RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        5 October 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060004217


      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. Beverly A. Young              |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. James Gunlicks                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Michael Flynn                 |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Scott Faught                  |     |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, in effect, that he be released from the
obligation to repay the bonus under the Specialized Training Assistance
Program (STRAP).

2.  The applicant states that when he entered the U.S. Army, his recruiter
told him he would not have to repay STRAP funds in return for an active
duty obligation.  After he obligated for active service, personnel at the
Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) told him he needed to repay
STRAP funds.  Recently, personnel at the DFAS STRAP funds office told him
that he did not need to repay these funds if he had at least four years of
active duty.

3.  The applicant provides a supplemental letter; a letter from his
commanding officer; his reassignment orders; his active duty orders; a DA
Form 160-R (Application for Active Duty); a copy of his identification
card; his Officer Record Brief (ORB); and a DA Form 1506 (Statement of
Service for Computation of Length of Service for Pay Purposes).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  After having had prior enlisted service in the U.S. Navy, U.S. Naval
Reserve, and the Army National Guard, the applicant was appointed as a
Reserve commissioned officer on 3 May 1999 in the Army Nurse Corps.

2.  The applicant’s New STRAP Service Agreement is not available.

3.  The applicant’s personnel records contain a DA Form 61 (Application for
Appointment), dated 21 December 2000.  This document shows he was a
full-time Nurse Anesthesia student from August 1999 to December 2000 at the
Raleigh School of Nurse Anesthesia in Raleigh, North Carolina.

4.  The applicant’s DA Form 160-R, dated 21 December 2000, shows he
voluntarily applied for active duty for a period of five years.  The
application indicates he had a 60-month active duty service obligation
(ADSO) due to his one-year participation in the U.S. Army Reserve, STRAP.

5.  Department of the Army, U.S. Total Army Personnel Command Order
Number A-02-003143, dated 13 February 2001, ordered the applicant to active
duty at Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina with a
reporting date of 8 June 2001.  His ORB shows he entered active duty on
11 March 2001.


6.  Department of the Army, U.S. Total Army Personnel Command Order
Number 156-001, dated 5 June 2001, shows the applicant’s rank and grade
were determined to be first lieutenant with an active date of rank (ADOR)
of 11 March 2001.

7.  He was promoted to the rank of captain with an ADOR of 3 February 2003.

8.  Headquarters, Joint Readiness Training Canter and Fort Polk Orders
Number 021-089, dated 21 January 2005, assigned the applicant to Company A,
187th Students, Fort Sam Houston, Texas with a reporting date of 1 March
2005.

9.  In a 7 March 2006 memorandum, the commanding officer of Company C,
264th Medical Battalion, 32nd Medical Brigade, U.S. Army Medical Department
Center and School at Fort Sam Houston, Texas stated the applicant was
currently assigned to this unit.  The memorandum shows the applicant’s
current service component as “Regular Army” and his expiration term of
service as indefinite.

10.  In the processing of this case, a staff advisory opinion was obtained
from the Director, Army Medical Department Region, U.S. Army Human
Resources Command, St. Louis, Missouri.  The opinion states the applicant
completed a service agreement contract for a bonus on 3 May 1999 to
complete a Nursing Anesthesia program.  His STRAP stipend payments began on
1 September 1999.  The applicant voluntarily disenrolled from his training
program on 7 December 2000 which placed him in violation of his STRAP
Service Agreement, thereby resulting in the recoupment action with DFAS.
Based on Section VIII of the applicant’s STRAP Service Agreement, he was
contractually obligated for four years of Selected Reserve service from
1 August 2001 to 1 August 2005, for repayment of his STRAP service
commitment.  The opinion states the applicant’s election to serve on active
duty necessitated only a
two-year commitment; however, because he voluntarily disenrolled from his
training program, the recoupment stayed in place.

11.  A copy of the advisory opinion was provided to the applicant for
comment or rebuttal.  However, he did not respond within the allotted
timeframe.

12.  The applicant is currently serving on active duty in the rank of CPT
in the Army Nurse Corps and performing duties as a Clinical Staff Nurse.

13.  Army Regulation 135-7 (Incentive Programs), paragraph 11-13a governs
the contractual service obligation and method of fulfillment of officers
who participate in the New STRAP.  This portion of the regulation states
that an officer incurs an obligation to serve 2 years in the Individual
Ready Reserve, or 2 years in the Selected Reserve (except on Active Guard
Reserve status), as appropriate, for each year or partial year for which he
or she receives financial assistance.  This contractual obligation is
incurred when the officer signs the DA Form 5685-R (New STRAP Service
Agreement).  This contractual obligation may extend beyond the officer's
statutory military service obligation incurred by law.

14.  Paragraph 11-13b(1) of Army Regulation 135-7 states that the Selected
Reserve contractual obligation can also be satisfied by service on active
duty (Active Duty or Active Guard Reserve (AGR) status) or full-time
National Guard duty (AGR status).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant accepted appointment as a Reserve commissioned officer
on 3 May 1999 in the Army Nurse Corps.

2.  The New STRAP Service Agreement is not available.  However, the
advisory opinion indicates the applicant completed a New STRAP Service
Agreement contract for a bonus on 3 May 1999 to complete a Nursing
Anesthesia program.  He was contractually obligated for four years as
repayment of his STRAP service commitment.  The advisory opinion also
indicates the applicant disenrolled from his training on 7 December 2000.

3.  The applicant voluntarily applied for active duty in December 2000 for
a period of five years and entered active duty in March 2001.  He is
currently serving on active duty as a captain in the Army Nurse Corps.

4.  As a matter of equity, it would be appropriate to consider the
applicant’s active duty service to have met the four year Selective Reserve
obligation required by his New STRAP Service Agreement.

BOARD VOTE:

JG______  MF______  SF______  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was 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
amending his New STRAP Service Agreement contract to show he would satisfy
the STRAP debt under the terms of the New STRAP Service Agreement by
successfully completing four years of active duty service in the Army Nurse
Corps.




                                  James Gunlicks________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060004217                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20061005                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.       |112.1100                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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