RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        20 December 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050015740


      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             |
|     |Mrs. Nancy L. Amos                |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. James C. Hise                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Ronald E. Blakely             |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Jeanette R. 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 he be reimbursed $5,575.76 for having to
personally pay off his Sallie Mae student loan.

2.  The applicant states he paid off his Sallie Mae student loan after
being told it was not eligible for repayment under the Loan Repayment
Program (LRP).  He was improperly counseled and led to believe the loan
would be covered.  He was even given a Request for Forbearance to complete
during his in-processing at Fort Benning, GA to send to Sallie Mae.

3.  The applicant provides a Request for Forbearance, a U. S. Army
Recruiting Command (USAREC) Form 1232 (Loan Repayment Program Inprocessing
Counseling), and a 25 August 2005 letter from the U. S. Army Human
Resources Command (USAHRC).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant entered the Delayed Enlistment Program on 15 November
2004.  His Statement for Enlistment United States Army Enlistment Program
   U. S. Army Delayed Enlistment Program shows he enlisted for the LRP 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.  Types of loans which qualified
for the LRP were identified as:  Auxiliary Loan Assistance for Students,
Federally Insured Student Loans, Guaranteed Student Loans or Stafford
Loans, National Direct Student Loans or Perkins Loans, Supplemental Loans
for Students, Consolidated loans, and Parent Loans for Undergraduate
Students incurred for the use of the individual contracting for the LRP.
He was also informed that interest would not be paid.

2.  None of the applicant's enlistment documents (to include his DD Form
1966 (Record of Military Processing - Armed Forces of the United States))
identified what student loans he had.  His DD Form 1966 informed him he
must take copies of all his student loan promissory notes when he reported
to the Military Entrance Processing Station for his active duty ship date.

3.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 5 January 2005 for 4
years.  Prior to entry on active duty he had obtained several student
loans.  The Application and Promissory Note for the Sallie Mae loan
indicated it was a Signature Student Loan.  The promissory note indicated a
total of $4,924.00 was disbursed.

4.  On 10 January 2005, the applicant faxed a Request for Forbearance to
Sallie Mae, apparently in reply to a 10 January 2005 fax from Sallie Mae.
The fax from Sallie Mae is annotated "supplemental student loan for
graduate student $5575.76 25 Oct 2005."

5.  On 18 July 2005, the applicant applied for repayment of his Sallie Mae
loan by completing a DD Form 2475 (DOD Educational Loan Repayment Program
(LRP) Annual Application).  In item 8, Section III of the form, the holding
institution certifying officer indicated the loan was a private loan.  Item
5e of Section III indicated $4,924.00 had been disbursed and the
outstanding balance was $5,460.88.  On 25 August 2005, USAHRC notified the
applicant that his Sallie Mae loan totaling $5,460.88 did not qualify for
repayment under the LRP.

6.  On 16 December 2005, the Education Incentives Branch, USAHRC informed
the Board analyst the applicant had one qualifying consolidated loan, in
the amount of $19,307.51.

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, in effect at the time, Table 9-4 contained
guidance on enlistment option program 9C (Bonus/Army College Fund/Loan
Repayment Program).  Table 9-4 provided program processing procedures that
required specific counseling and administrative actions in connection with
processing members enlisting with the LRP incentive.  In addition, Line 7
of Table 9-4 required the guidance counselor to verify that the applicant
had qualifying loans if enlisting for the LRP, to advise the applicant if
any loan was not eligible, and to have the applicant acknowledge same in
the remarks section of the DD Form 1966 series.

10.  Title 10, U. S. Code, section 1552, the law which provides for the
Board, states, “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.  Even though the 10 January 2005 fax from Sallie Mae contained the
annotation "supplemental student loan for graduate student," there was no
evidence on the promissory note itself that it was a supplemental student
loan.  On the DD Form 2475, the certifying officer indicated the loan was a
private loan.

2.  Nevertheless, it appears the applicant had been counseled that the
Sallie Mae loan qualified for repayment under the LRP.  There is no other
reasonable explanation for how the applicant obtained, and returned, a
Request for Forbearance from Sallie Mae.  He enlisted in the Regular Army
on 5 January 2005.  The faxes were sent on 10 January 2005.  Army officials
normally do not allow a new recruit to receive and send faxes without
official sanction.

3.  In the interest of justice and equity, it would be appropriate to
provide the applicant the full LRP benefits outlined in his enlistment
contract.  However, the applicant requests repayment of $5,575.76.  It
cannot be determined how that total was arrived at unless it included
interest, which his enlistment contract informed him would not be paid.
His promissory note indicated $4,924.00 had been disbursed and $5,460.88
was the outstanding balance.  USAHRC indicated the total was $5,460.88.  It
would be equitable to reimburse the applicant $5,460.88.

4.  The applicant is required to complete 3 years of active duty to obtain
the full benefits of the LRP.  He enlisted in the Regular Army in January
2005.  The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) will be requested
to establish a debt should he not serve the required active duty.

5.  The applicant’s military records may be corrected to show his
enlistment contract 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 him the amount his lending institution would have been paid under
the LRP.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

__jch___  __reb___  __jrm___  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 partial relief.  As a result, the Board
recommends the applicant's enlistment contract 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 the amount of his
Sallie Mae student loan, in the total amount of $5,460.88, to which he is
entitled as a result of this correction and advise him if he does not serve
the required active duty a debt will be established.

3.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is
insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result,
the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to
reimbursing the applicant the amount of his Sallie Mae student loan, in the
total amount of $5,575.76.




                                  __James C. Hise_______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050015740                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051220                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schneider                           |
|ISSUES         1.       |112.12                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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