RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:                              18 OCTOBER 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:         AR20050001743


      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. Jessie B. Strickland          |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John Slone                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Linda Simmons                 |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Kenneth Lapin                 |     |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 the remission/cancellation of her Reserve
Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Scholarship debt.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that she desires her indebtedness to
the Department of Defense (DoD) be satisfied through his active duty
service with the United States Marine Corps (USMC).  She goes on to state
that she understood her obligation was to serve in the Army for 3 years or
to repay the debt; however, she has been serving on active duty in the USMC
for almost 4 years and believes she is fulfilling her obligation to the
DoD.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of her USMC Idnetification Card, her
automated USMC records, her debt information from the Defense Finance and
Accounting Service (DFAS) and her ROTC Scholarship debt agreement.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  In 1995, while attending South Carolina State University, the applicant
accepted a 3-year ROTC Scholarship.  She was disenrolled for breach of
contract and on 25 March 1997, she was advised that she owed $6,040.00 in
ROTC benefits paid and that she could be ordered to active duty in the pay
grade of E-2 or that she could elect to repay the amount she owed.  She
elected to repay the debt at the rate of $150.00 per month on 25 March
1997.

2.  She enlisted in the USMC on 16 April 2001, entered active duty on 3
June 2001 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 10 August 2001.
She was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant on 10 August 2003 and at
the time of her application to the Board, she was assigned to Camp LeJeune,
North Carolina.

3.  In the processing of this case, a staff advisory opinion was obtained
from the Department of the Army Cadet Command which opines, in effect, that
the applicant's subsequent enlistment in the Marine Corps did not then and
does not now satisfy the conditions of her ROTC contract.  The advisory
opinion was dispatched to the applicant for comment and the applicant
responded back to the effect that after having the ROTC scholarship for 1
year, she realized that she had no desire to be in the military.  Her
decision to join the military did not come until 2001, 4 years after she
had decided to give up her scholarship.  She further states that she has
over $60,000 in scholarship debts not counting her ROTC scholarship debt
and requests that her active duty service satisfy her ROTC debt.
4.  Title 10, United States Code, section 2005(a)(3), states, in pertinent
part, that the Secretary concerned may require, as a condition to the
Secretary providing advanced education assistance to any person, that such
person enter into a written agreement with the Secretary concerned under
the terms of which such person shall agree that if such person, voluntarily
or because of misconduct, fails to complete the period of active duty
specified in the agreement, or fails to fulfill any term or condition
prescribed by the Secretary to protect the interest of the United States,
such person will reimburse the United States in an amount that bears the
same ratio to the total costs of advanced education provided such person as
the un-served portion of active duty bears to the total period of active
duty such person agreed to serve.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the applicant has not contended that she was unaware of the
conditions of her contract, the evidence of record clearly shows that the
applicant understood the conditions of her ROTC contract, whereas she could
elect to repay her scholarship debt in lieu of being involuntarily ordered
to active duty in the rank of E-1 for a period of 3 years in the Army.

2.  She clearly declined the involuntary call to active duty and elected to
make payments to the DFAS in accordance with the conditions of her
contract.

3.  While the applicant was able to enlist in the USMC and subsequently be
commissioned as a second lieutenant, vice being ordered to active duty in
the Army in the pay grade of E-1, she enlisted for a period of 4 years and
it appears she was not offered any monetary enlistment incentives.

4.  Notwithstanding the fact that the applicant has agreed to repay her
debt and has already served 4 years of active duty in the USMC, it would be
unfair under the circumstances to require her to do so.  The main purpose
of the advance education assistance programs is for the Armed Services to
obtain ADSOs (active duty service obligations) from qualified personnel in
exchange for educational assistance.  The applicant entered into and has
already served a    4-year ADSO to the United States, albeit serving in the
USMC instead of the Army as required by her ROTC contract.  Thus the spirit
of 10 USC 2005 has been satisfied.

5.  Additionally, the Board recognizes the importance of the applicant's
service to her country, regardless of which Armed service is involved, and
finds that in the interest of justice and as a matter of equity, her debt
should be forgiven effective the date she completed  4years of active duty
in the Marine Corps, as an exception to policy, and that any monies paid by
her towards satisfying the ROTC debt be returned to her.

6.  Accordingly, as a matter of equity, her ROTC Scholarship Contract
should be amended to reflect that her debt obligation may be satisfied by
virtue of completion of 4 years of active duty in the Marine Corps, as an
exception to policy.

BOARD VOTE:

____JS__  ___LS  __  ___KL __  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant
a recommendation for relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all
Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by
amending her ROTC Scholarship Contract to reflect that her debt obligation
may be satisfied by virtue of completion of 4 years of active duty in the
Marine Corps, as an exception to policy and that any monies collected from
the applicant to satisfy the ROTC debt will be returned to her.




            _____John Slone_________________
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050001743                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |N/A AD MEMBER (USMC)                    |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |N/A AD MEMBER (USMC)                    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |N/A AD MEMBER (USMC)                    |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |N/A AD MEMBER (USMC)                    |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |N/A AD MEMBER (USMC)                    |
|BOARD DECISION          |(GRANT)                                 |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |N/A AD MEMBER (USMC)                    |
|ISSUES                  |293/REM/CANC DEBT                       |
|1.128.1000              |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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