RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        6 October 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050002287


      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. Curtis L. Greenway            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Richard T. Dunbar             |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. LaVerne V. Berry              |     |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 Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC)
debt be waived.

2.  The applicant states he received a 2-year scholarship with the
provision of serving at least 1 year of active duty military service for
each year of financial support.  He has now been serving honorably as an
active duty U. S. Air Force officer for more than 4 years, thus fulfilling
his requirement towards the scholarship contract.

3.  The applicant provides a proof-of-service letter, an undated letter
from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), and an Account
Statement dated 3 April 2000.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant apparently enlisted in the U. S. Army Reserve (USAR)
(ROTC Control Group) around the fall of 1996 and enrolled as an ROTC
scholarship cadet effective around the same time.  His DA Form 597-3 (Army
Senior ROTC Scholarship Cadet Contract), is not available.  Paragraph 7d
would have stated if he were disenrolled from the ROTC Program for any
reason or if he failed to accept a commission, the Secretary of the Army
could order him to active duty as an enlisted Soldier or, in lieu of being
ordered to active duty, could require him to reimburse the United States
through repayment of an amount of money, plus interest, equal to the entire
amount of financial assistance paid by the United States for his advanced
education.

2.  Paragraph 12 of the applicant’s DA Form 597-3 would have stated he
understood and agreed if he voluntarily or because of misconduct failed to
begin or failed to complete any period of active duty he may have incurred
under the contract, he would be required to reimburse the United States an
amount of money, plus interest, that is equal to or bore the same ratio to
the total cost of the financial assistance provided him as the unserved
portion of such duty bore to the total period of such duty he was obligated
to serve.

3.  On an unknown date, the applicant was dismissed from Advanced Camp for
failing the Army Physical Fitness Test.

4.  By letter dated 5 March 1999, the applicant was notified he was in
breach of his scholarship contract based on his dismissal from Advanced
Camp and failing the Army Physical Fitness Test.  He was notified the Army
had the right to order him to active duty as a Private, E-1 to fulfill his
contractual obligations; however, he was given the opportunity to repay the
cost of the scholarship financial assistance he had received (in the amount
of $26,575.00) in lieu of being ordered to active duty.  He could repay the
debt in full or elect to initiate a repayment plan.  He failed to respond
to the notification letter.

5.  On 19 March 1999, the applicant completed an Air Force Reserve Officer
Training Corps Contract for a 1-year scholarship.  The contract indicated
he would be commissioned in May 2000.

6.  As of 3 April 2000, the applicant's Army ROTC debt was $27,893.64.

7.  The applicant was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U. S. Air
Force on or about 29 September 2000 and entered active duty on 15 October
2000.  As of September 2005, he was still on active duty with the U. S. Air
Force.

8.  In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from
the      U. S. Army Cadet Command.  The advisory opinion noted the terms of
the scholarship contract required a cadet to either repay the debt
monetarily or agree to be ordered to active duty through ROTC channels
based on the needs of the Army.  The applicant was offered those options
but did not return the choice of options and instead "chose active duty
through an Air Force recruiter."  His decision to breach the terms of his
ROTC contract was a voluntary action.  His service in the Air Force is not
an authorized remedy for debt repayment under the terms of the ROTC
contract.  The U. S. Army Cadet Command recommended disapproval of the
applicant's request.

9.  A copy of the advisory opinion was provided to the applicant for
comment or rebuttal.  He stated that at the time he did not differentiate
between the different branches of the Department of Defense because he did
not know anything about the Department of Defense structure.  Army ROTC was
the only military program that had real visibility on campus and he
naturally approached that office with the desire to enter active duty.  As
he became more knowledgeable, he came to realize he would be far more
valuable to his country as an aviator in the U. S. Air Force than in the
Army.  He provided a letter of support from his commander.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence of Government error or injustice in this case.
The applicant was properly disenrolled from ROTC for failing the Army
Physical Fitness Test and being dismissed from Advanced Camp.

2.  However, the applicant's September 2000 appointment as a second
lieutenant in the U. S. Air Force and his service on active duty serves the
same purpose as his successful completion of Army ROTC would have done.
The Department of Defense is still getting the benefits of his service,
albeit in a different service.  As a matter of equity it would be
appropriate to consider his September 2000 appointment as a commissioned
officer in the U. S. Air Force to have met the military service obligation
required by his Army ROTC scholarship contract.

BOARD VOTE:

__clg___  __rtd___     __lvb___  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
showing he completed a DA Form 597-3 on 1 September 1996 and it showed that
he would satisfy the service obligation under the original terms of the
ROTC contract as a U. S. Air Force officer, thereby negating any
requirement to recoup the cost of his Army ROTC scholarship.




                                  __Curtis L. Greenway__
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050002287                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051006                                |
|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.                      |                                        |


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