RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        13 July 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050016905


      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. Robert J. Osborn II           |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. John M. Moeller               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Naomi Henderson               |     |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 all of his student loans be paid under the
Student Loan Repayment Program (LRP).

2.  The applicant states that he was counseled at the time of his
enlistment that all of his loans qualified under the LRP.  He states, in
effect, that if the loans do not qualify, then the recruiter and personnel
at the induction center misled him.

3.  The applicant provides copies of a 19 August 2004 U. S. Army Human
Resources Command letter, an ITT Technical Institute transcript, a copy of
a Promissory Note for Federal Stafford Loans, and a court order changing
the applicant's last name.

COUNSEL'S REQUEST, STATEMENT AND EVIDENCE:

1.  Counsel requests that the loan in the amount of $8,529.68 be paid in
accordance with assurances given the applicant at the time he enlisted.

2.  Counsel states that the applicant enlisted with the assurance that all
of his student loans qualified under the LRP.  The applicant has honored
his enlistment contract and served over two and a half years of his five
year enlistment.  He asks that the government uphold the enlistment
agreement as the recruiter represented it.

3.  Counsel provides no additional documentation.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The records show that on 18 May 1999 the applicant applied for and
received a Stafford Loan for attendance at ITT Technical Institute in Ft.
Lauderdale, Florida in the amount of $6,625.00.  This loan is managed by
the Sallie Mae Servicing Corporation (SMSC).  The record indicates this
loan is covered by and is being paid under the LRP.

2.  The applicant enlisted in the United States (US) Army Reserve (AR)
under the Delayed Entry Program (DEP) on 12 February 2003.

3.  The DD Form 1966 (Record of Military Processing – Armed Forces of the
United States) shows he attended ITT Technical Institute from June 1997
through March 2003 and the Palm Beach County School of the Arts from March
2003 through May 2003.
4.  The DD Form 1966 lists his enlistment incentives as US Army Training
Enlistment Program (option 3), the US Army Incentive Program (option 27),
the Enlistment Cash Bonus ($15,000.00), and the Loan Repayment Program.
The DD Form 1966 does not list what loans are to be considered under the
LRP.

5.  A DA Form 3286-67 (Statement of Understanding) indicates the applicant
elected to participate in the Educational Incentives Program under the LRP
and waived participation under the Montgomery GI Bill and the Army College
Fund.

6.  On 19 August 2004 the Acting Chief, Education Incentives and Counseling
Branch, Army Human Resources Command notified the applicant that a loan
managed by the SMSC and disbursed on 17 February 2000, in the amount of
$8,529.68, did not qualify for repayment under the LRP.  This loan was a
Career Training loan and 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-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.

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.  The version of Army Regulation 601-210 (Regular Army and Army Reserve
Enlistment Program) in effective at that the time the applicant enlisted
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.

10.  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.

11.  The version of U. S. Army Recruiting Command Regulation 621-1
(Montgomery GI Bill, Army College Fund, and Loan Repayment Program),
paragraph 4-4a in effective at that the time the applicant enlisted states
that applicants for the LRP are not authorized to ship without
documentation or verification of eligible loans.

12.  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 evidence of record shows that the applicant enlisted for the LRP
incentive.  He had obtained two student loans prior to his entry on active
duty and they were not in default prior of his entry on active duty.  The
loan managed by Sallie Mae, with an approximate outstanding balance of
$8,529.68, does not meet the requirements for repayment under the Higher
Education Act and the LRP.

2.  At the time the applicant enlisted recruiters and/or guidance personnel
were required to denote on the DD Form 1966 all loans that were to be
considered under the LRP and whether or not  they qualified under the
program.   Applicants for the LRP were not authorized to ship without
documentation or verification of eligible loans.

3.  The lack of entry on the applicant's DD Form 1966 lends credence to the
applicant's contention he 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 guidance
counselor may have misled the applicant.  Any reasonable doubt concerning
the circumstances surrounding the guidance counselor counseling the
applicant on the eligibility of his student loans should be resolved in the
applicant's favor.

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

5.  The applicant’s military records should be corrected to show his 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 him the amount his lending institutions would have been paid under
the LRP.

BOARD VOTE:

__JMM___  _NH ___  __RJO__  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 at the appropriate rate and time payment to
the applicant of the total amount of his loans to which he is entitled as a
result of this correction with the approximate outstanding balance of
$8,529.68.  If required, the applicant will submit the appropriate evidence
(promissory notes, etc.) to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service.




                                  _     Robert J. Osborn II______
                                            CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050016905                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060713                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |Grant                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |112                                     |
|2.                      |128 LRP                                 |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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