RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        19 October 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050013064


      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:

|     |Ms. Barbara Ellis                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Hubert Fry                    |     |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 that her private student loan with Sallie Mae
Servicing in the amount of $8,764.12 be repaid under the Loan Repayment
Program (LRP).

2.  The applicant states she enlisted under the LRP and informed her
recruiter that she had two loans, a federal loan and a private loan, both
totaling about $56,000.00.  Her recruiter assured her that both loans would
be covered by the LRP.  She explained to her recruiter that the private
loan was the loan she used during the period she was studying for the bar
exam.  She also explained this to the counselor at the Military Entrance
Processing Station (MEPS) in Montgomery, Alabama and the counselor at the
Personnel Service Battalion in Fort Jackson, South Carolina.  Each agency
assured her that the LRP would cover both loans.  She states she is a two-
time graduate from the University of Florida graduating with a Bachelor of
Arts Degree in Criminology and a Law Degree.  The main reason she decided
to enlist instead of applying for direct commission as a Judge Advocate
General (JAG) officer was to pay off all her student loans.  She believes
that she was misled and her recruiter purposefully withheld this
information from her because she made it clear she would not enlist unless
her loans were going to be paid.  She also states that if she were given
all the facts she would have been able to make a more informed decision on
whether or not to enlist.  She strongly believes the Army should correct
the misleading actions of her recruiter and pay her student loans.  If
there is no way that this can be corrected, she plans to separate or
chapter from the Army.

3.  The applicant provides her enlistment contract, her transcripts, her
Florida Bar Admission Status Report and a copy of her law degree.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant entered the delayed entry program on 3 June 2004.  Her
Statement for Enlistment, United States Army Enlistment Program, shows she
enlisted for the LRP.  On this form, 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, Part D, or Part E of the
Higher Education Act of 1965, after 1 October 1975, and before she enlisted
into the Regular Army.  She also acknowledged she understood that she must
disenroll from the Montgomery GI Bill in order to qualify for the LRP.

2.  None of the applicant's enlistment documents (to include her DD Form
1966, Record of Military Processing – Armed Forces of the United States)
identified her student loans.
3.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 27 October 2004 for a
period of four years.

4.  On 25 May 2005, the applicant applied for repayment of one Sallie Mae
Loan in the amount of $8,764.12.  On 12 June 2005, the Education Incentives
and Counseling Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command notified the
applicant that her loan was not made, insured or guaranteed under Title IV
Part B, D or E of the Higher Education Act and was therefore ineligible for
repayment.

5.  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, 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.

6.  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.

7.  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) stated that these
programs/options are designed to merge valid Army requirements with
personal desires.

8.  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.

9.  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.

10.  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 to 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.  The evidence of record shows 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 to her entry on active duty.  It
appears one student loan did not meet the requirements for repayment under
the Higher Education Act and the LRP.

2.  It is noted that no entry was made in the remarks section of the
applicant's DD Form 1966 reflecting the student loan's ineligibility for
repayment as required by regulation.  In the interest of justice and
equity, it would be appropriate to provide her the full LRP benefits
outlined in her enlistment contract.

3.  The applicant's military records should be corrected to show her
Statement for Enlistment, United States Army Enlistment Program, 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:

BE______  HF______  RR______  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 Statement for Enlistment, United States Army
Enlistment Program, be 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."

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 Sallie Mae Loan in the amount of $8,764.12 to which she is entitled
as a result of this correction at the appropriate rate and time.  If
required, the applicant will submit the appropriate evidence (promissory
notes, etc.) to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service.




                                  Barbara Ellis_________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050013064                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051019                                |
|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.       |112.1200                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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