RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:         23 JANUARY 2007
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060008710


      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. Rene’ R. Parker               |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Kenneth Wright                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Larry Racster                 |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Ernestine Fields              |     |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 loan be paid under the Student
Loan Repayment Program (SLRP).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he would like the Army to honor
his contract and pay all his student loans as he understood the SLRP would
provide. The applicant explains that upon his enlistment he initially
elected the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB).  However, after the liaison officer
stated that all types of student loans would be repaid under the SLRP he
changed his election. The applicant maintains that his change of election,
which was based on the liaison officer’s input, was made on 25 August 2005.


3.  The applicant provides a letter from the Chief, Education Incentive
Branch, DD Forms 2475 (DOD Education Repayment Program (LRP) Annual
Application), and copies of his loan paperwork.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant’s military records show he enlisted in the Regular Army
on        25 August 2005 for 4 years and 17 weeks.  A Statement for
Enlistment confirms that the applicant enlisted in program 9C, under the
LRP incentive option which was added to his enlistment contract on the day
the applicant was shipped to Basic Training.  He also enlisted for a cash
bonus in the amount of $20,000.00.

2.  There is no addendum or Statement of Option in the applicant’s
enlistment documents that spell-out the provisions normally associated with
the LRP; such as, only certain loans qualify for the LRP or that the LRP
was contingent on the applicant’s disenrollment from the MGIB.

3.  On 31 August 2005, the applicant disenrolled from the MGIB.

4.  The DD Form 2475 provided by the applicant, with copies of his cash
loan repayment schedule shows that he submitted an application for
repayment of his loan from Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority
(MOHELA) totaling $22,269.26.





5.  On 2 June 2006, the Acting Chief, for the Education Incentives and
Counseling Branch, determined that based upon the information provided by
MOHELA, the applicant’s loan totaling $22,269.26 did not qualify for
repayment under the LRP.  The Acting Chief justified her decision by
stating the applicant’s loan was a Private Student Loan which was not made,
insured or guaranteed under Title IV Part B, D, or E of the Higher
Education Act.

6.  E-mail dated 11 July 2006, from the Education Incentives and Counseling
Branch, verifies that in August 2006, the applicant was authorized a first
year payment of $3,500.00 on a Stafford Loan.

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) states 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 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 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.  Evidence of record shows that although there was no addendum or
Statement of Option on the applicant’s enlistment contract, he did enlist
under the LRP.  Therefore, his enlistment contract established a
contractual agreement between the applicant and the Army.  The fact that
the applicant disenrolled from the MGIB supports the applicant's contention
that he believed all of his student loans would be repaid under the SLRP.

2.  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.

3.  In view of the facts of this case, it appears that the applicant
changed his enlistment option which was annotated on his enlistment
contract the day he was shipped to basic training.  This would account for
the absence of an addendum or a Statement of Option verifying the
provisions of the LRP.  The absence of these documents substantiate the
fact that the recruiting personnel failed to follow established regulatory
guidelines in connection with this enlistment processing.  Based on 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.

4.  In doing so, the applicant's military records should be corrected to
show his Statement for Enlistment United States Army Enlistment Program was
added and included 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 the Alternative
Education Loans.



BOARD VOTE:

___KW__  __LR  ___  __EF ___  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."

2.  Further, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) shall remit
payment in the amount of $22,269.26 to the applicant 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.




                                  _____Kenneth Wright______
                                            CHAIRPERSON


INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060008710                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20070123                                |
|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.       |103.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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