RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        20 DECEMBER 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050011753


      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. James Hise                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Ronald Blakely                |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Jeanette 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 that his Sallie May Signature student loans be
repaid under the provisions of the Army's Loan Repayment Program (LRP) in
the amount of $65,000.

2.  The applicant states his recruiter had copies of the promissory notes
in hand prior to his enlisting and called someone to verify the loans were
eligible for repayment.  He states he enlisted for 5 years believing his
loans would be repaid and now, a year later, has discovered the loans do
not qualify for repayment.

3.  The applicant provides copies of his applications for repayment of
outstanding loans under the LRP and a copy of a 28 July 2005 letter from
the Education Incentives and Counseling Branch informing him that his
Sallie Mae Financial Corporation loans did not qualify for repayment under
the loan repayment program.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the Delayed Entry Program on 9 April 2004.
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 incentives.  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 from the
Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) 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 8 July 2004.  Prior to
entry on active duty he obtained several private signature loans from
Sallie Mae Financial Corporation.

5.  On 12 July 2004 the applicant completed a form disenrolling from the
MGIB.
6.  On 28 July 2005 he was informed by the Education Incentives and
Counseling Branch at the United States Army Human Resources Command-
Alexandria that his seven Sallie Mae Financial Corporation loans, totaling
$66,678.45, did not qualify for repayment under the LRP because it was a
private loan.  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.  In the processing of this case the Education Incentives and Counseling
Branch at the U.S. Total Army Personnel Command (PERSCOM) indicated that
the applicant had no qualifying student loans for repayment and if
compensation were granted for the non-qualifying student loans, the Army
imposed cap of $65,000.00 would be met.

10.  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.


11.  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.

12.  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.

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 apparent the applicant’s Sallie Mae Financial Corporation
signature student loans did not meet the criteria established by law and
regulation to qualify for repayment by the Army under the LRP.  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.  His contention that he believed all of
his student loans would be repaid as part of his enlistment contract is
supported by the statement from the recruiter.

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.  Although the applicant may have been unaware that his loans would not
qualify for repayment, and his recruiting personnel were remiss in not
properly documenting the ineligibility of his Sallie Mae Financial
Corporation loans, the applicant was aware, based on initials on his
enlistment contract, that the maximum repayment amount under the LRP was
limited to $65,000.00.

5.  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, subject to the $65,000.00
maximum loan repayment limits.

6.  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, subject to the maximum loan repayment limits of
$65,000.00."  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 loans.

BOARD VOTE:

__JH ___  __RB____  __JM ___  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 subject to the maximum loan repayment limits of
$65,000.00."

2.  That as a result of the foregoing correction the Defense Finance and
Accounting Service (DFAS) shall remit payment to the applicant towards his
Sallie Mae Financial Corporation student loans, in the amount of
$65,000.00, to which he 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.




                                  ______ James Hise________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050011753                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051220                                |
|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.                      |                                        |


-----------------------
[pic]