IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 16 June 2015 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140018077 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 a waiver of his Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship debt and termination of recoupment of $36,360 in educational expenses paid on his behalf during his participation in the ROTC Program based on his date of enlistment in the U.S. Army. 2. The applicant states: * he is not in possession of his complete Army record despite requests for it, but he has submitted all documents in his possession with his request * he has always had the desire to serve in the Army as a chaplain * he enrolled in the ROTC Program at Baptist Bible College, Pennsylvania and executed an Army Senior ROTC Scholarship Cadet Contract to achieve that goal * he understood his obligations under the contract to consist of remaining enrolled as a full-time student, maintaining a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0, passing the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), and accepting a commission in the Army for at least 4 years of active service * his understanding upon entering the contract was that if he were to fail to satisfy these obligations, he would not become a commissioned officer; but he would instead be required to perform a 4-year active duty service obligation as an enlisted Soldier * his first semester in the ROTC Program was the fall semester of 2009 * after the spring semester of 2011, he made a poor decision and smoked marijuana * as a consequence, Bible Baptist College informed him he was not permitted to return to school * he is very remorseful about his mistake * on 10 May 2011, he notified his cadet chain of command that he would not be returning to Baptist Bible College and would be withdrawing from the ROTC Program as a result * his battalion command notified him by letter, dated 18 May 2011, that disenrollment procedures had been initiated against him for being dismissed from college, failing to maintain a 2.0 GPA, and failing to pass the APFT * the same letter informed him that he might be eligible to repay the Army by serving as an enlisted Soldier and potentially eligible to delay this service pending completion of his baccalaureate degree * the U.S. Army Cadet Command notified him by letter, dated 20 October 2011, that he was officially disenrolled form the ROTC Program and was required to pay the Army $36,360 for the educational expenses incurred on his behalf * he was provided two repayment options – a single lump sum payment or monthly installment payments * he did not make a repayment election at that time and wrote that he was not financially able to repay the debt on the repayment election form * on 18 November 2011, he wrote to the Commander, U.S. Army Cadet Command, acknowledging his mistakes and requesting to serve as an enlisted Soldier to repay the debt as he had returned to being physically fit and was prepared to take the APFT * after leaving the ROTC Program he was employed at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station in Niagara Falls, NY, for approximately 1 year * he worked there in the capacity of volunteer coordinator; cashier at the Officers' Club; and assistant at the community center, fire department, and Emergency Operations Center * he then reenrolled in the Baptist Bible College and graduated with his baccalaureate degree in the Fall 2014 semester * he engaged in other activities at the college in addition to academics, to include restarting a wrestling program, serving as captain of the baseball team, leading Bible study, serving as a resident executive in his dormitory, and volunteering at a homeless shelter * the Dean of Baptist Bible College and the executive director of the rescue mission responsible for operating the homeless shelter where he volunteered both attested to his good character in letters of reference * he received a letter, dated 17 May 2012, informing him that his appeal of the ROTC debt was forwarded to the Department of the Army Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, for review * he sent multiple email messages to officials at the Army G-1, along with letters of recommendation requesting enlistment * on 29 March 2013, he received a letter from the Army G-1 reaffirming his monetary debt in the amount of $36,360 and repayment of the debt through enlisted active duty service was not referenced * the U.S. Department of Treasury notified him by letter, dated 19 March 2013, that it had applied $303 from his 2013 tax return toward satisfaction of his debt * on 20 May 2014, he was notified by the U.S. Department of Treasury that his debt had increased to $46,444.54, after which he filed a Debtor Dispute Form in an effort to suspend any attempts to garnish his wages pending resolution of his application * on 22 August 2014, he began the process of enlisting in the Army as an infantry Soldier in order to fulfill his lifelong goal of serving in the Army and repaying his debt * he was scheduled to leave for basic training on 30 December 2014 at the time of that application * he is requesting forgiveness of his monetary debt