BOARD DATE:	  28 May 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130014991 


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 correction of her records to allow her to retain the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) offered at the time of her enlistment in the Florida Army National Guard (FLARNG).

2.  The applicant states:

	a.  she enlisted in the National Guard on 26 June 2007 under the SLRP.  Since her enlistment in 2007, she has received two payments of $3,000.00 in 2009 and 2011. 

	b.  she has exhausted all avenues to receive the SLRP which she enlisted for after a 15-year break in service.  She would not have enlisted in the military if not for the repayment of her student loans.

	c.  she has filed an Inspector General (IG) complaint against her State Incentives Manager.

	d.  it was a contract and she had faith that the Army would abide by the contract.

	e.  in 2012, the Guard Incentive Management System was implemented and all the administrative errors in her SLRP paperwork were discovered through no fault of her own.  She requested an exception to policy (ETP), but it was denied. 

	f.  she has served in her contracted military occupational specialty (MOS).  Her MOS was changed due to a modified table of organization and equipment change and not through her request.  She signed all the paperwork at her house on 22 June 2007 and her recruiter came back with a warrant officer to swear her in a few days later on 26 June 2007.  The State Incentive Manager did not receive her enlistment paperwork in a timely manner.  

	g.  she should not be penalized for mistakes done by administrative personnel, her recruiter, and the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS).  She served her obligation and deserves to receive the SLRP.  

3.  The applicant provides:

* Email from MEPS
* ETP denial letter
* Transfer assignments
* DD Form 1559 (IG Action Request)
* Email correspondence
* Sworn statement
* Memorandum for record
* DD Form 4/1 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document)
* SLRP Addendum
* DD Form 1996/1 (Record of Military Processing – Armed Forces of the United States)
* Tax documents
* National Student Loan Data System printouts

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant's SLRP Addendum, dated 22 June 2007, shows she enlisted for the SLRP in the amount of $20,000.00.  The service representative and enlisting official certified this addendum.

2.  Having prior active service in the Regular Army and inactive service in the U.S. Army Reserve, she enlisted in the FLARNG on 26 June 2007 for a period of 6 years.  She was ordered to active duty on 2 October 2008 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  She served as an information technology specialist in Kuwait/Iraq from 25 November 2008 to 25 September 2009.  On 7 November 2009, she was released from active duty. 

3.  She provides tax documentation from Defense Finance and Accounting Service which shows she claimed $3,000.00 on her taxes in 2009 and 2011. 
4.  In May 2011, she submitted a request for assistance from the IG in obtaining overdue SLRP payments.  

5.  She provides orders which show her duty position was changed in August 2011, January 2012, and November 2012 as a result of unit reorganization. 

6.  On 2 February 2013, she extended her enlistment for a period of 2 years. 

7.  On 9 April 2013, the National Guard Bureau (NGB) disapproved the request for an ETP to retain the $20,000.00 SLRP.  The NGB stated:

* the State Incentive Manager will terminate the incentive with relief of recoupment being granted
* the applicant is not serving in the duty MOS for which contracted which violates ARNG Selected Reserve Incentive Program (SRIP) Policy Number 07-05
* her incentive addendum was signed before the enlistment document which violates ARNG SRIP Policy Number 07-05
* her bonus control number was requested after the date of enlistment which violates ARNG SRIP Policy Number 07-05
* although she appears to have been eligible for the incentive, a review of the DD Form 4 and the DD Form 1966 do not support the SLRP being offered in connection with the contractual agreement
* the applicant may file a claim with the Army Board for Correction of Military Records  

8.  She provides an email, dated 24 April 2013, from an official at the MEPS in Jacksonville, FL which states:

	a.  the applicant did not enlist at the MEPS, she was a field enlistment at the unit.  The recruiter gets the applicant to sign all required forms to include the SLRP and uploads them into the system.  The MEPS reviews the packet, maybe the same day or a day later.  If the packet looks good, MEPS tells the recruiter to go and swear the applicant in and forward the paperwork, but swear-in might not take place until a couple of days later.  The recruiter prepares the DD Form 4 as well as the DD Form 1966 and forwards the documents to the MEPS.  The enlistment is finalized by the MEPS.  

	b.  the MEPS official contends six years ago the recruiter dated all forms on 22 June 2007, but the applicant didn't swear-in until 26 June 2007.  That's why the dates are different.  The MEPS wasn't aware that the SLRP annex had to be dated the same day the DD Form 4 is dated.

	c.  the recruiter prepared the DD Form 4, but didn't fill it out completely to include the SLRP.  The MEPS missed it.

	d.  the official doesn't recall why the applicant's SLRP doesn't have a control number.  The official thinks the control numbers were issued by the State Incentive Manager after the enlistment.

	e.  the recruiter prepared the DD Form 1966 and obtained all signatures.  It should have been caught that the signatures were missing.

9.  The IG report, dated 5 September 2013, indicates the applicant's ETP was denied by the NGB and that the decision was final.  Her case was closed in August 2013. 

10.  She was promoted to staff sergeant effective 1 April 2014.

11.  National Guard Regulation 600-7 (SRIP), paragraph 2-5, states bonus contracts are valid only with bonus control numbers which will be issued from the State Incentive Management Office to Military Entrance Processing Station counselors and reported to NGB on a monthly basis.  The State Incentive Manager will verify accession packets as prescribed by State policy for bonus control numbers, accuracy of contract and bonus addendum, critical skill and bonus unit eligibility, valid position vacancy, and required educational level.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant requests she be allowed to retain the SLRP offered at the time of her enlistment in the FLARNG.

2.  The NGB disapproved the applicant's request for an ETP to retain the SLRP because the following discrepancies violated the ARNG SRIP Policy Number 07-05:

* she was not serving in the duty MOS she contracted for
* her SLRP Addendum was signed before the enlistment document
* her bonus control number was requested after the date of enlistment 

3.  Evidence confirms she enlisted for 6 years in the FLARNG on 26 June 2007 opting for the SLRP in the amount of $20,000.00.  

4.  She did absolutely nothing wrong and the service representative and enlisting official certified her SLRP Addendum.  Her duty position was changed only due to a unit reorganization.
5.  To date, she has served almost 7 years of service, she deployed to Kuwait/Iraq, and she recently extended her 6-year enlistment for a 2-year period.  

6.  Therefore, notwithstanding the ETP memorandum and in view of the facts of this case, it would be appropriate at this time and serve the interest of justice and equity to correct the applicant's record and pay her the SLRP in accordance with her SLRP Addendum.

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 State Army National Guard and Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

	a.  showing the applicant's request for an ETP to retain the SLRP, dated 
9 April 2013, was approved; 

	b.  showing the Department of the Army authorized her to receive the SLRP in question as agreed to in a properly and timely prepared SLRP Addendum; and

	c.  paying to her the remaining balance of the SLRP out of ARNG funds as a result of the above corrections.



      _______ _   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)                                         AR20130014991





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130014991



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