RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           26 May 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2004105605


      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. Melvin H. Meyer               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Seema E. Salter               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Susan A. Powers               |     |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, in effect, that his Reserve Officers’ Training
Corps (ROTC) debt be waived.

2.  The applicant states that, because he is currently serving in the Army,
his debt should be [considered] repaid.

3.  The applicant provides his Army ROTC enlistment contract; his ROTC
scholarship contract; a DD Form 785 (Record of Disenrollment from Officer
Candidate-Type Training); his ROTC discharge orders; his Regular Army
enlistment contract; a letter from the Defense Finance and Accounting
Service (DFAS) dated 2 January 2004; an Account Statement from DFAS dated
           2 January 2004; permanent change of station orders dated 24
October 2003 with an amendment dated 16 January 2004.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the U. S. Army Reserve (ROTC Control Group)
on   19 September 2000.  His DA Form 597-3 (Army Senior ROTC Scholarship
Cadet Contract), paragraph 7 states that if the cadet were disenrolled from
the ROTC program for any reason, the Secretary of the Army could order the
cadet to reimburse the United States the dollar amount plus interest that
bears the same ratio to the total cost of the scholarship financial
assistance provided by the United States to the cadet as the unserved
portion of active duty bears to the total period of active duty the cadet
agreed to serve or was ordered to serve.

2.  Paragraph 8 of the applicant’s DA Form 597-3 states that if he were
called to active duty for breach of contract under the provisions of
paragraph 7, he would be ordered to active duty for 2 years if the breach
occurred during Military Science II; for 3 years if the breach occurred
during Military Science III, or for       4 years if the breach occurred
during Military Science IV.

3.  On 21 July 2003, the applicant was disenrolled from ROTC for failure to
maintain the minimum semester and cumulative academic grade point average.


4.  On 19 September 2003, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army for
         4 years, in pay grade E-3, for training of choice (military
occupational specialty 91W, Health Care Specialist), a cash bonus of $6,000
(high–graduate bonus,     60 plus semester hours), the Loan Repayment
Program (LRP), and a statement of intent for Special Forces selection.  He
later failed to disenroll from the Mongomery GI Bill, a requirement before
meeting eligibility criteria for the LRP enlistment incentive.
5.  On 27 October 2003, Headquarters, U. S. Army Cadet Command sent the
applicant a statement of options – either repay the ROTC debt monetarily or
agree to be ordered to active duty based on the needs of the Army.  The
applicant did not return the statement.

6.  The DFAS Account Statement dated 2 January 2004 shows the applicant was
charged with a debt of $15,736.00.

7.  In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from
the Director, Personnel and Administration, Headquarters, U. S. Army Cadet
Command.  That office noted that the applicant was offered, on 27 October
2003, the option of either repaying the debt monetarily or agreeing to be
ordered to active duty.  He did not return the choice of options and
instead he chose active duty through a recruiter.  That office noted the
applicant's voluntary enlisted service in the Regular Army is not an
authorized remedy for debt repayment under the terms of the ROTC contract
and recommended that his voluntary enlistment not reduce the amount he is
required to reimburse the United States for his advanced educational
assistance.

8.  A copy of the advisory opinion was provided to the applicant for
comment or rebuttal.  He failed to respond within the given time frame.

9.  Army Regulation 135-210 prescribes policies and procedures for ordering
individual soldiers of the Army National Guard of the United States and the
U. S. Army Reserve to active duty during peacetime.  In pertinent part, it
states that former ROTC cadets, when ordered to active duty, will be
ordered to report to the U. S. Army Reception Battalion and will be ordered
to active duty in pay grade  E-1.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although not provided for in his DA Form 597-3, the applicant’s 19
September 2003 enlistment in the Army serves the same purpose as would have
been served had he been ordered to active duty in the Army.  The Army is
still getting the benefits of his service for a period of 4 years, the
maximum amount of time he could have been ordered to active duty.  As a
matter of equity, it would be appropriate to consider his enlistment in the
Army to have met the active duty obligation required by his ROTC
scholarship contract.

2.  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 debt would be required to be recouped on a pro-
rated basis.

3.  Had the applicant chosen active duty or been involuntarily ordered to
active duty as a result of his disenrollment, he would have been assigned
against the needs of the Army, in pay grade E-1, and not allowed any
enlistment options.  The applicant enlisted in the Army in the grade of E-3
and received a cash enlistment bonus of $6,000.00.

4.  The prospect of negating the applicant's $15,736.00 debt for a free
education he received from the Army without becoming an officer, plus
allowing him to receive any enlistment bonus he ordinarily would not have
received, would be a windfall.  While the Board has no jurisdiction to stop
any enlistment bonus, any such bonus would be a legitimate factor to
consider in granting or denying equitable relief regarding the ROTC debt.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT RELIEF

__mhm___  __ses___  __sap___  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 partial relief.  As a result, the Board
recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual
concerned be corrected by amending his ROTC scholarship contract to show
that he would satisfy a portion of the $15,736.00 ROTC debt under the
original terms of the ROTC contract by successfully completing his current
enlistment in the Regular Army.

2.  The portion of the ROTC debt that would be satisfied by the above
correction will be the total amount of the ROTC debt minus the $6,000.00 he
received as a cash enlistment bonus (excluding any taxes taken from this
bonus).

3.  If the individual concerned 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 his DA Form
597-3.

4.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is
insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result,
the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to
waiving the entire ROTC indebtedness amount.




            __Melvin H. Meyer_____
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004105605                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050526                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schneider                           |
|ISSUES         1.       |128.10                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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