RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           7 December 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040000302


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Mrs. Nancy L. Amos                |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Mark D. Manning               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. John E. Denning               |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. James B. Gunlicks             |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests that her loan from the North Carolina Teaching
Fellows Commission be paid off as promised by her recruiter and the
counselor at the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS).

2.  The applicant states that her recruiter and the MEPS counselor told her
that the Loan Repayment Program (LRP) would pay for both her loans.  If
they had told her the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission loan would
not be paid, she would have chosen the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) instead so
she could further her education.

3.  The applicant provides her enlistment contract; her loan agreement
packet; and a letter dated 8 March 2004 from the Chief, Education
Incentives and Counseling Branch, U. S. Army Human Resources Command
(USAHRC).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant entered the Delayed Entry Program on 15 February 2001.
Her DA Form 3286-66 (Statement of Understanding United States Army
Incentive Enlistment Program) shows that she enlisted for the LRP up to a
maximum repayment of $65,000 in addition to other incentives.  On this
form, she acknowledged that under the LRP the Government would repay a
designated portion of any loan she incurred that was made, insured or
guaranteed under Part B of the Higher Education Act of 1965 or any loan
under Part E of such act after 1 October 1975 and before she enlisted into
the Regular Army.

2.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 28 February 2001.  Prior
to entry on active duty she had obtained a Stafford Loan and a loan from
the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission.

3.  On 5 March 2001, the applicant signed a DD Form 2366 (Montgomery GI
Bill Act of 1984 (MGIB)) acknowledging that she understood she was
enlisting for the LRP and therefore she was disenrolling from the MGIB.

4.  None of the applicant's enlistment documents (to include her DD Form
1966 (Record of Military Processing - Armed Forces of the United States))
identified what student loans she had.

5.  On 8 March 2004, the USAHRC notified the applicant that her loan from
the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission, total $12,300, was not
made, insured, or guaranteed under Title IV Part B, D, or E of the Higher
Education Act and was therefore ineligible for repayment.
6.  On 3 December 2004, the USAHRC informed the Board analyst that the
applicant had a qualifying Stafford loan in the amount of $7,000.

7.  The Loan Repayment Program is a Department of the Army enlistment
option authorized by Public Law 99-145.  This option is designed to
increase Test
Score Category I-IIIA accessions.  Loans that qualify for repayment are
Guaranteed Student Loan/Stafford Loans, National Direct Student
Loan/Perkins Loans, William D. Ford Loans, Supplemental Loans for Students,
Federally Insured Student Loans (FISL), Parent Loan for Undergraduate
Students (PLUS), Auxiliary Loan Assistance for Students (ALAS), and
consolidated loans which fall under Title IV, Part B or E of the Higher
Education Act of 1965, or William D. Ford Loan.  Before entering active
duty, the loan must not be in default.  The borrower is responsible for
obtaining a deferment/forbearance with the loan holder and the loan must
remain in good standing throughout the repayment process.  Active Army LRP
participants earn their first loan repayment after completion of a full
year of active duty and for each full year thereafter, up to 3 years.
Payment of 33 1/3 percent or $1,500, whichever is greater, is authorized
annually to the loan holder on the total remaining original outstanding
principal balance.

8.  The Government will not make any payments to the soldier or reimburse a
soldier if he or she pays off a student loan.  The Government will only pay
the lending institution.

9.  Army Regulation 601-210 (Regular Army and Army Reserve Enlistment
Program) prescribes eligibility criteria governing the enlistment of
persons, with or without prior service, into the Regular Army and the U. S.
Army Reserve.  Chapter 9 (Enlistment Programs/Options) states that these
programs/options are designed to merge valid Army requirements with
personal desires.

10.  Army Regulation 601-210, Table 9-4 contains guidance on enlistment
option program 9C (Bonus/Army College Fund/Loan Repayment Program).  Table
9-4 provides program processing procedures that require specific counseling
and administrative actions in connection with processing members enlisting
with the LRP incentive.  In addition, Line 7 of Table 9-4 requires the
guidance counselor to verify that the applicant has qualifying loans if
enlisting for the LRP, to advise the applicant if any loan is not eligible,
and to have the applicant acknowledge same in the remarks section of the DD
Form 1966 series.

11.  U. S. Army Recruiting Command Regulation 621-1 (Montgomery GI Bill,
Army College Fund, and Loan Repayment Program), current version effective
30 November 1998, paragraph 4-4a states that applicants for the LRP are no
longer authorized to ship without documents or verification of eligible
loans.
12.  Title 10, U. S. Code, section 1552, the law which provides for the
Board, states that “The Secretary may pay, from applicable current
appropriations, a
claim for the loss of pay, allowances, compensation, emoluments, or other
pecuniary benefits, or the repayment of a fine or forfeiture, if, as a
result of correcting a record under this section, the amount is found to be
due the claimant on account of his or another’s service in the Army, Navy,
Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard, as the case may be.”

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record shows that the applicant enlisted for the LRP
incentive.  She had obtained two student loans prior to her entry on active
duty and they were not in default prior to her entry on active duty.  It
appears that her Stafford loan in the amount of $7,000 qualified for
repayment under the LRP; however, her North Carolina Teaching Fellows
Commission loan in the amount of $12,300 did not meet the requirements for
repayment under the Higher Education Act and the LRP.

2.  The applicant stated that her recruiters and the MEPS counselor assured
her both her student loans were eligible for repayment.  She stated that,
had she been informed that the one loan was not eligible for repayment, she
would have remained enrolled in the MGIB.  Since the nonqualifying loan was
for almost double the amount of her one qualifying loan, it is reasonable
to presume that the applicant did in fact show both her loans to the
counselor.  It is also noted that no entry was made in the remarks section
of her DD Form 1966 reflecting that loan's ineligibility for repayment as
required by regulation.

3.  In the interest of justice and equity, it would be appropriate to
provide the applicant the full LRP benefits outlined in her enlistment
contract.

4.  The applicant’s military records may be corrected to show her DA Form
3286-66 was amended to include the sentence “If a student loan is accepted
by the officials processing you for enlistment as payable under the LRP and
the government fails to verify that the student loan accepted actually is
eligible under the Higher Education Act of 1965 and such failure results in
nonpayment of the loan by the LRP or the repayment or default of the loan,
the Army Board for Correction of Military Records may pay the loan, at its
sole discretion, in accordance with Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552.”
This would allow the Board
to invoke that provision and pay her the amount her lending institutions
would have been paid under the LRP.
BOARD VOTE:

__mdm___  __jed___  __jbg__  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to
warrant a recommendation for relief.  As a result, the Board recommends
that the applicant's DA Form 3286-66 be amended to include the sentence “If
a student loan is accepted by the officials processing you for enlistment
as payable under the LRP and the government fails to verify that the
student loan accepted actually is eligible under the Higher Education Act
of 1965 and such failure results in nonpayment of the loan by the LRP or
the repayment or default of the loan, the Army Board for Correction of
Military Records may pay the loan, at its sole discretion, in accordance
with Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552.”

2.  That as a result of the foregoing correction the Defense Finance and
Accounting Service shall remit payment to the applicant of the total amount
of her North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission to which she is entitled
as a result of this correction.  The applicant will be required to submit
the appropriate evidence (promissory notes, etc.) to the Defense Finance
and Accounting Service to determine the amount due.




            ____Mark D. Manning___
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040000302                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20041207                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schneider                           |
|ISSUES         1.       |112.12                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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