to the Army arising from the breach of his ROTC contract in light of his enlistment 3. The applicant provides: * self-authored statement * letter from a Member of Congress to Headquarters, U.S. Army Cadet Command, dated 18 June 2014 * letters from a Member of Congress to the Department of the Army, dated 17 July 2014 and 6 May 2014 * letter from a Member of Congress to the National Personnel Records Center, dated 23 April 2014 * DA Form 597-3 (Army Senior ROTC Scholarship Cadet Contract) * DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document – Armed Forces of the United States) * letter from applicant to Sergeant First Class W____ and the U.S. Army Cadet Command, dated 10 May 2011 * University of Scranton Royal Warrior Army ROTC Battalion disenrollment letter to the applicant, dated 18 May 2011 * Headquarters, U.S. Army Cadet Command, disenrollment memorandum to the applicant, dated 20 October 2011 * U.S. Army Advanced Education Financial Assistance Record * DD Form 139 (Pay Adjustment Authorization) * Addendum to Part I – Scholarship Contractual Agreement, dated 16 November 2011 * letter from the applicant to the Commander, U.S. Army Cadet Command, dated 18 November 2011 * letter of reference, dated 30 May 2014 * letter of reference, dated 19 June 2014 * Headquarters, U.S. Army Cadet Command, letter to the applicant, dated 17 May 2012 * email from the applicant to a U.S. Army Cadet Command official, dated 2 April 2012 * letter of reference from the Commander, 914th Mission Support Group, to the Commander, U.S. Army Cadet Command, dated 1 December 2011 * letter of reference from the fire prevention inspector, 914th Fire and Emergency Services, dated 11 April 2012 * letter of reference from the Chief of Services, 914th Wing, U.S. Air Force Reserve Command, dated 10 April 2012 * letter of reference from the Squadron Commander, 107th Airlift Wing, dated 11 April 2012 * letter of reference from the Commander, 914th Security Forces, dated 13 April 2012 * Headquarters, U.S. Army Cadet Command, letter to the applicant, dated 29 March 2013 * Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) letter to the applicant, dated 31 January 2014 * DFAS Account Statement, dated 31 January 2014 * Department of the Treasury payment summary, dated 19 March 2014 * Department of the Treasury Notice of Intent to Initiate Administrative Garnishment Proceedings, dated 20 May 2014 * Department of the Treasury letter to the applicant, dated 28 April 2014 * Department of the Treasury Cross Servicing Debtor Dispute Form * Regular Army (RA) Enlistment Reservation documentation, dated 22 August 2014 * memorandum from counsel in support of the applicant's request, dated 16 October 2014 COUNSEL'S REQUEST, STATEMENT AND EVIDENCE: 1. Counsel requests a waiver of the applicant's ROTC scholarship debt and termination of recoupment in the amount of $36,360 in educational expenses paid on his behalf during his participation in the ROTC Program based on his date of enlistment in the U.S. Army. 2. Counsel states: * the applicant seeks forgiveness of a monetary debt he incurred while enrolled in the ROTC Program under an Army Senior ROTC Scholarship Cadet Contract * the applicant notified his cadet chain of command that he was withdrawing from Baptist Bible College and the ROTC Program on 10 May 2011 * he was notified by his battalion command that disenrollment procedures had been initiated against him on 18 May 2011 * the Commander, U.S. Army Cadet Command, notified the applicant via letter on 20 October 2011 that he had been officially disenrolled from the ROTC Program and that he must elect an option for repayment of the $36,360 in educational expenses paid on his behalf * the applicant subsequently notified the commander that he was not financially capable of repaying the debt monetarily, but he was ready to serve as an active duty enlisted Soldier to repay his debt * the applicant appealed the disenrollment determination and the imposition of the monetary debt * the Army G-1 informed the applicant on 29 March 2013 that his appeal was denied and found the scholarship debt in the amount of $36,360 to be valid * DFAS sent him a letter on 31 January 2014 notifying him of the monetary debt and that the amount of debt had risen to $36,480.40 due to accrued interest as of the date of the letter * the Department of Treasury applied $303 from the applicant's 2013 tax return toward this monetary debt * the Department of Treasury notified him of its intention to garnish his wages in order to satisfy his debt on 20 May 2014 * the applicant filed a Debtor Dispute Form with the Department of Treasury in an effort to suspend its attempts to garnish his wages pending resolution of his application to the Board * the applicant's debt had increased to $46,444.54 by the date of the Department of Treasury letter * the applicant always had a desire to serve in the military * he enrolled in the ROTC Program at Baptist Bible College in the Fall 2009 semester with the goal of becoming an Army chaplain * his ROTC contract stipulated scholarship payments would be made on the condition that he remain actively enrolled in the college, maintain a 2.0 GPA, and meet the