IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 26 February 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130015995
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 that her Specialized Training Assistance Program (STRAP)/Health Professions Loan Repayment (HPLR) start date be changed to 26 May 2011, that her $20,000 recouped bonus payment be refunded to her, and that she be allowed to claim her second $20,000 HPLR bonus now instead of 2017.
2. The applicant states, in effect, that she was misled by recruiters at the time she signed her bonus agreement and as a result, her $20,000 bonus was recouped because the agreement was improperly dated. She filed a complaint and an investigation was initiated by the U.S. Army Recruiting Command (USAREC) that substantiated her complaint. She states that by changing the date the $20,000 bonus that was recouped would be returned to her and it would allow her to claim the second $20,000 HPLR payment now rather than wait until 2017.
3. The applicant provides a time-line of events, a sworn statement, and a copy of the investigation surrounding her bonus entitlements.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant was commissioned as a U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) first lieutenant on 25 May 2010 with a $20,000 Officer Accession Bonus (OAB) in area of concentration 66H, Critical Care Nurse.
2. On 25 March 2011, she was accepted in the STRAP and the following month she was notified by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service that her STRAP agreement was signed 8 weeks prior to the anniversary of her $20,000 OAB; therefore, the entire amount was to be collected as a debt.
3. On 23 February 2012 an investigation was initiated by USAREC which found that the applicantÂ’s allegations were substantiated and that the recruiting officer misled the applicant in order to obtain mission credit, which was not in the best interest of the applicant.
4. In the processing of this case a staff advisory opinion was obtained from the U.S. Army Reserve Command which opines that the applicant was indeed misled by her recruiter and as a matter of equity and good conscience, the applicantÂ’s request should be approved and her recouped bonus should be returned to her.
5. The advisory opinion was provided to the applicant for comment and she responded to the effect that she agreed with the advisory opinion and was concerned that her issue of receiving her second $20,000 loan reimbursement was not addressed. She stated that she did not receive her 2013 payment because she was already in the STRAP and the complications surrounding the dates of her contract caused the delay of her payments.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The evidence of record shows the applicant was misled at the time of her recruitment in regard to the programs and benefits that were available. As a result her $20,000 OAB was recouped and has resulted in financial hardship to the applicant.
2. The applicant has requested that her STRAP/HPLR agreement start date be changed to 26 May 2011 and while it is not apparent how such a change will resolve her issues, if it will cause her to receive the recouped bonus and her STRAP/HPLR benefits it should be done at this time.
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 showing she and all required officials signed her STRAP agreement on 26 May 2011.
_______ _ 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) AR20130015995
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