IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  23 April 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20150001379 


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: 

* relief from recoupment of Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) incentives 
* payment of an officer affiliation bonus (OAB)

2.  The applicant states, in effect, he enlisted in the Wyoming Army National Guard (WYARNG) for military occupational specialty (MOS) 15T (UH-60 Helicopter Repairer).  However, after he completed basic combat training (BCT) he went to Warrant Officer (WO) Candidate School.  Due to his not becoming MOS qualified he was no longer eligible for the SLRP.  Payments were made to his lenders in error.  An exception to policy (ETP) memorandum from the National Guard Bureau (NGB) states he will have to pay back the money paid to his lenders.  The error was no fault of his; however, he is being held responsible to pay the money back.  

3.  After becoming a WO he signed an OAB addendum with the WYARNG and did not receive any payments.  He signed the addendum with MOS 153A (Rotary Wing Aviator) and his MOS is now 153D (UH-60 Pilot).  Because he was contracted in MOS 153A he became ineligible for the OAB.  MOS 153A is given to all helicopter pilots in training.  MOS 153A should not have been his contracted MOS because an individual cannot be in a training MOS for his entire career.


4.  The applicant provides:

* 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), dated 12 September 2007
* Enlistment/Reenlistment Agreement, ARNG Service Requirements and Methods of Fulfillment
* NGB Form 600-7-5-R-E (Annex L to DD Form 4, SLRP Addendum, ARNG of the United States)
* NGB 337 (Oaths of Office), dated 17 June 2009
* his application for Federal recognition
* Written Agreement, Officer/Warrant OAB Addendum, dated 1 September 2009
* DA Form 71 (Oath of Office - Military Personnel)
* a memorandum, dated 5 February 2014, from Joint Forces Headquarters Wyoming C/5-159 Aviation Regiment
* a memorandum, dated 6 March 2014, from the State of Wyoming Adjutant General's Office
* a memorandum, dated 2 January 2015, from NGB

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  A memorandum, dated 27 August 2010, from NGB updated the WO Critical MOS List.

	a.  MOS 153A is a general MOS that is held at time of commissioning and the contract for incentives may not be the MOS held by the officer after completion of the WO Basic Course.  Personnel know in advance which aircraft they are assigned based upon State force structure.  The contractual requirement for a critical skill bonus for officers is a 6-year commitment that requires the officer to remain in that MOS for the term of the service agreement.

	b.  MOS 153A was removed from the critical skill list, effective the date of this memorandum.  Any WO who contracted for an OAB for MOS 153A but was not in an MOS 153A paragraph/line duty position and/or who did not retain MOS 153A after completion of Initial Entry Rotary Wing Aviator (IERW) training was required to submit an ETP request for review.

	c.  Paragraph 2-5, Section II, Army Regulation 15-185 (Army Board for Correction of Military Records), the regulation under which this Board operates, states the Board will not consider any application if it determines that all administrative remedies available have not been exhausted.
	d.  There is no evidence the applicant has submitted an ETP request for his OAB.  Therefore, this issue will not be addressed further in these proceedings.  

2.  On 12 September 2007, he enlisted in the WYARNG for training in MOS 15T. He signed an NGB Form 600-7-5-R-E indicating he was enlisting in MOS 15T, which was authorized the SLRP, and that he must remain in the contracted MOS for the first 3 years of his enlistment contract.

	a.  He acknowledged his SLRP eligibility would be terminated if he voluntarily transferred out of his MOS.

	b.  He acknowledged that each year (90 days before his anniversary date) he would be notified of the requirement to request payment on his loan(s).  He was responsible for completing the request for payment in accordance with published guidance.

3.  On 29 August 2008, he completed BCT.  There is no record of him completing advanced individual training (AIT) for MOS 15T.

4.  On 17 June 2009, he was appointed a WO candidate in the WYARNG and he applied for Federal recognition.  He completed WO Candidate School (WOCS) on 30 August 2009.

5.  On 1 September 2009, he was appointed a WO one (WO1) in the WYARNG and received Federal recognition effective that date.  

6.  On 5 February 2014, he requested an ETP for his SLRP incentive because he failed to become MOS qualified in accordance with his bonus addendum.  He was denied a $10,000 OAB after completing WOCS because he was receiving "SLR" funds and could not receive both.  

7.  A memorandum, dated 6 March 2014, from the State of Wyoming Adjutant General's Office endorsed the applicant's ETP request to remain eligible for his SLRP incentive.  

	a.  Immediately after BCT he was accepted and attended WOCS.  He did not go into his contracted critical skill thereby voiding his contract.  He was paid a total of $1,316.21 on his student loans and due to this issue he was informed that the monies paid to him were to be recouped.

	b.  He was not informed that if he failed to become qualified in his contracted critical skill his SLRP incentive would be terminated and that any payments promised by the ARNG would not be made.  The applicant is not a subject matter expert on SLRP policies or on incentive payments.  However, due to the lack of due diligence of the WYARNG Education Officer he was paid on an invalid incentive.

	c.  He joined the WYARNG understanding what his obligations were.  He joined under the impression he would receive payments on his student loans and due to this error an erroneous payment was made.

8.  A memorandum, dated 2 January 2015, from NGB denied his request for an ETP to retain his SLRP incentive.  The Incentive Manager was directed to terminate the SLRP and recoup any amount already paid.  He did not qualify in the contracted MOS which violates ARNG Selected Reserve Incentive Program Policy Number 07-06.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  On 12 September 2007, the applicant clearly contracted for MOS 15T, which was authorized the SLRP incentive.  However, he failed to complete AIT for MOS 15T thereby invalidating that contract.  Therefore, he was not eligible for the SLRP incentive.  He contends the erroneous payment was made through no fault of his own.  However, he was responsible for requesting payment on an annual basis.  At the time he requested payment of the incentive he would have known he had not been awarded the MOS stipulated in his contract; therefore, he was not in compliance with his contract.

2.  In view of the above, there is no basis on which to waive recoupment of any SLRP payments made.

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)                                         AR20150001379



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20150001379



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