RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        18 OCTOBER 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050009195


      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. Deborah L. Brantley           |     |Senior 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, in effect, payment of his student loan under
the terms of the Loan Repayment Program (LRP).

2.  The applicant states he believes the refusal to accept his loan
repayment under the LRP is unjust because the Sallie Mae promissory notes
were verified by his recruiter and his military guidance counselor at the
MEPS (Military Entrance and Processing Station).  He states even though his
contract may state that not all loans qualified he was assured by the
recruiting command personnel that his loan would in fact qualify.

3.  In addition to his own statement, the applicant provides a copy of his
student loan application and repayment schedule, his application to have
the loan repaid under the LRP, and a copy of a letter from the Education
Incentives and Counseling Branch informing him his loan did not qualify for
repayment.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the Delayed Entry Program on 13 August 2003.
His Statement for Enlistment United States Army Enlistment Program shows
that he enlisted for the LRP up to a maximum repayment of $65,000 in
addition to other incentive.  On this form, he acknowledged that under the
LRP the Government would repay a designated portion of any loan he incurred
that was made, insured or guaranteed under Part B of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 or any loan under Part E of such act after 1 October 1975 and
before he enlisted into the Regular Army.

2.  The statement also noted that he was required to disenroll for the GI
Bill in order to qualify for the LRP at the time he entered active duty.
If he failed to complete the disenrollment form he would not be eligible
for the LRP.

3.  None of the applicant's enlistment documents (to include his Department
of Defense Form 1966 (Record of Military Processing – Armed Forces of the
United States)) identified what student loans he had.

4.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 21 October 2003.  Prior
to entry on active duty he obtained a student loan from Sallie Mae
Financial Corporation for the purpose of attending the Missouri Welding
Institute in Nevada, Missouri.


5.  On 24 October 2003 the applicant completed a form disenrolling from the
GI Bill.

6.  On 24 March 2004 the applicant applied for repayment of his Sallie Mae
loan in the amount of $9482.36.  On 28 June 2004 he was informed by the
Education Incentives and Counseling Branch at the United States Army Human
Resources Command-Alexandria, that his loan, disbursed on 13 February 2003,
totaling $9482.36, did not qualify for repayment under the LRP.  He was
notified his loan was not made, insured, or guaranteed under Title IV Part
B, D, or E of the Higher Education Act.

7.  The Loan Repayment Program is a Department of the Army enlistment
option authorized by Public Law 99-145.  This option is designed to
increase Test Score Category I-IIIA accessions.  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.  Before entering
active duty, the loan must not be in default.  The borrower is responsible
for obtaining a deferment/forbearance with the loan holder and the loan
must remain in good standing throughout the repayment process.  Active Army
LRP participants earn their first loan repayment after completion of a full
year of active duty and for each full year thereafter, up to 3 years.
Payment of 33 1/3 percent or $1,500, whichever is greater, is authorized
annually to the loan holder on the total remaining original outstanding
principal balance.

8.  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.

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, into the Regular Army and the U. S.
Army Reserve.  Chapter 9 (Enlistment Programs/Options) states that these
programs/options are designed to merge valid Army requirements with
personal desires.

10.  Army Regulation 601-210, Table 9-4 contains guidance on enlistment
option program 9C (Bonus/Army College Fund/Loan Repayment Program).  Table
9-4 provides program processing procedures that require specific counseling
and administrative actions in connection with processing members enlisting
with the LRP incentive.  In addition, Line 7 of Table 9-4 requires the
guidance counselor to verify that the applicant has qualifying loans if
enlisting for the LRP, to advise the applicant if any loan is not eligible,
and to have the applicant acknowledge same in the remarks section of the DD
Form 1966 series.

11.  U. S. Army Recruiting Command Regulation 621-1 (Montgomery GI Bill,
Army College Fund, and Loan Repayment Program), current version effective
30 November 1998, paragraph 4-4a states that applicants for the LRP are no
longer authorized to ship without documents or verification of eligible
loans.

12.  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 apparent the applicant’s student loans did not meet the criteria
established by law and regulation to qualify for repayment by the Army
under the SLRP.  The loans were 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 applicant’s enlistment contract established a contractual agreement
between the applicant and the Army.  The fact that the applicant had only
one student loan and executed the disenrollment form for the GI Bill
further supports the applicant's contention that he believed his student
loan would be repaid under the agreement included in his enlistment
contract.

3.  In addition, governing regulations require that Army Guidance
Counselors 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, counselors must 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.
4.  In view of the facts of this case, it appears that 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 for Enlistment United States Army Enlistment Program 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 amount
the lending institution would have been paid for the Sallie Mae Financial
Corporation.

BOARD VOTE:

___JS___  __LS ___  __KL____  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 for Enlistment United
States Army Enlistment Program 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 $9482.36 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.





                                  _______John Slone________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050009195                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051018                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |112.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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