IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  22 July 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090017764 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests reinstatement of his Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) benefits.

2.  The applicant states he is a U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Soldier who, upon redeployment from Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), relocated to another state necessitating finding a new Troop Program Unit (TPU) assignment.  He states he was proactive in finding another unit in order to honor his commitment and contract.  He states he did not fully understand how transferring from one unit to another worked and so he sought out the advice of an Army career counselor.  He states the counselor instructed him to transfer to the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) for 1 day rather than attempt to transfer from one TPU to another because it would be an easier process.  He states he lost one day of service and as a result he lost his SLRP benefit from his initial enlistment contract.

3.  The applicant indicated he provided an “investigative packet from the 108th Training Command” containing 31 documents.  However, only the following was included with his application:

* 25 January 2003 enlistment contract
* 4 statements associated with his chain of command supporting a request to amend his reassignment orders to permit no break in TPU assignments
* Statement from the 98th Training Division Command Career Counselor
* Orders transferring him to the USAR Control Group effective 30 April 2007
* Orders transferring him from the USAR Control Group with a TPU effective 1 May 2007

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Records available to the Board indicate the applicant initially enlisted in the USAR for a period of 8 years on 25 January 2003.  His enlistment contract indicated he was enlisting under a program which would permit him to serve in a TPU for 6 years and then complete the remaining 2 years of his enlistment contract in the IRR.  He voluntarily elected to remain assigned to a TPU.

2.  The contract also noted the applicant was enlisting for a maximum of $10,000 under the SLRP.  He acknowledged by his initials that he understood entitlement to the SLRP would terminated if he was separated from his enlisted status in the selected Reserve TPU for any reason, except for an authorized period of non-availability.

3.  The applicant was assigned to the 465th Quartermaster Company in Jasper, Alabama.

4.  Between 2004 and 2006 the applicant was ordered to active duty in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and deployed to Afghanistan. 

5.  On 4 April 2007 orders 07-094-00004, dated 4 April 2007, were issued by the 81st Regional Readiness Command in Birmingham, Alabama reassigning the applicant from the 465th Quartermaster Company to the USAR Control Group (Reinforcement) effective 30 April 2007 because the applicant moved beyond a reasonable commuting distance.  The basis for the move was a change of the applicant’s residence.

6.  Effective 1 May 2007, the applicant was voluntarily reassigned from the USAR Control Group (Reinforcement) to a TPU in Charlottesville, Virginia (Company C, 2d Battalion, 317th Regiment, 3rd Brigade).

7.  Members of the applicant’s current chain of command, in a statement submitted in support of the applicant’s petition to have his SLRP reinstated, attest to the fact the applicant was transferred to the IRR through no fault of his own, resulting in a 24 hour break in his Selected Reserve service.  They note the applicant was already in the process of securing a transfer from one TPU to another when he was transferred to the IRR.  



8.  The Command Career Counselor indicated in his memorandum the applicant received inadequate counseling from the Army Reserve Career Counselor and his former chain of command when he was transferred to the IRR rather than being transferred from one TPU to another.

9.  Army Regulation 135-7 (Army National Guard and Army Reserve Incentive Programs) establishes the policies and provisions for the SLRP enlistment incentive.  It notes entitlement to the SLRP will stop if the Soldier separates from enlisted status in a Selected Reserve unit of the Army National Guard or USAR for any reason, except when separated for an authorized period of nonavailability.  Separation includes discharge, or transfer to the IRR, Standby Reserve, or Retired Reserve.

10.  Paragraph 1-15 of Army Regulation 135-7 states that authorized periods of nonavailability include transfer to the IRR or Standby Reserve for missionary obligation, participation in other Department of Defense approved programs, and approved transfer to the Inactive National Guard or IRR for cogent personal reasons.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s entitlement to the SLRP was terminated when he was reassigned from a TPU to the IRR.  The fact the applicant’s reassignment occurred one day prior to his reassignment from the IRR back to a TPU supports the applicant’s contention he was reassigned in an effort to make his transition from one TPU to another simpler for administrators involved in the reassignment.  

2.  It is reasonable to conclude the applicant would not have voluntarily consented to the one day assignment to the IRR if he were aware of the impact that a single day in the IRR may have had on his entitlement to the SLRP.

3.  While the applicant’s records could be corrected by voiding the reassignment to the IRR and showing he was reassigned from one TPU to another TPU, in this case it may be easier simply to amend Orders 07-094-00004, dated 4 April 2007, to show the reason for his reassignment from a TPU to the IRR was for “cogent personal reasons” vice “moved beyond reasonable commuting distance (change of residence)” thereby restoring his entitlement to the SLRP under his 2003 enlistment contract.






BOARD VOTE:

_____X__  ___X____  ___X____  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 Orders 07-094-00004, dated 4 April 2007, to show the reason for his reassignment from a TPU to the IRR was for “cogent personal reasons” vice “moved beyond reasonable commuting distance (change of residence)” thereby restoring his entitlement to the SLRP under his 2003 enlistment contract.




      _______ _   _X______   ___
       	   CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090017764



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090017764



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