RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        31 August 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060008782


      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. William D. Powers             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Jeffrey C. Redmann            |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Karmin S. Jenkins             |     |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 Citibank loans be paid off per his
enlistment contract.

2.  The applicant states that he enlisted in the Army in May 2005 after
graduating from graduate school.  As one of the incentives for his
enlistment, his recruiter and the recruiting battalion offered him the Loan
Repayment Program (LRP).  He has three student loans:  U.S. Department of
Education (Direct Loan); Citibank (South Dakota) Atlantic Credit and
Finance; and Citibank MasterCard-UNIFUND Corporation.  The Citibank’s loans
have been rejected by the Chief of the Education Incentives Branch.  They
said that the Citibank’s loans do not qualify for repayment because it
(sic) was given in the form of a credit card, even though the credit card
have (sic) been used to pay his college tuition.

3.  The applicant states he believes he was not properly counseled and has
been wrongly enlisted.  The copy of his Citibank debt was even in his
enlistment package.

4.  The applicant provides his loan repayment application packet for the
Citibank (South Dakota) loan; a U. S. Army Human Resources Command,
Education Incentives Branch letter dated 10 March 2006; a Student Accounts
Summary with ten “PAY CAR___” entries highlighted; a Transaction Summary
Report with two sections (“CHEK Check” and VISA Visa Card”) highlighted;
and two Account Detail Review Forms – Student, with two “CHARGE PAYME___”
highlighted.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant entered the Delayed Entry Program on 21 May 2005.  On
  31 May 2005, he signed a Statement for Enlistment United States Army
Enlistment Program United States Army Delayed Enlistment Program form that
shows he enlisted for the Army Training Enlistment Program; the Army High
Grad Bonus (Bachelor); the LRP up to a maximum repayment of $65,000; the
Army Partnership for Youth Success (PAYS) program; and the Critical
Shortage Accession Bonus ($13,000).

2.  On that form, the applicant 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.  The types of loans that qualified for
the LRP were:  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 (in his name), and Parent Loans for Undergraduate
Students (PLUS loans).

3.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 1 June 2005 for 4 years.


4.  On 21 February 2006, the applicant applied for repayment of his
Citibank (South Dakota) loan.

5.  In their 10 March 2006 letter to the applicant, the Education
Incentives Branch informed him that, when the DD Form 2475 (DOD Educational
Loan Repayment Program (LRP) Annual Application) was sent to Citibank, they
forwarded it on to UNIFUND.  UNIFUND responded to the Education Incentives
Branch by returning the DD Form 2475 with a post-it note indicating “This
is NOT an educational loan; therefore, UNIFUND will not fill out enclosed
form.”  The Education Incentives Branch then contacted Citibank on the
applicant’s behalf.  Citibank claimed that the applicant had no loan with
their company; therefore, based on the information provided by UNIFUND, the
Education Incentives Branch determined that his loan did not qualify for
repayment under the LRP.

6.  On 24 August 2006, the Education Incentives Branch informed the Board
analyst that the applicant has $42,173.87 in qualifying loans and that
$14,057.96 had thus far been disbursed.

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 635-200 sets forth the basic authority for the
separation of enlisted personnel from the Regular Army.  Paragraph 7-16
discusses defective or unfulfilled enlistment or reenlistment agreements.
It states that an enlisted Soldier will be discharged when a defective
enlistment or reenlistment agreement exists (i.e., when a material
misrepresentation by recruiting personnel, upon which the Soldier
reasonably relied, resulting in the Soldier being induced to enlist for
that option; or due to an administrative oversight or error on the part of
the recruiting personnel, in which the Soldier did not knowingly take part,
in failing to detect that the Soldier did not meet all the requirements for
the enlistment commitment).  An unfulfilled enlistment commitment exists
when the Soldier receives a written enlistment commitment from recruiting
personnel for which the Soldier was qualified but which cannot be fulfilled
by the Army through no fault of the Soldier.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record shows that the applicant enlisted for the LRP
incentive in addition to other incentives.  He has $47,173.87 in qualifying
loans; however, it appears that the loan he received from Citibank was not
an educational loan.  As he stated, the loan was given in the form of a
credit card, and thus appears to be a form of a credit line rather than a
loan.

2.  The applicant’s enlistment contract specified what types of loans
qualified for repayment under the LRP.  All of the types specified had the
word “loan” in their titles (e.g., Perkins Loans).  Citibank informed the
Education and Incentives Branch that the applicant did not have a loan with
their company.

3.  The applicant has failed to provide sufficient evidence to show he
believed, upon his enlistment, that his Citibank “loan” qualified for
repayment under the LRP or that he predicated his enlistment solely on his
belief that his Citibank “loan” qualified for repayment under the LRP.

4.  The applicant may request discharge for a defective or unfulfilled
enlistment agreement.  The applicant discovered the problem less than one
year after his enlistment.  It would be appropriate at this early date to
deny the relief requested and to require the applicant to apply for the
relief provided for by regulation.  In the event he does not desire to do
so, his lack of action would be taken as his agreement to waive that
enlistment incentive.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__wdp___  __jcr___  __ksj___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable
error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall
merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the
records of the individual concerned.




                                  __William D. Powers__
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060008782                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060831                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.       |112.12                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


-----------------------
[pic]