RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        20 October 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050004141


      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             |
|     |Ms. Beverly A. Young              |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John Meixell                  |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. James Gunlicks                |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Jeannette McCants             |     |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 her Reserve Officers' Training
Corps (ROTC) debt in the amount of approximately $9,500.00 be waived due to
her service on active duty.

2.  The applicant states the debt was incurred from one year of an Army
ROTC contract.  She was given the choice of repaying the debt or enlisting
in the Armed Forces.  However, after her divorce, she was unable to repay
the debt monetarily and decided to enlist in order to honor the debt.  A
representative at the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) assured
her the debt would be forgiven, but two years after her enlistment it was
not.

3.  The applicant provides a Leave and Earnings Statement (LES),
information from the DFAS regarding the ROTC debt, and her enlistment
contract.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  On 2 September 1997, the applicant signed a DA Form 597-3 (Army Senior
ROTC Scholarship Cadet Contract).  Paragraph 7d states that if the cadet
were disenrolled from the ROTC Program for any reason, the Secretary of the
Army could order her 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 from the
commencement of the contractual agreement to the date of her disenrollment
or refusal to accept a commission.  Or, the cadet could be ordered to
active duty for not more than four years.

2.  Paragraph 12 of the applicant's DA Form 597-3 states the cadet
understood and agreed that, if she voluntarily or because of misconduct
failed to begin or failed to complete any period of active duty that she
may have incurred under the contract, she 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
her as the unserved portion of such duty bore to the total period of such
duty she was obligated to serve.

3.  On an unknown date, the applicant was disenrolled from ROTC for failure
to enroll in Military Science 300a during Fall Semester 1998.

4.  On 4 March 1999, the applicant was informed the total amount of monies
spent in support of her educational assistance was $9,200.00.  She was
informed that failure to respond with her selection of payment method would
result in the issuance of active duty orders for three years in fulfillment
of her ROTC. scholarship obligation.  On 29 March 1999, she agreed to
reimburse her scholarship monies in that amount in monthly installments.

5.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 6 August 2002 for 5 years
in pay grade E-4.  Her enlistment contract does not indicate she received
an enlistment bonus or other monetary incentives.

6.  In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from
the Director, Personnel and Administration, U.S. Army Cadet Command.  That
office noted the applicant's contract required her either to repay the debt
monetarily or agree to be ordered to active duty through ROTC channels
based on the needs of the Army.  She was offered those options on 29 March
1999 after being disenrolled from ROTC for breach of contract.  She chose
monetary repayment.  A debt was established with DFAS on 7 May 1999.  Her
current active duty service is not the result of being ordered to active
duty through ROTC channels in satisfaction of her ROTC contractual
obligation.  That office recommended her enlistment not reduce the amount
she is required to reimburse the United States for his advanced educational
assistance.

7.  A copy of the advisory opinion was provided to the applicant for
comment or rebuttal.  She did not respond within the given time frame.

8.  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 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:

Although not provided for in her DA Form 597-3, the applicant's 6 August
2002 enlistment in the Army serves the same purpose as would have been
served had she been ordered to active duty in the Army.  Although she would
have been ordered to active duty in pay grade E-1, the Army is still
getting the benefits of her service for the period of her 5-year
enlistment.  She would have owed the Army 3 years had she been ordered to
active duty.  As a matter of equity, it would be appropriate to consider
her enlistment in the Army to have met the active duty obligation required
by her ROTC scholarship contract.
BOARD VOTE:

JM______  JG______  JM______  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 show she would satisfy a portion
of the $9,200.00 ROTC debt under the original terms of the ROTC contract by
successfully completing 3 years of service in the Regular Army.




                                  John Meixell__________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050004141                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |YYYYMMDD                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schneider                           |
|ISSUES         1.       |128.1000                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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