IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  14 February 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110011054 


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 payment of his student loans under the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) in the amount of $14,000.00.

2.  The applicant states his enlistment contract included tuition reimbursement for student loans and that he started the paperwork for repayment of $14,000.00 in 2002 while assigned to Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  He contends that before he made any progress with the paperwork, he was deployed to Afghanistan with the 325th Combat Support Hospital in early 2004 and at that point he was informed by his old unit that he needed to re-start his application with his new unit.  He then completed the forms and followed up with the unit several times over the full year he was with the unit.    

3.  The applicant states he returned from deployment in 2005 and was discharged from the USAR.  He followed up with his former unit several times but no one would give him an answer.  He contends that during the next five years, he called and emailed anyone he could get in touch with at his former unit but it was not until May 2010 that he was finally informed that the reason his application kept being put aside was because they needed a formal disbursement statement from the lending institution.  

4.  The applicant provides:

* DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document)
* five DD Forms 2475 (DoD Educational LRP Annual Application)
* two DD Forms 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty)
* letter from the USAR Pay Center, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin
* DA Form 5261-4-R (SLRP Addendum)

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant’s failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.  In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.

2.  After having had prior service in the U.S. Air Force, the applicant enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 27 December 2001 for a period of three years.  

3.  Section III (Acknowledgement) of his DA Form 5261-4-R (SLRP Addendum) shows he enlisted for the SLRP incentive in military occupational specialty 91K (Medical Laboratory Specialist) with a maximum of $10,000.00 loan repayments. Section V (Entitlement) states the amount to be repaid each year will not exceed 15 percent of the original balance (a maximum of $1,500.00) or $500.00, whichever is greater, plus the accrued interest.

4.  None of his enlistment documents (to include his DD Form 1966 (Record of Military Processing - Armed Forces of the United States)) identified what student loans he had.

5.  He served in Afghanistan from 16 March 2004 to 15 March 2005 and was honorably discharged from the USAR on 4 April 2005.  

6.  In an application dated 22 November 2010, the applicant requested to the ABCMR that he be granted payment of his student loans under the SLRP.  However, it was determined that he had not exhausted all of his administrative remedies prior to submitting his application to the ABCMR and was instructed to submit his application to the USAR Pay Center, Fort McCoy, WI, for consideration of his case.  

7.  In a letter dated 25 April 2011 (addressed to the applicant), the USAR Pay Center stated that based on the available documentation, the applicant contracted for the $10,000.00 SLRP when he enlisted in the USAR on 
27 December 2001.  Because he had already received loan disbursements in excess of $10,000.00 prior to enlisting, he was eligible for the maximum payment, by law, of 15 percent of that total not to exceed $1,500.00 at the end of each entitlement year (EY).  Therefore, he was eligible for a total of $4,500.00 ($1,500.00 each year for the 3 EYs that he was assigned to a troop program unit).  The USAR Pay Center also stated that the applicant had never provided their office with a copy of his loan disbursement statements so no payments were ever disbursed to the lender from their office.

8.  The USAR Pay Center further indicated that the applicant has stated in a phone conversation that there was no longer any outstanding balance on his loans because over the past 6 plus years since his discharge from the USAR, he had paid off all of his loans.  Because there is no longer a remaining balance on the loans, both public law and USAR policy restricted their office from processing any payments to reimburse him for the loans.  The applicant was advised by the USAR Pay Center to apply to the ABCMR for further assistance.

9.  The SLRP is a Department of the Army enlistment option authorized by 
Title 10, U.S. Code, section 2171 (10 USC 2171), which provides the legal authority for the education loan repayment program for enlisted members in specified military specialties.  The law states that 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, Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students, Auxiliary Loan Assistance for Students, and consolidated loans which fall under Title IV, Part B or E of the Higher Education Act of 1965, or William D. Ford Loan. 

10.  10 USC 2171 further specifies that payment of such loans shall be made on the basis of each complete year of service performed as an enlisted member in a military specialty specified by the Army.  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 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 confirms the applicant entered into an enlistment contract on 27 December 2001 that included authorization for SLRP benefits not to exceed $10,000.00.

2.  The USAR Pay Center confirmed he was authorized SLRP payments in the amount of $4,500.00 ($1,500.00 each year for the 3 EYs that he was assigned to a troop program unit).  However, for reasons that are not adequately documented, the applicant never provided his loan disbursement statements to the USAR Pay Center.  As a result, no payments were ever disbursed to the lender from that office.

3.  The evidence shows the applicant completed the term of service for which he contracted.  Notwithstanding the fact that there is no longer an outstanding balance on his loans, and in view of the facts of this case, it would be appropriate and serve the interest of justice and equity to pay him $4,500.00, as an exception to policy, based on authorized qualifying student loans.

4.  The applicant’s military records may be corrected to show his DA Form  5261-4-R, Student Loan Repayment Program Addendum, section V, 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 if for whatever reason it is not paid to the lending institution, 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:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

____x___  ____x___  ___x____  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by showing his DA Form  5261-4-R, Student Loan Repayment Program Addendum, section V, 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 if for whatever reason it is not paid to the lending institution, 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.

2.  That in accordance with Title 10, U. S. Code, section 1552, DFAS shall remit payment to the individual concerned in the amount of $4,500.00 as outlined by his SLRP Addendum and as indicated by the USAR Pay Center.

3.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to payments in excess of $4,500.00.




      _______ _   __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)                                         AR20110011054



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110011054



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