RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           6 January 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040000306


      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. Fed N. Eichorn                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Richard T. Dunbar             |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Yolanda Maldonado             |     |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 his Great Lakes student loan be paid off as
promised by his recruiter and his counselors at the Military Entrance
Processing Station (MEPS).

2.  The applicant states that one of his incentives to enlist was having
his college loans repaid under the Loan Repayment Program (LRP).  He
submitted copies of his loan balance, promissory note and loan information
to his recruiter.  He was counseled at the MEPS station by two individuals.
 Both of those individuals reviewed his promissory notes and loan
information.  He was never told that his loan did not qualify for repayment
under the LRP.  He was told the Army would repay his college loans up to
$65,000.  Period.  Not once was there any mention that only certain types
of loans qualified.  Now he still has a six-year commitment to the Army but
without the enlistment incentive he was promised.

3.  The applicant provides his DD Form 2475 (DOD Educational Loan Repayment
Program (LRP) Annual Application); a letter dated 25 February 2004 from the
Chief, Education Incentives and Counseling Branch, U. S. Army Human
Resources Command (USAHRC); his deployment orders; and his loan
application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant entered the Delayed Entry Program on 19 July 2002.  His
DA Form 3286-66 (Statement of Understanding United States Army Incentive
Enlistment Program) shows that he enlisted for the LRP up to a maximum
repayment of $65,000 in addition to other incentives.  On this form, he
acknowledged that under the LRP the Government would repay a designated
portion of any loan he 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 he enlisted into the Regular Army.

2.  While some of the entries on the applicant's DD Form 1966 (Record of
Military Processing - Armed Forces of the United States) are partially
illegible, it does not appear that this form identified what student loans
he had.

3.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 12 September 2002 for six
years.  Prior to entry on active duty he had obtained student loans from
two loan companies.

4.  On 5 January 2004, the applicant applied for repayment of his Great
Lakes loan in the amount of approximately $45,000.00.  On 25 February 2004,
USAHRC notified the applicant that this loan 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.

5.  On 15 December 2004, USAHRC informed the Board analyst that the
applicant had one qualifying loan, in the amount of $2,625.00.

6.  On or about 28 February 2004, the applicant deployed with his unit to
the Middle East.

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.  He had obtained student loans from two loan companies prior to
his entry on active duty and they were not in default prior to his entry on
active duty.  It appears that one of his loans qualified for repayment
under the LRP, for a total amount of $2,625.00.  However, the Great Lakes
student loan, in the approximate amount of $45,000.00, did not meet the
requirements for repayment under the Higher Education Act and the LRP.

2.  The applicant states that his MEPS guidance counselors assured him all
his student loans were eligible for repayment.  Since the nonqualifying
loan exceeded the amount of the other loan by far, it is reasonable to
presume that the applicant did in fact show all his loans to the guidance
counselor.

3.  It is also noted that no entry was made in the remarks section of the
applicant's DD Form 1966 reflecting the Great Lakes loan's ineligibility
for repayment as required by regulation.

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

5.  The applicant’s military records may be corrected to show his 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 him the amount his lending institutions
would have been paid under the LRP.

BOARD VOTE:

__fne___  __rtd___  __ym____  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 his Great Lakes loan to which he is entitled as a result of this
correction at the appropriate rate and time.  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.




            __ Fred N. Eichorn____
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040000306                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050106                                |
|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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