RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        19 October 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050007644


      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. Eric S. Moore                 |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Barbara J. Ellis              |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Hubert O. Fry, Jr.            |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Robert Rogers                 |     |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, payment of a college loan under the
terms of the Loan Repayment Program (LRP).

2.  The applicant states that prior to his enlistment the recruiter
requested a copy of the promissory note for his student loan which was in
the amount of $21,000.00, (of which he owed $10,617.11).  He further states
that at no time was he told his student loan was not eligible for repayment
by the LRP.  He did not find out until approximately one year after
enlistment that his student loan was not eligible for repayment.  The
applicant closes by stating he should have been informed at the time of
enlistment as to whether his student loan was eligible under the LRP.

3.  The applicant provides in support of his application: a self-authored
letter; a Army Human Resources Command Letter, dated 5 April 2005; a
Promissory Note from Connecticut Higher Education; and a Statement for
Enlistment.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant’s military records show that on 9 March 2004, he enlisted
in the Regular Army for 4 years.  A Statement for Enlistment prepared
during his enlistment processing confirms the option and incentives he
contracted for during his enlistment processing.  The LRP, Option 9C, is
one of the incentives authorized.  The applicable LRP terms are listed in
paragraph 2 of this form.

2.  The LRP provisions in the Statement of Enlistment state, in pertinent
part, that the applicant understood he must disenroll from the GI Bill at
the time he entered active duty and if he failed to do this he would not be
eligible for the LRP.  It also indicated that the applicant understood that
the Government will repay a designated portion of any loan he incurred that
was made, insured, or guaranteed under Part B of the Higher Education Act
(Guaranteed Student Loan) or any loan under Part E of such act (National
Direct Student Loan).

3.  The Statement of Enlistment further indicated that the applicant’s
enlistment for the LRP ensured him, provided he met and maintained the
prescribed prerequisites, that the portion or amount of his student loan
that could be repaid was 33 1/3 percent or $1,500, whichever was greater of
the unpaid principal balance for each year of service completed.  The
applicant and service representative signed this document on the date he
entered active duty,
9 March 2004.
4.  On 16 January 2004, the recruiting guidance counselor completed Section
V (Recertification) and Section VI (Remarks) of the Record of Military
Processing-Armed Forces of the United States (DD Forms 1966/3 and 1966/4).
These documents contained an entry confirming the applicant’s participation
in Option 9C (LRP), but there were no entries regarding the
eligibility/ineligibility of any of his student loans.

5.  On 5 April 2005, the Acting Chief, Education Incentives and Counseling
Branch, Human Resources Command (HRC) notified the applicant his Firstmark
Service loan totaling $10,617.11 did not qualify for repayment under the
LRP.  The applicant was advised to apply to this Board if he believed he
was not properly counseled or that an error or injustice had occurred.

6.  In connection with the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was
obtained from the Chief, Education Incentives Branch, HRC.  This official
confirms the applicant’s loans did not qualify for repayment under the LRP.
 She further indicated there are no exceptions to the law, and therefore,
payment cannot be authorized for his non-qualifying loans.  She concluded
that if the Board decided to grant compensation, the total outstanding
balance of the loan should be paid directly to the applicant.

7.  On 7 June 2005, the applicant was provided a copy of the HRC advisory
opinion in order to have the opportunity to respond.  To date, he has
failed to reply.

8.  In an undated reply from the applicant, he states that his recruiter
told him his student loan was eligible for the LRP after he showed him a
copy of the promissory note for the Loan.  He also states that he was told
that he has to sign away his rights to the GI Bill in order to be eligible.
 He did that and supplied all the paperwork he wanted.  The applicant
continued by stating he only had one student loan, and having it paid off
by the Army was a big incentive for him to join, and that the Army should
honor the promise they made to him and the program he signed up for.

