RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        24 March 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040002757


      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             |
|     |Mr. Robert J. McGowan             |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Allen Raub                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Ronald E. Blakely             |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Robert Rogers                 |     |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 non-qualifying student loan be paid
under the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP).

2.  The applicant states that he provided recruiters with his promissory
notes and was told that as long as loans paid for schooling, they would
qualify for repayment.

3.  The applicant provides:

      a.  A self-authored letter to the Board, dated 26 May 2004.

      b.  A 20 October 2003 letter from ITT Technical Institute.

      c.  A 18 November 2003 letter from Education Incentives and
Counseling Branch, US Army Human Resources Command (HRC) – Alexandria,
Virginia.

      d.  DD Form 2475 (DOD Educational Loan Repayment Program (LRP) Annual
Application), dated 20 October 2003.

      e.  A copy of his promissory note.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army (RA) for 3 years on 19 March
2002.  Among the options for which he enlisted was the SLRP (Program 9B).
His enlistment paperwork shows that he presented a copy of his promissory
notes.  Although the recruiter verified that the applicant's high school
was on the recruiting battalion's "Tier I Master Schools List," there is no
indication that the recruiter made an effort to verify that the applicant's
student loan was qualifying.

2.  The applicant reported for enlistment.  In October 2003, he applied for
repayment of a Sallie Mae loan in the amount of $6,330.00.  HRC determined
the loan was non-qualifying and denied payment.

3.  Army Regulation (AR) 601-210 (Regular Army and Army Reserve Enlistment
Program) prescribes eligibility criteria governing the enlistment of
persons, with or without prior service, into the RA and the US Army
Reserve.

4.  Table 9-4 of AR 601-210 contains guidance on enlistment option program
9B (Bonus/Army College Fund/Loan Repayment Program).  It contains specific
guidance pertaining to the LRP and indicates that the Government will repay
a designated portion of any loan incurred that was "made, insured, or
guaranteed under Part B of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (Guaranteed
Student Loan) or any loan under Part E of such act (National Direct Student
Loan) after 1 October 1975 and before enlistment into the RA."

5.  Table 9-4 also provides program-processing procedures that require Army
Guidance Counselors to complete required entries on the DD Form 1966
pertaining to an applicant’s eligibility for the LRP.  Part of the
mandatory processing procedures includes verification that the applicant
has qualifying loans if enlisting for the LRP, and that the applicant be
advised of any loan that is not eligible.  The applicant in the Remarks
Section of the DD Form 1966 series must acknowledge these conditions.

6.  Correspondence from the Department of the Army, Office of the Deputy
Chief of Staff for Personnel, dated 2 February 1998; Subject: LRP Education
Enlistment Incentive shows that all student loans agreements are to be
reviewed by recruiting personnel prior to enlistment of a soldier to ensure
that the soldier knows exactly which loans qualify for repayment prior to
enlistment in the Delayed Program.  No soldier is allowed to ship for basic
training without this verification.

7.  Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552, the law which governs the operation
of 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 applicant’s Sallie Mae loan does not meet the repayment criteria
established by law; however, this is not the overriding factor in this
case, given the equity considerations and the resultant injustice.

2.  The applicant, based on information provided by his recruiter that his
loan was covered under the SLRP, made his decision to enlist.  Now, it has
been determined that this information is incorrect.

3.  As noted by the HRC, the contested loans are not insured under the
Higher Education Act of 1965 and do not fall within that Act.  Therefore,
there are no Army records that can be corrected that would allow the
repayment of these loans under the LRP.

4.  Notwithstanding the above, there is no evidence to indicate that, prior
to enlisting, the applicant was ever clearly told his Sallie Mae loan was
not repayable under the SLRP.  The available evidence of record shows the
applicant provided the appropriate loan documentation to his recruiter.

5.  The regulatory citations in the evidence of record shows that it is the
responsibility of recruiting personnel to review all student loan
agreements prior to enlisting the soldier to ensure that the soldier knows
exactly which loans qualify for repayment under the LRP prior to
enlistment.

6.  The evidence of record shows the applicant's loan was not verified as
qualifying or non-qualifying for the SLRP on DD Form 1966/4, Section VI
–Remarks or DA Form 3286-66.  The applicant's recruiter failed in the
performance of his duty.

7.  The applicant enlisted in good faith believing that the Army would
honor its commitment and pay his student loan.  The applicant completed
basic training and is currently serving as an armor crewman.  The applicant
is keeping his commitment and honorably serving his country.

8.  The applicant was improperly counseled in regard to LRP benefits, thus
leading to an injustice.  It is concluded that it would be appropriate to
rectify this injustice at this time.  Therefore, in the interest of justice
and equity, it would be appropriate to provide the applicant the LRP
benefits outlined in his enlistment contract.

9.  In doing so, 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 official 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 institution would have been paid for his
Wells Fargo and AES loans.

BOARD VOTE:

__ar____  __reb___  __rr____  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, Statement of Understanding, US Army
Incentive Enlistment Program, be amended to include the sentence “If a
student loan is accepted by the official processing you for enlistment as
payable under the SLRP, and the government fails to verify that the
accepted student loan actually is eligible under the Higher Education Act
of 1965, and such failure results in nonpayment of the loan by the SLRP, or
the repayment or default of the loan, the Army Board for Correction of
Military Records may, at its sole discretion, pay the loan in accordance
with Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552.”

2.  That as a result of the above correction the Defense Finance and
Accounting Service (DFAS) shall remit payment to the applicant of the total
amount of the loan obtained from Sallie Mae Servicing Corporation, to which
he is entitled as a result of this correction at the appropriate rate and
time.  The applicant will submit the appropriate evidence (promissory
notes, etc.) to the DFAS to determine the amount due, if required.



                                        Allen Raub
                                  ______________________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040002757                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050324                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |(GRANT)                                 |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |103.0100                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


-----------------------
[pic]