RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        14 December 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050006239


      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. John N. Slone                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Leonard G. Hassell            |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Michael J. Flynn              |     |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 her records be corrected to show she
qualified for repayment of her student loans under the Student Loan
Repayment Program (SLRP).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, her enlistment contract erroneously
showed she enlisted for military occupational specialty (MOS) 71LP
(parachutist qualified) whereas she actually enlisted for MOS 71LF5 (Postal
Operations).

3.  The applicant provides her enlistment contract; a DD Form 220 (Active
Duty Report); a DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from
Active Duty); release from attachment orders; two course completion
diplomas; a DA Form 1059 (Service School Academic Evaluation Report); MOS
orders; an email dated 2 March 2005; a DD Form 2385-1 (Notice of Basic
Eligibility); memorandums dated 15 July 2002, 29 April 2002, 9 November
2001, and 15 August 2001; an undated letter from the applicant; a DA Form
2B (Personnel Qualification Record (Commissioned Officer)); reassignment
orders dated 15 November 2002; and a Chronologic Statement of Retirement
Points.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the U. S. Army Reserve on 14 December 1998.
Her DA Form 5261-4-R (Student Loan Repayment Program Addendum) shows she
contracted for completion of initial active duty for training (IADT) and
qualification in MOS 71LP which Headquarters, Department of the Army had
approved for a maximum of $20,000 in loan repayments.  In section VII
(Termination), paragraph 4 of the DA Form 5261-4-R she acknowledged her
entitlement to the SLRP would be terminated if she was separated from her
enlisted status in the Selected Reserve for any reason except for an
authorized period of unavailability.

2.  Another of the applicant's enlistment options was assignment to the 23d
Adjutant General Postal Company.  Paragraph 4 of U. S. Army Recruiting Form
1122-R-E (Statement of Understanding – Army Policy USAREC Addendum to DA
Form 3540 (Acknowledgment of Enlistment)) shows the applicant read/viewed
and understood the MOS description for 7lLP F5 Postal Operations.

3.  The applicant was ordered to IADT on 1 June 2000.  She completed the
Postal Operations Course on or about 4 August 2000.  She was released from
IADT on 10 August 2000.  She was awarded MOS 71L10F5 effective 9 February
2001.

4.  On 24 November 2003, the applicant accepted a commission as a second
lieutenant in the U. S. Army Reserve, Medical Service Corps.

5.  In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from
the Incentives and Budget Branch, Enlisted Accessions Division, Office of
the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1.  That office noted the applicant's Military
Entrance Processing Station counselor had erroneously entered an incorrect
MOS (71LP) and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) would not
pay the SLRP until that error was corrected.  That office noted the
applicant held up her end of the contract and provided proof she held the
required MOS (71LF5) during her enlisted commitment, which qualified her to
receive the $20,000 SLRP.

6.  A copy of the advisory opinion was provided to the applicant for
comment.  On 20 November 2005, she concurred with the advisory opinion.

7.  On 13 December 2005, the Reserve Component Pay Support Office at Fort
McCoy, WI informed the Board analyst the applicant had provided two notes
for Stafford Loans, in the amounts of $5,500.00 and $3,500.00, and both
loans would have been eligible for repayment under the SLRP had her
enlistment contract been correct.

8.  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
$500.00 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.

9.  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.

10.  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.

11.  Title 10, U. S. Code, section 1552, the law which provides for the
                                  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.”

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  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).

2.  The Reserve Component Pay Support Office stated the applicant had two
student loans, in the total amount of $9,000.00, which would have been
eligible for repayment under the SLRP had her enlistment contract been
correct.  Her enlistment contract should be corrected to show she enlisted
for MOS 71LF5 and that she met her contract obligation for entitlement to
the SLRP when she completed training in postal operations in August 2000.

3.  Once the applicant's enlistment contract has been corrected, her
eligible student loans should be paid per her contract, with the
understanding she lost her entitlement to the SLRP when she was
commissioned on 24 November 2003.

4.  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.  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 processing you
for enlistment as payable under the SLRP and it is later discovered that it
is not payable for reasons of law or regulation, the Army Board for
Correction of Military Records may pay the loan, 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 her the amount her lending
institution would have been paid under the SLRP.

BOARD VOTE:

__jns___  __lgh___  __mjf___  GRANT FULL 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 her enlistment contract of 14 December 1998 be corrected to show she
enlisted for MOS 71LF5 and that she met her contract obligation for
entitlement to the SLRP when she completed training in postal operations in
August 2000.

2.  The applicant's DA Form 5261-4-R should be amended to include the
sentence, “If a student loan is accepted by the officials processing you
for enlistment as payable under the SLRP and it is later discovered that it
is not payable for reasons of law or regulation, the Army Board for
Correction of Military Records may pay the loan, at its sole discretion, in
accordance with Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552.”

3.  If the applicant has not paid off her student loans, DFAS shall remit
payment to her lending institutions the appropriate amount with the
understanding she lost her entitlement to the SLRP when she was
commissioned on 24 November 2003.

4.  If the applicant has paid off her student loans then, in accordance
with Title 10, U. S. Code, section 1552, DFAS shall remit payment to the
individual concerned the appropriate amount with the understanding she lost
her entitlement to the SLRP when she was commissioned on 24 November 2003.

5.  The applicant may have to provide DFAS with her promissory notes and
accrued interest information.




                                  __John N. Slone_______
                                            CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050006239                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051214                                |
|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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