same day, she was assigned to the 815th
Station Hospital at a United States Army Reserve Center in Bronx, New York.

3.  In April 1996 she was notified that she had been considered and not
selected for promotion to the rank of major.  In May 1997 she was notified
that she had been considered and not selected for promotion to the rank of
major for the second time.  The May 1997 notification letter informed the
applicant that because of her second nonselection, she would be discharged.

4.  According to the discharge certificate provided by the applicant, she
was honorably discharged on 2 March 1998.

5.  A December 1996 “Pay Adjustment Authorization” from the Incentives
Branch of the United States Army Recruiting Command, to the Director, DFAS,
authorized establishment of a debt to the government for “non participation
STRAP [Specialized Training Assistance Program for Medical Corps and Army
Nurse Corps Officers] obligator.”  The debt covered funds that the
applicant received between September 1989 and June 1994.

6.  A July 2001 statement from DFAS to the applicant indicated that she was
indebted to the government in the amount of $45,768.63 due to her
“disenrollment from the Military Health Professional Scholarship Program.”

7.  According to a statement of the applicant’s United States Army Reserve
retirement points, she accrued a total of 33 points for her retirement year
ending on 19 September 1990.  She accumulated 16 inactive duty points, 2
active duty for training (ADT) points, and 15 membership points.  For the
retirement year ending on 19 September 1991 she accumulated a total of 47
points, 32 inactive duty points, and 15 membership points.  In the
following years the applicant accumulated only her 15 membership points,
with the exception of the retirement year ending on 19 September 1993 when
she acquired 1 additional point for inactive duty.

8.  The applicant’s 15 May 2002 letter to DFAS, submitted by her attorney
in support of her application to this Board, merely informs officials at
DFAS that her last name had changed and that she had an attorney who was
authorized to discuss her case.

9.  The 28 May 2002 letter from the applicant’s attorney to DFAS, also
included as an enclosure to her application to this Board, notes that DFAS
may have made a mistake in billing the applicant “for the sum claimed.”
The attorney stated that in 1989, 2 years into her medical residency, the
applicant “contracted with the United States Army Reserve whereby they
would pay her a monthly stipend of about $700.00 and she would serve in the
Army Reserves, as ordered by military authorities.”  He continued that at
“no time did the Army pay any part of [the applicant’s] medical training”
and that the “only contribution by the Army to [the applicant] was the
monthly stipend during 1989 through 1994.”  He noted that in 1994 the
applicant completed her residency and continued her association with the
Army Reserve until 2 March 1998 when she was honorably discharged from the
Army, “having completed all of her military commitment.”

10.  In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from
the Director, Health Services Personnel Management, at the United States
Army Human Resources Command-St. Louis.  The opinion noted that the
applicant had contracted under STRAP on 20 September 1989 and was
contractually obligated to the United States Army Reserve until 30 June
2004.  A copy of the contract was not in records available to the Board.
The opinion noted that the applicant’s stipend end date was 30 June 1994.
The opinion also noted that they were “unable to find cause for relief.”
The opinion indicated that the applicant’s “point record” shows that she
did not do any duty, did not attend the Officer Basic Course and any annual
training, and that she “had no Officer Evaluation Reports in her Obligor
Phase, and therefore did not participate satisfactorily according to her
STRAP agreement.”  The applicant was provided a copy of the opinion but did
not respond.

11.  Army Regulation 135-7 states that the purpose of the STRAP is to
provide adequate numbers of commissioned officers who are qualified in
health profession specialties critically needed in wartime.  The STRAP sets
up financial assistance to officers engaged in specialized training in
return for their service in the Ready Reserve.  The amount of financial
assistance an officer may receive while engaged in specialized training is
determined by the service obligation for which the officer contracted on
enrollment in the STRAP and the rate in effect for the fiscal years.  The
rate of assistance under the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship
Program is the basis for the amount of monthly stipend under the STRAP.  An
officer who participates in the STRAP incurs an obligation to serve 2 years
in the IRR, or 2 years in the Selected Reserve, as appropriate, for each
year or partial year for which he or she received financial assistance.
Participation in the STRAP will terminate on successful completion of the
specialized training program, if not terminated earlier, including failure
to meet or maintain the eligibility requirements for the STRAP.  These
requirements include membership in good standing in the Ready Reserve and
attendance in good standing at the specialized course of training.  A STRAP
participant who fails to complete the specialized training program and is
terminated for failing to maintain eligibility is subject to recoupment of
funds paid.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although a copy of the applicant’s contractual agreement to participate
in the STRAP was not available to the Board, she did indicate in various
documents, which were available to the Board, that she received a monthly
stipend and had agreed to serve as a member of the Army Reserve.  Her
assignment to a Reserve unit is evidence that her contract went beyond mere
membership in the United States Army Reserve, as she appears to have
believed.

2.  Her retirement point summary indicates that beyond her annual 15
membership points, she did not acquire any other points, which indicates
that she was not participating satisfactorily as a member of her Reserve
unit.  The fact that she was twice not selected for promotion to major
further supports a conclusion that her membership in the Reserve was not in
good standing.

3.  Contrary to the applicant’s contention, her 1998 discharge from the
Reserve was not an indication that she had fulfilled her service obligation
under the STRAP, but rather was the result of her twice not being selected
for promotion.  The debt the applicant incurred resulted from her receipt
of a monthly stipend that she was to receive in exchange for service in the
Reserve.  While the evidence confirms that she received the monthly
stipend, there is no evidence that she participated in her commitment to
the United States Army Reserve, beyond accumulating her annual membership
points.

4.  The applicant and council have provided no compelling evidence that the
debt was incurred in error or that it is unjust.  In the absence of such
evidence, there is no basis for granting relief.

5.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must
show, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in
error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would
satisfy that requirement.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__MP___  __WP ___  __MB ___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable
error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall
merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the
records of the individual concerned.





            ___Margaret Patterson____
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2003096181                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20040617                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |128.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |