IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  27 July 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110008230 


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, in effect, correction of his records to show he is eligible for the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) as stated in his enlistment contract.

2.  The applicant states the SLRP was terminated for his Sallie Mae alternative loan for Full Sail Real World Education attendance.  One payment was made without issue, but subsequently the loan was found to be a private loan, not a Federal loan as the university and loan company led him to believe.  He contends he contracted with the Maine Army National Guard (MEARNG) for the SLRP and his contract was found to be valid by the MEARNG Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) and the MEARNG Education and Incentives Office.  A payment was made on the loan prior to an audit and the determination that the loan was ineligible.  He enlisted expecting his loan would be repaid by the military, which was a key factor in his decision to join the ARNG.

3.  The applicant provides student loan documents, a memorandum from the MEARNG Education Services Officer (ESO), and memoranda from the National Guard Bureau (NGB).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  After having prior enlisted active duty service, the applicant enlisted in the ARNG on 13 February 2009 for a period of 6 years.

2.  His enlistment contract includes an NGB Form 600-7-5-R-E (SLRP Addendum – ARNG of the United States) that indicates he was eligible for the SLRP for the total amount of repayment for a qualifying loan not to exceed $20,000.00 upon his enlistment in the ARNG and he had an existing loan in the amount of $18,344.04.  The applicant and the enlisting official authenticated this contract and addenda with their signatures on 13 February 2009.

3.  It appears that a payment in the amount of $3,575.28 was made on the applicant's behalf.  In a memorandum, dated 19 January 2011, the MEARNG ESO requested an exception to policy to forgive the payment made on the applicant's behalf.  This memorandum explains that the applicant contracted for the SLRP for one loan in the amount of $18,344.04.  The MEPS did not note the loan was an alternative loan for Full Sail Real World Education (the MEPS saw "Sallie Mae" and assumed the loan was Federal).  The paperwork arrived in the MEARNG education office at the same time the ESO was deployed and the incentive manager was retiring.  The replacement was still being trained when he approved the loan.  The error was caught during a recent audit when the new incentive manager was pulling records for the auditor.  The SLRP has been suspended and recoupment action has begun against the Soldier.

4.  The ESO further states the Soldier was under the impression that the loan was a Federal loan and asked for an exception to policy to forgive the single payment made on his behalf.  The ESO supports the Soldier's request for an exception to policy as the mistakes made were all through the MEPS as well as the Education and Incentives Office and were no fault of the Soldier who had recently returned from Operation Enduring Freedom.

5.  In a memorandum, dated 1 April 2011, the Chief, Guard Strength Directorate, NGB, approved an exception to policy to grant relief of recoupment of the SLRP payment received by the applicant in the amount of $3,575.28; however, no further payments were authorized.

6.  Army Regulation 601-210 (Active and Reserve Components Enlistment Program) prescribes eligibility criteria governing the enlistment of persons, with or without prior service, into the Regular Army, USAR, and Army National Guard.

7.  Army Regulation 601-210, chapter 6, section II, contains guidance for the guidance counselor processing phase.  It states that guidance counselors will verify the applicants' eligibility for enlistment and counsel applicants who failed to meet specific qualification for MOS, options, and assignments for which they 

applied and advise them of all other available options that would still meet the applicants' needs, wants, and desires, as well at the needs of the Army.

8.  Army Regulation 135-7 (Incentive Programs) restricts the SLRP to those Reserve Soldiers who either enlist or reenlist for a skill or unit approved by the Department of the Army and disseminated to the field by a list of MOS's and units which is updated on a periodic basis.  This educational incentive may only be elected at the time of enlistment or reenlistment.  This incentive pays a limited sum of money to a lending institution on the anniversary date of an enlistment or reenlistment.  These payments continue on a yearly basis unless the Soldier loses eligibility by no longer serving in the approved MOS or unit.

9.  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 applicant's request for correction of his records to show he is eligible for the SLRP as stated in his enlistment contract has been carefully considered.

2.  By law, the Secretary concerned may authorize the SLRP to eligible Soldiers in conjunction with enlistment/reenlistment in the Selected Reserve.  The law allows the Secretary concerned the latitude in establishing the criteria and eligibility for the SLRP.  The governing regulation stipulates that guidance counselors are required to verify the applicants' eligibility for enlistment and counsel applicants who failed to meet specific qualifications for MOS, options, and assignments, for which they applied and advise them of all other available options that would still meet the applicants' needs, wants, and desires as well as the needs of the Army.

3.  The evidence of record confirms the applicant entered into an enlistment contract on 13 February 2009 that included authorization for SLRP benefits not to exceed $20,000.00 in good faith; however, through no fault of his own, the loan was later discovered to be ineligible under the SLRP and payments were terminated.


4.  In view of the facts of this case, it would be appropriate and serve the interest of justice and equity to correct his record by showing the Army authorized him to 
receive the SLRP benefit in question as an exception to policy and to pay him any amounts due based on authorized qualifying student loans.

5.  The applicant's military records should be corrected to show his SLRP Addendum was amended to include the statement, "If you enlist for the SLRP and the government fails to verify that you meet the eligibility criteria for entitlement to the SLRP, and such failure results in nonpayment of the loan by the SLRP or the repayment or default of the loan, 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 him the amount his lending institution would have been paid under the SLRP.

BOARD VOTE:

___X____  ___X____  ___X____  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined the evidence presented is 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:

	a.  amending his SLRP Addendum, dated 13 February 2009, to include the statement, "If you enlist for the SLRP and the government fails to verify that you meet the eligibility criteria for entitlement to the SLRP, and such failure results in nonpayment of the loan by the SLRP or the repayment or default of the loan, 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"; and


	b.  showing he is authorized the SLRP benefit as written in his enlistment contract, dated 13 February 2009, as amended by this correction and by paying him the outstanding balance of the loan.



      ____________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)                                         AR20110008230



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110008230



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