APFT standards * in turn, he would incur a service obligation * a potential consequence of breach of contract and failure to complete ROTC was to serve on active duty for a period of at least 4 years * only a 2-year enlistment obligation would be incurred in the event of a breach of contract if the applicant was a Military Science II cadet * he would be offered the option to repay the Army a monetary sum in lieu of being ordered to active duty * if the applicant elected to repay his debt via an active duty enlistment and failed to complete that enlistment obligation, he would remain responsible for this debt in a monetary amount proportionate to the unserved portion of the enlistment obligation * the applicant was not offered the option to enlist in lieu of making monetary repayment of the debt despite multiple requests to do so * following disenrollment from the ROTC Program, the applicant worked at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station and was also readmitted to the Baptist Bible College where he engaged in several extracurricular activities that demonstrate his strong moral character and dedication * many of the officers and civilian supervisors he worked for at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, as well as the Dean of the Baptist Bible College, provided strong letters of recommendation for the applicant * he has since enlisted in the Army for a period in excess of 4 years and did not receive any monetary enlistment bonus and as a matter of fairness and equity the Board should grant relief * the Board has previously forgiven an ROTC cadet's monetary debt for breach of an ROTC contract on the grounds that the cadet subsequently enlisted in the Active Army, thereby providing the Army with the benefit of its bargain under the contract * the applicant's current case is analogous to those that were previously before the Board in which the applicant was disenrolled from an ROTC program for breach of contract yet was deemed to have fulfilled the contract through subsequent active duty enlistment * forgiveness of the monetary debt is consistent with the principles of equity, fairness, justice, and the Board's prior precedent * the applicant is committed to fulfilling his service obligation to the Army and respectfully requests forgiveness of the monetary debt in full 3. Counsel provides no additional evidence. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant's DA Form 597-3 shows he received a 4-year ROTC scholarship while attending Baptist Bible College and enrolled in the ROTC Program administered by the University of Scranton effective 30 November 2009. 2. Paragraph 5 (Terms of Disenrollment) of the DA Form 597-3 states that if the cadet were disenrolled from the ROTC Program for any reason, the Secretary of the Army could order the cadet to reimburse the United States the dollar amount plus interest that bears the same ratio to the total cost of the scholarship financial assistance provided by the United States to the cadet as the unserved portion of active duty bears to the total period of active duty the cadet agreed to serve or was ordered to serve. 3. Paragraph 6 (Enlisted Active Duty Service Obligations) of the DA Form 597-3 states that if the cadet were called to active duty for a breach of contract under the provisions of paragraph 5, he or she would be ordered to active duty for 2 years if the breach occurred during Military Science II, for 3 years if the breach occurred during Military Science III, or for 4 years if the breach occurred during Military Science IV. 4. The applicant was dismissed from Baptist Bible College due to an infraction of the school rules and he informed his ROTC chain of command on 10 May 2011 that he would be leaving the ROTC Program. 5. On 18 May 2011, the applicant was properly notified of initiation of disenrollment action from the ROTC Program based on a breach of his contract as evidenced by his dismissal from Baptist Bible College, his failure to maintain a minimum semester cumulative academic GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale, his failure to meet the Army ROTC APFT standards. He was informed of his rights during the disenrollment process and advised that if his disenrollment were approved he could be called to active duty in an enlisted grade of E-1 or be required to repay the total amount of scholarship benefits he had received ($36,360) in lieu of call to active duty in fulfillment of his contractual obligations. 6. On 20 October 2011, he was disenrolled from the ROTC Program for the above listed failures to fulfill his contractual obligations and advised to elect one of the options for repayment on the addendum to his scholarship contractual agreement. The addendum did not include the option of call to active duty. On 16 November 2011, the applicant chose neither to repay the total amount owed nor to repay the amount in monthly installments, choosing instead to write that he did not have the ability to pay the debt next to his signature. 7. The applicant composed a letter to the Commander, U.S. Army Cadet Command, dated 18 November 2011, admitting his mistakes and stating his desire to enlist in the Army as a means of debt repayment. 