BOARD DATE:	10 February 2015  

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140021503 


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, in effect, an exception to policy (ETP) for retention of the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) incentive.

2.  The applicant states:

   a.  His ETP request for the SLRP was denied.  His SLRP is to be terminated with recoupment effective the contract start date.  Terminating his SLRP incentive with recoupment is an injustice to himself and his family.

   b.  In September 2011, he was on temporary mobilization augmentee orders and placed in a leave without pay (LWOP) status from the technician job he held. In January 2012, he made the decision to reenlist for 6 years.  He and his family made this decision in large part because of the SLRP incentive that he was advised he would be eligible for to repay over $37,000.00 in student loans.  He made the SLRP manager aware of his technician status.  The SLRP manager informed him that he would be eligible for this incentive because he was in an LWOP status.  To process his SLRP he was required to submit a Standard Form (SF) 50 (Notification of Personnel Action) showing his technician status.

   c.  This incentive has had a tremendous impact on the career path he has chosen and the financial decisions that his family has made over the past 3 years.  He has had civilian opportunities that he could have pursued and he could have simply resigned his technician position had he known he would not be eligible for the SLRP.  His family has made a budget and made life decisions such as purchasing a home based upon this incentive.  Terminating his SLRP incentive because of an error on the part of the State SLRP manager nearly 3 years after he was granted this incentive would be an injustice to him and his family.  A recoupment of prior SLRP payments would create a hardship for his family.  He has served honorably in the Army National Guard (ARNG) for over 13 years, deploying in support of state and federal missions because of the contracts he has signed.  Termination of his SLRP should not be allowed.

3.  The applicant provides copies of the following:

* Orders Number 223-008
* two SF 50 
* DA Form 4836 (Oath of Extension of Enlistment or Reenlistment)
* Annex L (SLRP Addendum, ARNG)
* Email from the Missouri ARNG (MOARNG) SLRP Manager
* Request for ETP for SLRP memorandum

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the MOARNG on 12 July 2001 and reenlisted on 10 August 2007.

2.  Orders Number 223-008, issued by Headquarters, MOARNG on 11 August 2011, ordered him to full-time ARNG duty – operational support from 15 September 2011 through 25 March 2012.

3.  He provided two copies of an SF 50, dated 24 September 2011, which shows on 27 September 2007 he accepted and held a financial services technician position, pay grade GS-8, with The Missouri Adjutant General in the Comptroller Division Pay and Examining Branch.  Effective the date of the SF 50 he was placed in an absent – uniform service status per Orders Number 223-008.

4.  On 17 January 2012, he extended his 2007 reenlistment in the MOARNG for 4 years and 5 months with a new expiration of term of service of 9 February 2018.  He executed and signed Annex L under the SLRP.  The Annex L stated in:

   a.  Section III (Acknowledgement) - Prior service or current ARNG service members (additional information) – "I am enlisting/reenlisting/extending for a term of service of not less than 6 years, for an SLRP incentive of up to $50,000.00."

   b.  Section VIII (Termination Without Recoupment) – "Commanders are responsible for initiating recoupment procedures whenever the member's eligibility to an incentive is terminated and recoupment is required.  When a commander is not in the chain of command of the Soldier, the incentives program manager will initiate recoupment procedures."

   c.  Section XIV (Certification by Service Representative) – contained the service representative's signature and an SLRP Control Number.

5.  He also provided copies of the following:

   a.  Email correspondence, dated 13 January 2012, wherein the MOARNG SLRP manager stated the applicant was authorized and approved for a total of 15 loans, with a total principal of $37,710.00, and a total interest of $771.00.  The total amount of repayment for qualifying loan(s) would not exceed $50,000.00.  He read the terms to the applicant so that the applicant understood them.

   b.  A Request for ETP for SLRP memorandum, dated 4 December 2014, wherein the Deputy G1, National Guard Bureau (NGB), advised the MOARNG of denial of the applicant's ETP to retain the $50,000.00 SLRP and that the State Incentive Manager would terminate the incentive with recoupment effective the contract start date.  The NGB official stated the applicant contracted for an incentive while in a military technician status which violated Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) 1205.21.  Although the applicant was performing active duty for operational support (ADOS), he was a permanent military technician in a LWOP status; therefore, not eligible to extend for an incentive and the request could not be granted.

6.  Title 37, U.S. Code, section 373, allows for the repayment of unearned portion of bonus, incentive pay, or similar benefit, and termination of remaining payments, when conditions of payment not met.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record shows orders were published ordering the applicant to full-time ARNG duty from 15 September 2011 through 25 March 2012.  On 24 September 2011, he was placed in an absence for uniform service status from his position as a military technician position per his ADOS orders.

2.  On 17 January 2014, he extended his enlistment in the MOARNG for an SLRP incentive.  In accordance with DoDI 1205.21 he was not eligible for the incentive because he was a permanent military technician on LWOP status while performing ADOS.  The NGB denied his request for an ETP because he did not meet eligibility criteria for the incentive under the Selected Reserve Incentives Program guidance and terminated the incentive with recoupment effective the contract start date.
3.  There is no evidence of record and he did not provide sufficient evidence showing he was not a permanent military technician at the time of his extension.  It is unfortunate that he thinks he was erroneously denied the SLRP; the documentation he provides does not show he was terminated from his military technician position prior to his ADOS.  He continued to hold the position of military technician; he just was not being paid during his period of full-time ARNG duty.

4.  There is no evidence of record and he has not shown that he was erroneously or unjustly denied the SLRP incentive and it was erroneously or unjustly recouped.  Therefore, without evidence to the contrary, the action taken by NGB to terminate the incentive appears to be proper.

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.



ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140021503





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140021503



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