RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        15 November 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050011621


      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. G. E. Vandenberg              |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Stanley Kelley                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. John T. Meixell               |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Robert L. Duecaster           |     |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 her student loan be paid under the Student
Loan Repayment Program (LRP).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that she was counseled at the time of
her enlistment that her loan qualified under the LRP.  She states, in
effect, that if the loan does not qualify, then the recruiter and personnel
at the induction center misled her.

3.  The applicant provides copies of DD Forms 2475 (DOD Educational Loan
Repayment Program Annual Applications) with the loan promissory notes and a
24 October 2003 Army Human Resources Command notification that her loan
does not qualify under the LRP.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The records show that the applicant entered active duty on 14 February
2002.

2.  Her records indicate she enlisted with the following incentives: a
guaranteed military occupational specialty, a cash enlistment bonus, and
participation in the Student Loan Repayment Program (LRP) up to $65,000.00.
 She acknowledged that under the LRP the Government would repay a
designated portion of any loan she 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 she enlisted into
the Regular Army.

3.  None of the applicant's enlistment documents, including her DD Form
1966 (Record of Military Processing - Armed Forces of the United States)
identified what student loans she had prior to her entry onto active duty.
She completed a DD Form 2366 indicating that she understood that with
participation in the LRP she was not eligible for Montgomery GI Bill
benefits.

4.  On 13 August 2003 the applicant submitted two DA Forms 2475 (DOD
Educational LRP Annual Applications) requesting payment on loans with the
outstanding balance in the amount of $12,985.30.

5.  On 24 October 2003 the Acting Chief, Education Incentives and
Counseling Branch, Army Human Resources Command notified the applicant that
the loan provided by the US Bank, in the amount of $12,985.30, did not
qualify for repayment under the LRP.  The Acting Chief indicated that these
loans were private loans and not made, insured, or guaranteed under Title
IV Part B, D, or E of the Higher Education Act.

6.  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-III A 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.

7.  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.

8.  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.

9.  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 the same in the remarks section of
the DD Form 1966 series.



10.  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 documentation or verification of eligible
loans.

11.  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 her or another’s
service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard, as the
case may be”.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record shows that the applicant enlisted for the LRP
incentive.  She had obtained student loans prior to her entry on active
duty and they were not in default prior of her entry on active duty.  The
loans managed by US Bank, with an approximate outstanding balance of
$12,985.30, do not meet the requirements for repayment under the Higher
Education Act and the LRP.  There is no evidence that she had any loans
that do qualify for repayment under the LRP.

2.  The lack of entry on the applicant's DD Form 1966 lends credence to the
applicant's contention she was led to believe the loans were payable under
the LRP.  The required entry on the DD Form 1966 would have confirmed to
the applicant that the loan was ineligible.  It appears the recruiter and
or the guidance counselor may have misled the applicant.  Any reasonable
doubt concerning the circumstances surrounding the guidance counselor
counseling the applicant on the eligibility of her student loans should be
resolved in the applicant's favor.

3.  In the interest of justice and equity, it would be appropriate to
provide the applicant the full LRP benefits outlined in her enlistment
contract.

4.  The applicant’s military records should be corrected to show her DA
Form   3286-66 was amended to include the sentence “If a student loan is
accepted by the officials 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 her the amount her lending
institution would have been paid under the LRP.


BOARD VOTE:

__SK ___  __JTM __  __RLD __  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 the applicant's DA Form 3286-66 be amended to include the sentence “If
a student loan is accepted by the officials processing you for enlistment
as payable under the SLRP 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 SLRP 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.  That as a result of the foregoing correction the Defense Finance and
Accounting Service shall remit payment to the applicant of the total amount
of her US Bank Private Loans, in the amount of $12,985.30, to which she is
entitled 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.




                                  __       Stanley Kelley______
                                            CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050011621                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051115                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |128 LRP                                 |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |




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