8. A Headquarters, U.S. Army Cadet Command and Fort Knox, letter to the applicant, dated 17 May 2012, informed him that his appeal of the ROTC scholarship repayment was forwarded to the Department of the Army Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, for determination of the validity of the debt. On 29 March 2013, the Army G-1 found the debt to be valid. Neither letter references the applicant's request for order to active duty. 9. The applicant enlisted in the RA on 3 February 2015. His DA Form 3286 (Statement of Understanding – RA Enlistment Delay for Applicants with Prior Service or an Existing Military Service Obligation) shows he enlisted for 3 years and 16 weeks as an infantry recruit in the entry rank/grade of private/E-1. 10. Headquarters, U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence, Fort Benning, GA, Orders 15098-202, dated 8 April 2015, awarded him primary military occupational specialty 11B (Infantryman) effective 22 May 2015 or upon completion of military occupational specialty training. 11. Headquarters, U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence, Fort Benning, GA, Orders 15098-232, dated 8 April 2015, assigned him to 3d Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, HI, with a reporting date of 5 June 2015. 12. Defense Finance and Accounting Service records reflect the applicant has indebtedness in the principal amount of $36,360 as of 13 November 2014 for the recoupment of educational assistance paid on his behalf during his participation in the ROTC Program. The Department of the Treasury Notice of Intent to Initiate Administrative Wage Garnishment, dated 20 May 2014, shows the debt has increased to $46,444.54. 13. Title 10, U.S. Code, section 2005(a)(3), states the Secretary concerned may require, as a condition to the Secretary providing advanced educational assistance to any person, that such person enter into a written agreement with the Secretary concerned under the terms of which such person shall agree that if such person, voluntarily or because of misconduct, fails to complete the period of active duty specified in the agreement or fails to fulfill any term or condition prescribed by the Secretary to protect the interest of the United States, such person will reimburse the United States in an amount that bears the same ratio to the total costs of advanced education provided such person as the unserved portion of active duty bears to the total period of active duty such person agreed to serve. 14. Army Regulation 135-210 (Order to Active Duty as Individuals for Other Than a Presidential Selected Reserve Call-up, Partial, or Full Mobilization) prescribes policies and procedures for ordering individual Soldiers of the Army National Guard of the United States and the U.S. Army Reserve to active duty during peacetime. Former ROTC cadets, when ordered to active duty, will be ordered to report to the U.S. Army Reception Battalion and will be ordered to active duty in pay grade E-1. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The evidence of record confirms the applicant was accepted into an Army ROTC Scholarship Program and later failed to satisfy the contractual requirements of the program resulting in his disenrollment which constituted a breach of contract. 2. The evidence shows the applicant requested active duty service as repayment for the educational assistance he received; however, he was not offered that option. 3. Despite not being offered enlistment as a repayment option, the applicant was subsequently able to enlist in the RA in the rank/grade of private/E-1 on 3 February 2015. His enlistment documents show he did not receive a cash bonus. 4. Had the applicant been ordered to active duty as a result of disenrollment from the ROTC Program as was his desire, he would have been required to serve in an active duty status for at least 2 years, which is less time than he will be required to serve in an active status as the result of his voluntary enlistment of 3 years and 16 weeks. 5. The applicant's current enlistment serves the same purpose as if he had been ordered to active duty at the time of his disenrollment from the ROTC Program. Therefore, as a matter of equity it would be appropriate to consider his enlistment and current service as having met the active duty obligation required by his ROTC scholarship contract. 6. If the applicant fails to complete the period of service obligated as a result of his current RA contract, either voluntarily or because of misconduct, his ROTC scholarship debt would be required to be recouped on a pro rata basis. BOARD VOTE: ____X___ ____X___ ____X___ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is 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 amending his ROTC scholarship contract to show he would satisfy the $46,444.54 ROTC debt under the original terms of the ROTC contact by successfully completing his 3-year and 16-week enlistment in the Regular Army. _______ _ 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) AR20140018077 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140018077 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1