| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Robert J. McGowan | Analyst |
| Mr. Luther L. Santiful | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Melvin H. Meyer | Member | |
| Mr. John T. Meixell | Member |
2. The applicant requests, in effect, that his current active duty commitment and service be accepted in lieu of the repayment of his ROTC scholarship debt.
3. He states that he enlisted into the Army thinking that he would erase his Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship debt by fulfilling his military obligation.
4. The applicant’s military records show that he was awarded a 3-year ROTC scholarship and enrolled in the 3-year ROTC program at Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, Georgia, on 17 September 1997. The applicant executed a DA Form 597-3, Army Senior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps Scholarship Cadet Contract. Paragraph 1c of that contract states, “I will remain a full time student at the institution listed above while in pursuit of my degree . . . This includes the required Army ROTC classes which may be part of or in addition to those courses required for my degree.” Paragraph 1f states, “I agree to maintain a minimum semester/quarter academic grade point average of 2.0 or higher until the completion of the academic requirements for my degree. If my academic discipline or the school I am attending requires me to maintain a higher minimum academic grade point average (GPA) than a 2.0, I agree to do so until the completion of the requirements for my degree . . .”
5. As part of a scholarship enlistment in the ROTC program, an individual must sign a DA Form 597-3, which is the agreement between the Army and a potential ROTC cadet. That form contains the promises made between the Army and the potential cadet, and includes what action the Army will take in the event that a cadet fails to successfully complete the terms of the contract. The applicant acknowledged that he understood and agreed that if he was disenrolled from the ROTC program during Military Science III he could be called to active duty for a period of 3 years or incur a reimbursement obligation.
6. On 19 November 1999, the applicant, a Military Science IV level cadet, was informed that he was disenrolled from the Army ROTC program based on his failure to maintain an academic GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale. On 22 May 2000, he was discharged from the US Army Reserve Control Group (ROTC); he did not request the scholarship repayment option.
7. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army prior to his official disenrollment from the Army ROTC. His military records show he enlisted on 14 July 1999, for a period of 5 years in pay grade E-3, to be trained as a counter-intelligence agent, military occupational specialty (MOS) 97B. The applicant completed his MOS training and is currently on active duty.
8. On 31 August 2001, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) informed the Board that the applicant's ROTC debt was $3,296.00 and that payments had been made against it.
9. AR 145-1 provides in pertinent part that a scholarship or non-scholarship cadet under consideration for involuntary call to active duty for breach of contract will be so ordered within 60 days after they would normally complete baccalaureate degree requirements or the cadet is no longer enrolled in school. Graduate students may not be ordered to active duty until they complete the academic year in which they are enrolled or disenroll from the school, whichever occurs first. The cadet will not be discharged/disenrolled from ROTC until determination has been received from Headquarters, Cadet Command . If it is determined that the cadet will be ordered to active duty, the cadet will not be discharged, and Headquarters, Cadet Command will issue active duty orders.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant was properly disenrolled from the ROTC; there is no error or injustice in his disenrollment.
2. The applicant argues that his service in the Regular Army should qualify as repayment of his ROTC scholarship, and that being forced to repay the scholarship while serving in the Regular Army is unfair. In actuality, if the applicant had chosen to enter active duty or been involuntarily ordered to active duty, he would have been assigned against the needs of the Army and not allowed to choose a training option. In this sense, he has obtained an advantage over similar individuals who, upon disenrollment from ROTC, choose active duty or are involuntarily ordered to active duty. This advantage occurs because AR 145-1 mandates that cadets ordered to active duty for breach of contract are ordered directly to active duty. Cadets so ordered report directly to a military installation and do not participate in the recruiting function where enlistment options are offered and negotiated.
3. Nonetheless, the Board accepts that the applicant’s enlisted service in the Regular Army is equivalent to being called to active duty under the terms of his ROTC contract. Therefore, collection of his ROTC scholarship debt should be held in abeyance during the term of his enlistment and remitted (with any monies already collected returned to him) provided he satisfactorily completes the terms of his enlistment.
4. If the applicant fails to complete the period of enlisted service obligated as a result of his ROTC scholarship, either voluntarily or because of misconduct, his ROTC scholarship debt would be required to be recouped on a pro-rated basis.
5. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.
RECOMMENDATION:
That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by:
a. Amending the applicant’s ROTC scholarship contract to show that he would satisfy the service obligation under the original terms of the ROTC contract as a Regular Army enlisted soldier;
b. Suspending collection of his ROTC scholarship debt during his enlistment, with the debt to be remitted (and any money already collected returned to him) upon his satisfactory completion of his term of service; and
c. Showing that if he fails to complete the period of enlisted service obligated as a result of his amended ROTC scholarship contract, either voluntarily or because of misconduct, his ROTC debt would be required to be recouped on a pro-rated basis in accordance with paragraph 12 of his DA Form 597-3.
BOARD VOTE:
__LLS___ _MHM___ __JTM__ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
____________________________
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2001054571 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | |
| DATE BOARDED | 20010906 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | Grant |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | DASA |
| ISSUES 1. | 128.1000 |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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