IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	 3 March 2015 

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140006603 


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 reconsideration of the previous Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) decision promulgated in Docket Number AR20120004500, dated 28 February 2013.  Specifically, she requests correction of her records to show she is authorized the third and final payment of her student loans, in accordance with the Health Professionals Loan Repayment Program (HPLRP) contract she signed when she joined the Army National Guard (ARNG).

2.  The applicant states the Board's findings did not take into consideration the fact that a correction or clarification in the application of the laws governing the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) took place after she signed her contract in 2008; therefore, it did not apply to her loans and they should be repaid.  

3.  In an unsigned memorandum addressed to The Adjutant General (TAG) of the Idaho ARNG (IDARNG), dated 25 March 2014, the applicant further states:

	a.  A critical issue in the ABCMR analysis is that it is centered on language that clarified that only student loans used for a "qualifying degree" are eligible for repayment.  This language was not added until 2011, 3 years after her HPLRP agreement was signed in 2008.  Her student loans should have been paid in 2009, 2010, and 2011, and all payments should have been completed prior to the National Guard Bureau (NGB) guidance issued in 2011.

	b.  Even if this language is legally determined to apply to contracts signed before it was enacted, a strong legal argument exists that her consolidated student loans were used for degrees that were all required for her present military position.

	c.  Her student loans, prior to consolidation in 2005, were used between 1996 and 1998 in order to obtain a second undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Idaho.  The degree was required before she could be accepted to the clinical Masters of Social Work (MSW) program at Eastern Washington University.  In addition, she was required to take graduate level classes which were used as a substitute for some of the required classes during the MSW program.  During 2001-2003, student loans were used for her MSW degree.

	d.  When she left active duty, it was on a green-to-gold discharge, which required that she achieve a higher degree than the degree she already had.  She had already obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Idaho in 1989.  After she graduated in 1989, she took graduate classes in Political Science at the University of Idaho and later she enrolled in the College of Law at the University of Idaho.  She left school and enlisted on active duty.  

	e.  In accordance with the terms of her green-to-gold discharge, she had been accepted for graduate studies in counseling psychology, but after she began her Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program and graduate school, the university lost its accreditation in that program so she had to look for another graduate program or she would have had to return to active duty to complete the remaining 3 years of her original enlistment.  She was not interested in the industrial/organizational master's degree in psychology that was still accredited. 

	f.  Since approximately 1984, she has incurred 36 different student loans.  These student loans were taken out in 3 general groupings with two consolidations.

3.  The applicant provides a memorandum from TAG of the IDARNG, dated      13 January 2014, subject:  TAG Request for Assistance.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records that were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the ABCMR in Docket Number AR20120004500, on 28 February 2013.

2.  The applicant presents a new argument that was not previously considered by the Board.  Therefore, this argument is considered new evidence that warrants consideration by the Board.  

3.  The applicant is currently serving in the IDARNG in the rank of major (MAJ).  

4.  On two separate occasions, a portion of her student loans were paid under the provisions of the HPLRP.

5.  At some point during the period November 2011 through January 2012, she unsuccessfully attempted to have a third payment applied to her outstanding student loans.  On 16 February 2012, after guidance from the NGB, she sought relief from the ABCMR.

6.  On 28 February 2013, the ABCMR denied her request for correction of her records to show she was authorized a third and final payment of her student loans.  In the previous Record of Proceedings, it was noted that:

	a.  After previous enlisted service in the Regular Army, she was appointed as a Reserve commissioned officer of the Army on 19 December 1997, as a second lieutenant (2LT) in the Medical Service Corps.

	b.  On 6 July 1998, she entered active duty for the purpose of completing her officer qualification courses.  On 5 November 1998, after completing the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Officer Basic Course and the Patient Administration Course, she was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 70B (Health Services Officer).

	c.  On 13 June 2003, she was awarded a Master of Social Work degree from Eastern Washington University.

	d.  On 3 November 2006, she was awarded MOS 73A (Social Worker).

	e.  On 30 September 2008, she was transferred from a troop program unit of the U.S. Army Reserve to a unit in the Montana ARNG (MTARNG).  As part of her transfer into the MTARNG, she completed a DA Form 5536-R (Agreement – HPLRP), wherein she elected participation in the HPLRP.  

	f.  On 10 April 2010, she transferred from the MTARNG to the Washington ARNG (WAARNG).

	g.  On 17 November 2010, she completed a new HPLRP Statement of Understanding, in which she elected to increase her HPLRP incentive payment to the new authorized annual program amount for her specialty (unspecified).

	h.  On 23 July 2012, she transferred from the WAARNG to the IDARNG.  

7.  The Board concluded that she failed to provide evidence that distinguished which loans were attributed to undergraduate versus graduate coursework, or which previous loans were included in the composition of her two consolidated loans.  Loans attributable to undergraduate coursework are not eligible for repayment under the HPLRP; therefore, the Board determined she failed to provide evidence showing the portion of her consolidated loans that were used to obtain her qualifying degree.  

8.  Her record is void of documentation that clearly identifies which loans were attributed to undergraduate versus graduate coursework, or that clearly distinguishes which previous loans were included in the composition of her consolidated loans.

