RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           7 June 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040009092


      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             |
|     |Mrs. Nancy L. Amos                |     |Analyst              |


The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. William D. Powers             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Karen Y. Fletcher             |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Kenneth L. Wright             |     |Member               |

      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 that the Army pay off his student loans as per
his enlistment contract.

2.  The applicant states that he was offered the Student Loan Repayment
Program (SLRP) as a recruitment incentive and it was included in his
enlistment contract.  In 1995, he was denied his payment claim on the basis
that he was erroneously contracted for the SLRP.  Based on his enlistment
contract he accepted $8,212.00 in student loans in reliance of the SLRP
provisions in his contract.  That was several years before the military
denied his loan repayment claim.  At the time of the denial, he had
fulfilled 100 percent of his initial contract obligation, had already
accepted all of the student loans at issue, and served over one year of his
second enlistment contract.

3.  The applicant states that out of loyalty to the Army he sought to keep
the matter "in house" in the belief the Army itself would best be able to
correct the error.  He spoke with many Army National Guard (ARNG) personnel
over the years but was not pointed in the direction of the Army Board for
Correction of Military Records until he contacted his State and Federal
Representatives in 2004.

4.  The applicant provides his 20 September 1988 enlistment contract with
related DD Form 1966 (Record of Military Processing – Armed Forces of
   the United States); his NGB Form 21 (Annex A – DD Form 4
Enlistment/Reenlistment Agreement – Army National Guard); NGB Form
600-15-4 (Annex to DD Form 4/DA Form 4836 – Student Loan Repayment Program
Agreement, Army National Guard); copies of five Stafford Loan Applications
and Promissory Notes; and a memorandum dated 13 September 1995.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the ARNG on 20 September 1988 in a military
occupational specialty (MOS) that appeared to qualify for the SLRP.  In
addition to the normal documents involved in an enlistment, an NGB Form 600-
15-4 was completed wherein both the applicant and his enlisting official
acknowledged that he reenlisted for an MOS that was authorized the SLRP.

2.  Between December 1989 and March 1992, the applicant acquired five
Stafford student loans.
3.  By memorandum dated 13 September 1995, the State of Wisconsin
discovered that the applicant was erroneously contracted for the SLRP in
that his MOS was not a critical skill for non-prior service enlistees.

4.  In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from
the Personnel Division, National Guard Bureau.  That office recommended
approval of the applicant's request noting that, although no listing of
critical MOS skills for non-prior service enlistees for September 1988 was
provided it appeared that an injustice was done.

5.  A copy of the advisory opinion was provided to the applicant for
comment.  He concurred with the advisory opinion on 7 March 2005.

6.  The SLRP provides for the repayment by the Government of a designated
portion of any outstanding student loan(s) secured after 1 October 1975.
Loans that qualify for repayment are Guaranteed Student Loan/Stafford
Loans, National Direct Student Loan/Perkins Loans, William D. Ford Loans,
Supplemental Loans for Students, Federally Insured Student Loans (FISL),
Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS), Auxiliary Loan Assistance
for Students (ALAS), and consolidated loans which fall under Title IV, Part
B or E of the Higher Education Act of 1965, or William D. Ford Loan.  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 $500.00
plus the accrued interest not paid by the Department of the Education,
whichever is greater, up to the maximum allowable amount.  Payments will be
made for each year of satisfactory service in the Selected Reserve.

7.  To be eligible for the SLRP incentive, a person must contractually
obligate himself or 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.
Entitlement to the SLRP will stop if the Soldier is separated from the
Selected Reserve.  Each complete satisfactory year of service performed
under this SLRP agreement establishes an anniversary date.  Any qualifying
loan which is at least a year old may then be paid in accordance with the
terms of this educational enlistment incentive.

8.  The Government will not make any payments to the Soldier or reimburse a
Soldier if he or she pays off a student loan.  The Government will only pay
the lending institution.

9.  Title 10, U. S. Code, section 1552, the law which provides for the
Board, states that “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.”

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record shows that the applicant enlisted in the ARNG,
in good faith, for the SLRP incentive on 20 September 1988.  He acquired
five student loans based on that incentive and served the ARNG for almost
seven years thinking he was entitled to the SLRP before the Army discovered
and notified him that he was not eligible for entitlement because the MOS
for which he enlisted was not a critical skill for non-prior service
enlistees.

2.  Through no fault of his own, and after incurring several debts based
upon what he assumed was a valid enlistment option, the applicant was
denied that entitlement.

3.  It would be equitable to provide the applicant the full SLRP benefits
outlined in his enlistment contract.

4.  The applicant’s military records may be corrected to show his NGB Form
600-15-4 was amended to include the sentence, “If you are offered the
Student Loan Repayment Program by the officials processing you for
enlistment and it is later discovered that you do not meet the criteria for
this enlistment incentive program, the Army Board for Correction of
Military Records may pay the eligible student loans you have obtained as a
result of reliance on this incentive program, at its sole discretion, in
accordance with Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552.”  This would allow the
Board to invoke that provision and pay him the amount his lending
institution would have been paid under the SLRP.

BOARD VOTE:

__wdp___  __kyf___  __klw___  GRANT RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to
warrant a recommendation for relief.  As a result, the Board recommends
that the state Army National Guard records and the Department of the Army
records of the individual concerned be corrected by amending his NGB Form
600-15-4 to include the sentence, “If you are offered the Student Loan
Repayment Program by the officials processing you for enlistment and it is
later discovered that you do not meet the criteria for this enlistment
incentive program, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records may
pay the eligible student loans you have obtained as a result of reliance on
that incentive program, at its sole discretion, in accordance with Title
10, U.S. Code, section 1552.”

2.  That as a result of the foregoing correction the Defense Finance and
Accounting Service shall remit payment to the applicant of the total amount
of his Stafford loans, in the amount of $8,212.00, to which he is entitled
as a result of this correction.  The applicant may be required to submit
the appropriate evidence (promissory notes, etc.) to the Defense Finance
and Accounting Service to determine the amount due.




            __William D. Powers__
                    CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040009092                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050607                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schneider                           |
|ISSUES         1.       |112.12                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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