9.  Army Regulation 601-210 (Regular Army and Army Reserve Enlistment
Program) prescribes eligibility criteria governing the enlistment of
persons, with or without prior service (PS), into the Regular Army (RA) and
the USAR.  Chapter 6, section II contains guidance on the Guidance
Counselor Processing Phase.  It states, in pertinent part, that Guidance
Counselors will use the supporting automated systems and updated regulatory
material applicable to MOS and available options to counsel all applicants
on their enlistment options.  It further states that Guidance Counselors
will counsel applicants who fail to meet specific qualifications for
options for which they applied and advise them of other available options.

10.  Table 9-4 of the enlistment regulation, in effect at the time of the
applicant’s enlistment, contained guidance on enlistment option program 9C
(Bonus/Army College Fund/Loan Repayment Program).  It contained specific
guidance pertaining to the LRP and indicated that the government would
repay a designated portion of any loan incurred that was made, insured, or
guaranteed under part B of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (Guaranteed
Student Loan) or any loan under part E of such act (National Direct Student
Loan) after 1 October 1975 and before enlistment into the Regular Army

11.  Table 9-4 of the enlistment regulation, in effect at the time, further
stipulated that Guidance Counselors were required to confirm they
accomplished all the processing procedures by making the appropriate
entries in the DD Form 1966.  This included a statement regarding the
applicant’s eligibility for the LRP, which included any factors that could
disqualify him from receiving the LRP benefit, and ensuring the applicant’s
acknowledgement of this fact was also recorded in the remarks section of
the DD Form 1966.

12.  The LRP is a Department of the Army enlistment option authorized by
Title 10 of the United States Code, section 2171 (10 USC 2171), which
provides the legal authority for the education loan repayment program for
enlisted members on active duty in specified military specialties.  The law
states, in pertinent part, that 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.  It further specifies that
payment of such loans shall be made on the basis of each complete year of
service performed as an enlisted member in a military specialty specified
by the Army.  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.

13.  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.  It is clear the applicant’s student loan did not meet the criteria
established by law and regulation to qualify for repayment by the Army
under the LRP.  The loan was not made, insured, or guaranteed under Title
IV, Part B, D, or E of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as is required.
However, this is not the overriding factor in this case given the equity
considerations and the resultant injustice.

2.  The Statement of Enlistment of the applicant’s enlistment contract
established a contractual agreement between the applicant and the Army, and
the record clearly shows the responsible recruiting officials failed to
make reference to any loans ineligible for payment under the LRP, as
evidenced by the absence of an entry in the remarks section of the DD Form
1966.

3.  In addition, the governing regulation requires Army Guidance Counselors
to verify and counsel applicants on their eligibility for the options they
agreed to prior to their departing for active duty.  Further, these
counselors are obligated to advise applicants on any options they agreed
to, but are not eligible for, and on any available alternatives.  Finally,
the regulation in effect at the time of the applicant’s enlistment required
counselors to add entries to the enlistment contract and/or associated
documents confirming this verification of option and incentive eligibility,
and/or counseling on ineligibility, prior to a member departing for active
duty.  In this case, counselors failed to properly document the
ineligibility of the applicant's loan on the DD Forms 1966/3 and 1966/4
prepared on the day he departed for active duty.

4.  In view of the facts of this case, it appears the applicant entered
into an erroneous contract with the Army, based on the failure of
recruiting personnel to follow established regulatory guidelines in
connection with this enlistment processing, through no fault of his own.
Given the failure on the part of Government officials to follow its own
regulations during the applicant's enlistment processing, it is appropriate
to rectify the resultant injustice at this time.

5.  In doing so, the applicant's military records should be corrected to
show his Statement of Enlistment was amended to include the sentence, “If a
student loan is accepted by the official 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 $10,617.11 due for the Firstmark Services loan.

BOARD VOTE:

___rr ___  __bje____  ___hof__  GRANT FULL 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 all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be
corrected by
amending the applicant's Statement of Enlistment to include the sentence,
“If a student loan is accepted by the official 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.  Further, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) shall remit
payment in the amount of $10,617.11 to the applicant 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.




                                  ____Barbara J. Ellis_______
                                            CHAIRPERSON


                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050007644                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2005/10/19                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |MR SCHNEIDER                            |
|ISSUES         1.       |Loan Repayment                          |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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