9.  Following the Board's denial of her initial request, she sought the assistance of the TAG, IDARNG.  She provides a memorandum from TAG, dated               13 January 2014, subject:  TAG Request for Assistance.  In this memorandum, TAG, IDARNG responded to her request for assistance pertaining to the third payment of the HPLRP.  He informed her that he was unable to render a decision on her request based on the fact that he did not have the authority to override the findings of the ABCMR. She was advised to apply to the ABCMR for reconsideration of her previous request.  

10.  During the processing of her previous request, an advisory opinion was obtained from the NGB, Personnel Policy Division.  The advising official indicated the following:  

* per Title 10, U.S. Code, section 16302 (Education loan repayment program: health professions officers serving in the Selected Reserve with wartime critical medical skill shortages), the HPLRP will only pay for student loans used for a Soldier's qualifying health care degree
* the applicant holds MOS 73A and is a social worker; therefore, her qualifying degree is an MSW
* the applicant was notified that her undergraduate degree loans were not eligible for repayment under the HPLRP; therefore, she has received her final payment under her contract
* her HPLRP contract was dated 30 September 2008, allowing for the repayment of her health profession loans, on the following scheduled dates and in the following amounts:  29 September 2009 - $20,000.00;   29 September 2010 - $20,000.00; and 29 September 2011 - $10,000.00
* under the HPLRP, payments are made until all eligible loans are paid in full or the full contract amount is paid – at which time the contract is completed
* on 17 November 2010, she requested an increase in her total loan repayment benefit, by an increased amount of $10,000.00 (increasing the total payments to $60,000.00), which would have increased her final payment on 29 September 2011 from $10,000.00 to $20,000.00
* the State requested the final $10,000.00 payment in November 2011, with the intention of processing her Special Pay bonus once complete
* in January 2012, the State determined she no longer had any eligible loans

11.  The applicant responded to the advisory opinion stating:

* she disagrees with the advisory opinion and requests her student loans be paid in full, per her HPLRP agreement, and her Special Pay bonus be paid based on the corrected date
* she incurred a mortgage debt that is barely manageable with her monthly salary, given the student loan payments she is responsible for
* she and her bank both relied on assurances from the ARNG that the loans would be paid in full
* she has been unable to make the payments on her student loans and the interest is compounding while she awaits the Board's decision
* she should have been told 4 years ago that some portion of her loans would not be paid
* the applicable section of Title 10 is open to a different interpretation, and in fact, has been interpreted differently in other cases
* consolidated student loans have been interpreted as one single loan eligible for repayment
* her undergraduate coursework was, in fact, related to her graduate degree
* because of the delays in processing her HPLRP payments, the interest on her student loans has compounded, so this additional amount should also be paid in addition to the remaining principle on her loans

12.  Title 10, U.S. Code, section 16302 prescribes the legal framework for the HPLRP.  It states that under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) and subject to the other provisions of this section, the Secretary concerned may repay a loan made, insured, or guaranteed through a recognized financial or educational institution, if that loan was used to finance education regarding a basic professional qualifying degree (as determined under regulations prescribed by the SECDEF) or graduate education in a health profession that the SECDEF determines to be critically needed in order to meet identified wartime combat medical skill shortages.  The authority provided in this section shall apply only in the case of a person first appointed as a commissioned officer on or before 31 December 2014.

13.  On 10 March 2011, NGB published a memorandum, subject:  Implementation Guidance for ARNG AMEDD Officer Incentive Programs for Fiscal Year 2011 (FY11).  Paragraph 6 addresses the HPLRP.  Specifically, this memorandum states:

* in FY11, social workers were entitled to loan repayment under the HPLRP, in the amount of $25,000 per year with a $75,000.00 lifetime cap
* healthcare professionals that entered into a previous HPLRP agreement prior to the publication of this policy may reenter into an agreement to have the HPLRP pay up to the new authorized lifetime cap for their specialty
* consolidated educational loans may be eligible for repayment; however, the individual must provide evidence that all loans in the consolidation are completely for the eligible education, and provide the payment history to calculate what portion of each loan in the consolidation has been satisfied

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends the third and final payment of her student loans should be paid in accordance with the provisions of the HPLRP, because the provision that stipulated that only student loans used for a "qualifying degree" were eligible for repayment was not added until 2011, 3 years after her HPLRP agreement in 2008.

2.  The language the applicant cites pertains to provisions prescribed by law under Title 10, U.S. Code, section 16302, which applies to persons appointed as a commissioned officer on or before 31 December 2014.  Therefore, these provisions pertain to her case regardless of when the language was added. 

3.  Her new argument and supporting documents failed to establish clearly and conclusively that her remaining unpaid student loans were expressly applied towards her qualifying degree.  Therefore, she again failed to provide evidence indicating which loans were attributed to undergraduate versus graduate coursework or clearly distinguishing which previous loans were included in the composition of her consolidated loans. Loans attributable to undergraduate coursework are not eligible for repayment under the HPLRP.  Therefore, she again failed to provide evidence showing the portion of her consolidated loans that were used to obtain her qualifying degree.  
4.  Based on the foregoing, there is no basis to grant the applicant's requested relief.  

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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20120004500, dated 28 February 2013.




      _____________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)                                         AR20140006603



3


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140006603



2


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1