RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           26 October 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2004105233


      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. John N. Slone                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Curtis L. Greenway            |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Eloise C. Prendergast         |     |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 student loans be repaid.

2.  The applicant states that the loans in question are in fact two
separate issues. The first loan was denied on the grounds it did not
qualify under the Loan Repayment Program (LRP).  The LRP constituted a
major element of the incentive program, so much so that he was willing to
forgo a significant portion of the bonus offered to him when he was
informed he could not get both the LRP and the full bonus.  Having been
assured by all involved authorities throughout the first year and a half of
his enlistment that all the loans were in good order and eligible for
repayment, he was shocked to receive notice that the loan in question was
not eligible for repayment.  As he draws nearer to making a decision to
reenlist, he finds it difficult to imagine being tempted by any of the
incentives offered for his continued service when the incentives offered
for his first term of service remain unfulfilled.

3.  As for the second loan it was neither paid nor denied and he has been
unable to ascertain the reason.  (The fact the applicant may have had a
third loan that the U. S. Army Human Resources Command (USAHRC) did not
know about came up in the advisory opinion obtained from USAHRC.  Another
DD Form 2475 (Educational Loan Repayment Program (LRP) Annual Application)
was sent to him, completed, and processed.  USAHRC informed the Board
analyst on 22 October 2004 that this third loan, in the amount of
$11,250.00, was authorized for repayment in October 2004.  Therefore, this
issue will not be addressed any further).

4   The applicant provides the evidence listed on the Supplementary
Document to his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant entered the Delayed Enlistment Program on 21 June 2001.
His DA Form 3286-59 (Statement for Enlistment United States Army Enlistment
Program U. S. Army Delayed Enlistment Program) shows he initially enlisted
for the Army College Fund ($50,000.00) and a cash bonus of $18,000.00.  His
DD Form 1966 (Record of Military Processing - Armed Forces of the United
States)) shows he changed the Army College Fund incentive to the LRP.  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 and a cash bonus of $11,000.

2.  On the DA Form 3286-66, the applicant 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.

3.  None of the applicant's enlistment documents, to include his DD Form
1966, identified what student loans he had.

4.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 1 August 2001 for 5
years.  Prior to entry on active duty he had obtained three student Loans
that were not in default.  He completed basic training and advanced
individual training and was awarded military occupational specialty 98G
(Voice Interceptor) and language training in Modern Arabic.

5.  On 2 October 2002, the U. S. Total Army Personnel Command (recently
redesignated USAHRC) informed the applicant that his Sallie Mae Private
Loan in the amount of $17,309.18 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.  The applicant provided a letter of support from his recruiter.  The
recruiter stated that all of the outstanding loans at the time of the
applicant's enlistment, made in both the applicant's name and that of his
father, were in good standing and met all of the qualifications required by
the Army for repayment.

7.  In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from
the Chief, Education Incentives and Counseling Branch, USAHRC.  That office
advised that the applicant had one loan that they knew of which qualified
for repayment under the LRP for $5,720.03.  However, his Sallie Mae Private
Loan in the amount of $17,309.18 did not qualify for repayment.

8.  A copy of the advisory opinion was provided to the applicant for
comment or rebuttal.  He did not respond within the given time frame.
However, both he and his father were contacted later.  Both stated that the
Army told him that all his loans were eligible for repayment.

9.  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.

10.  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.

11.  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.

12.  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.

13.  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.

14.  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 initially enlisted for
the Army College Fund and a cash bonus of $18,000.  He subsequently changed
his enlistment options to the LRP and a reduced cash bonus of $11,000.  He
had obtained several student loans prior to his entry on active duty and
they were not in default prior to his entry on active duty.  It appears
that two of his loans qualified for repayment under the LRP; however, the
Sallie Mae Private Loan did not meet the requirements for repayment under
the Higher Education Act and the LRP.

2.  The applicant provided a statement from his recruiter stating the
applicant was told that all of his outstanding loans at the time of his
enlistment were determined to be in good standing and met all of the
qualifications required by the Army for repayment.  The lack of entry on
the applicant's DD Form 1966 noting that any of his student loans were not
eligible for repayment corroborates the recruiter's statement.  It would
therefore be in the interest of justice and equity to provide the applicant
the full LRP benefits outlined in his enlistment contract.

3.  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:

__jns___  __clg___  __ecp___  GRANT 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 the total amount of
his Sallie Mae Private Loan, in the amount of $17,309.18, to which he is
entitled as a result of this correction.  If required, the applicant will
submit the appropriate evidence (promissory notes, etc.) to the Defense
Finance and Accounting Service.




            __John N. Slone______
                    CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004105233                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20041026                                |
|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.                      |                                        |


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