BOARD DATE: 19 December 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130013923
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 college loans under the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP).
2. He states his Army National Guard (ARNG) enlistment contract clearly shows he is eligible to participate in the SLRP while contracting with the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC)/Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP).
3. The applicant provides:
* National Guard Bureau Education Division Instruction 1.1 (NGB-EDUi 1.1)
* DD Form 1966 (Record of Military Processing - Armed Forces of the United States)
* DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document-Armed Forces of the United States)
* Annex L to DD Form 4 SLRP Addendum, ARNG
* NGB Form 594-1 (ARNG SMP Agreement)
* Cadet Command (CC) Form 203-R (Guaranteed Reserve Forces Duty (GRFD)) Scholarship Cadet Contract Endorsement
* DA Form 597-3 (Army Senior ROTC Scholarship Cadet Contract)
* Notification of Incentive Discrepancy and Exception to Policy Process
* Notification of Exception to Policy with allied documents
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. On 13 April 2011, he enlisted in the North Dakota ARNG (NDARNG) for 8 years.
2. An SLRP Addendum was part of his enlistment agreement. This form shows he was a non-prior service (NPS) applicant enlisting in military occupational specialty 92W (Water Treatment Specialist) and at the time of his enlistment he had two qualifying disbursed loans. He acknowledged the following statement listed in Section IX (Statement of Understanding) with his initials:
I understand that my SLRP will continue if I either accept an appointment as an officer or warrant officer candidate, or if I contract as an SMP/ROTC Cadet. It will also continue upon acceptance of either a commission or appointment as an officer or warrant officer candidate in the ARNG. The timeline of the original contract will remain in effect, but will not be renewed. I also understand that my continued participation in this program will cause me to be ineligible for any officer/warrant officer accession bonus.
3. On 8 November 2011, the applicant completed an ROTC Scholarship Cadet Contract. The terms of this contract obligated the Army to pay his full tuition for a period of 3 years provided the applicant successfully completed the academic, medical, and fitness terms and conditions as outlined in the agreement.
4. As part of his ROTC contract the applicant also completed a GRFD Scholarship cadet contract agreeing to participate in the SMP. His SMP agreement stated that as a current ARNG member, his original enlistment/
reenlistment agreement was to be held in abeyance in order that he could participate in the SMP. Further, as a participant in the SMP, he understood that upon acceptance of SMP, he was not eligible to continue in the ARNG Incentive Program.
5. On 13 May 2013, the NDARNG Incentives Manager notified the applicant that his SLRP would be terminated as the result of his ROTC scholarship.
6. On 14 May 2013, the applicant requested an exception to the policy in order to retain his SLRP. He stated that his contract permitted for his SLRP to continue even if he contracted as an ROTC/SMP.
7. On 18 July 2013, the Deputy G1, ARNG denied the applicant's request. The official stated that the applicant entered the ROTC program with a full scholarship that violates the regulatory guidelines established in NGB-Edui 1.1 (ARNG
Chaplain, Health Professional and Enlisted Loan Repayment Programs CHELRP)), dated 2009.
8. NGB EDUi 1.1 contains the policy and procedural guidance for all loan repayment programs for the ARNG. Paragraph 2-3 provides guidance for enlisted eligibility. It states, in part, enlisted Soldiers receiving the ELRP will remain eligible while attending Officer Candidate School (OCS) or Warrant Officer Candidate School (WOCS) or after contracting into the ROTC/SMP. Soldiers will also remain eligible upon commissioning or appointment, subject to the original restriction that their ELRP will be paid within the same period established in their original enlistment documents.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant requests, in effect, payment of his college loans under the SLRP.
2. The evidence of record shows the applicant enlisted in the ARNG on 13 April 2011 and he contracted for the SLRP as an enlistment incentive. However, on
8 November 2011, he contracted into the ROTC/SMP and his SMP contract specifically states, "Upon acceptance into SMP, I am not eligible to continue in the ARNG Incentive Program." This clearly shows that the applicant is no longer entitled to his SLRP incentive, thus the decision to terminate the SLRP incentive was not in error.
3. Although it does not appear that NGB EDUi 1.1 specifically states a member who is accepted into the SMP is not eligible to continue to receive an enlisted ELRP incentive, the applicants ROTC contract did specifically tell him he would not be eligible to continue to receive it. Basic contract law states that a second contract supersedes a previous contract. If the applicant did not wish to lose his ELRP benefit he did not have to sign the second contract.
4. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
___X__ ___X_____ ____X____ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned.
_________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.
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