RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        23 November 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050015419


      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. Ronald DeNoia                 |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John Slone                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Patrick H. McGann, Jr.        |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Larry J. Olson                |     |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 student loans be repaid.

2.  The applicant states that upon enlisting in the Army the agreement was
that his student loans would be repaid.  He states that he has now been
informed that his loans do not qualify for repayment.  He also states that
his original loans of $47,999.85 now totals $48,933.71.

3.  The applicant provides a letter from the Human Resources Command; four
DD Forms 2475 (DOD Educational Loan Repayment Program); four copies of
Signature Student Loans; an Internet copy of his Sallie Mae Loans account
summary; DD Form 4 (Enlistment Document); DD Form 1966 (Record of Military
Processing); and Statement for Enlistment, Delayed Entry Program).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the Army Reserve on 11 December 2003, for a
period of 8 years under the Delayed Entry Program (DEP).  He was discharged
from the Army Reserve and the DEP and enlisted in the regular Army for a
period of 4 years on 16 January 2004.

2.  The Statement for Enlistment, United States Army Enlistment Program
shows that the applicant enlisted for program 9A, U.S. Army Enlistment
Program and program 9C, U.S. Army Incentive Enlistment Program (US Army
Loan Repayment Program) with a maximum loan repayment of $65,000.00.

3.  Section VI (Remarks) of the DD Form 1966 shows only the entry "Have you
ever used Marijuana? N" and "Statement Remarks: tech check favorable."

4.  On 21 February 2005, the applicant applied to have his student loans
repaid.

5.  On 18 May 2005, the applicant received notification from the Human
Resources Command (HRC), informing him that his student loans did not
qualify for payment under the SLRP because they are Signature Loans, which
are not made, insured, or guaranteed under Title IV Part B, D, or E of the
Higher Education Act.

6.  The applicant was also notified by HRC that they had received the
Department of Defense (DD) Forms 2475 (DoD Educational Loan Repayment
Program Annual Application), and they had determined the loans totaling
$47,999.85 did not qualify for repayment under the LRP.
7.  The applicant was further advised by HRC that in order to be eligible
for repayment of their student loans, Soldiers who have the LRP in their
enlistment contract must meet certain standards and their loans must have
been made, insured, or guaranteed under the Higher Education Act of 1965,
Parts B, D, or E.

8.  In addition, the applicant was informed that payment of loans that do
not qualify would be in violation of the law governing the LRP and that
there are no exceptions to the law.  He was finally advised to apply to
this Board if he believed he was improperly counseled or that an error or
injustice had occurred.

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 9 (Enlistment Programs/Options) indicates that these
programs/options are designed to merge valid Army requirements with
personal desires.

10.  AR 601-210, in pertinent part, contains guidance on enlistment option
program 9C (Bonus/Army College Fund/Loan Repayment Program).  It contains
specific guidance pertaining to the LRP and indicates that the government
will 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.  AR 601-210 also provides program processing procedures that require
Army Guidance Counselors to accomplish specific counseling and
administrative actions in connection with processing members enlisting with
the LRP incentive.  These actions include ensuring members are disenrolled
from the GI Bill; verifying that members have qualifying loans; and
advising members of any loan that is not eligible.

12.  The regulation further states that Guidance Counselors are
specifically required to confirm they accomplished all the processing
procedures by making the appropriate entries in the DD Form 1966.  This
includes a statement advising members of any loan he or she has that is not
eligible for repayment and ensuring the applicant’s acknowledgement of this
fact is also recorded in the remarks section of the DD Form 1966.

13.  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.  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.

14.  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.  The applicant’s loan does not meet the criteria established by law;
however, that is not the overriding factor in this case given the equity
considerations and the resultant injustice.

2.  A careful review of the evidence of record reveals that the "Statement
for Enlistment" clearly established a contractual agreement, between the
applicant and the Army, that he would receive LRP benefits in connection
with his active duty enlistment.

3.  Although it is clear that the "Statement for Enlistment" specified the
types of loans for which LRP benefits were authorized, there is no
indication that the applicant was ever advised of these specific provisions
of the LRP or of the specific criteria required for a loan to qualify for
repayment under the law governing the LRP.


4.  By regulation, Army Guidance Counselors are required to verify that a
member enlisting for the LRP has qualifying loans and to advise those
members if any loan is not eligible for repayment.  Further, these service
representatives must confirm these actions were accomplished by making the
appropriate entries in the enlistment contract or associated documents.

5.  Notwithstanding the fact that the "Statement for Enlistment" outlined
the legal criteria for repayment under the LRP, the applicant’s enlistment
contract and associated documents contain no entries verifying that he was
ever properly counseled in regard to the legal loan repayment restrictions.

6.  In view of the above it is determined that the applicant was improperly
counseled in regard to LRP benefits and it that it would be appropriate to
rectify this injustice at this time.  Therefore, it would be in the
interest of justice and equity to provide the applicant the full LRP
benefits outlined in his enlistment contract.

7.  The applicant’s military records may be corrected to show his
“Statement for 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 amount his lending institution would have been
paid under the LRP.

BOARD VOTE:

__js____  __phm___  __ljo___  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 enlistment contract 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.  As a result of the above correction the Defense Finance and Accounting
Service shall remit payment to the applicant the total amount of his Sallie
Mae Signature Loans, in the maximum amount of $47,999.85, provided it does
not exceed the maximum amount of $65,000.00 in total loan repayments, 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.



                                        John Slone
                                  ______________________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050015419                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051123                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |128.1400                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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