IN THE CASE OF:	 

		BOARD DATE:	  8 June 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090017893 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests that his Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship debt be waived and any monies paid be returned to him.

2.  The applicant states he believes his service as a warrant officer on active duty satisfies the intent of his ROTC contact to derive military service for his scholarship. 

3.  The applicant provides copies of his DA Form 3286-63 (Statement for Enlistment), his DD Form 4/1 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document), his DA Form 71 (Oath of Office), and his Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) Account Statement.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant's available military records show he enlisted as a cadet on
27 November 1995 contracted under the ROTC Scholarship Cadet Program at Western Kentucky University, for a period of 8 years.

2.  On an unknown date he was disenrolled from the ROTC Program for breach of contract.  His election form issued upon his disenrollment is not available to the Board for review.  There is no evidence he elected to enter active duty to fulfill his contractual obligation at that time.

3.  He enlisted in the Regular Army in pay grade E-3 on 8 August 2001, for 4 years, with an enlistment bonus of $11,000.00.  He was released from active duty on 19 June 2003 and he was appointed in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) as a warrant officer one on 20 June 2003.  He is currently serving on active duty.

4.  His DFAS Account Statement, dated 31 August 2009, shows he has an established debt with a new balance of $2,885.34.

5.  On 15 October 2009, he was notified by the Board to provide a copy of his Army ROTC Enrollment contract and his Disenrollment contract with all the addendums.  He did not respond.

6.  In an advisory opinion, dated 9 March 2010, the U.S. Army Cadet Command, Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, stated that the records pertaining to the applicant were extremely limited.  Unfortunately, the Board Proceedings from Western Kentucky University were not available.  The terms of the scholarship contract require that a Cadet either repay the debt monetarily or agree to be ordered to active duty through the Cadet Command channels based on the needs of the Army.  The applicant was offered those options on 13 January 2000 after being disenrolled from the ROTC Program for breach of contract.  The applicant was aware of the option to enter active duty in repayment of his scholarship debt through Cadet Command channels.  Instead, he chose to repay the monthly installments and a debt was established with the DFAS-Denver Center on           8 March 2000.  Based on the information on the DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record), he is currently serving on active duty with the U.S. Army for a total of 4 years.  His current active duty service commitment is not the result of being ordered to active duty through Cadet Command channels in satisfaction of his ROTC contractual obligation.

7.  The U.S. Army Cadet Command Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, official also stated that the applicant’s enlisted service in the U.S. Army is not an authorized remedy for debt repayment under the terms of the ROTC contract.  He received an enlistment bonus of $11,000.00 in addition to $7,978.00 in scholarship benefits as a scholarship cadet.  He should be required to repay the scholarship benefits in accordance with his ROTC contract.

8.  On 16 March 2010, a copy of the advisory opinion was forwarded to the applicant for information and to allow him the opportunity to submit comments or a rebuttal.

9.  On 23 March 2010, a staff member of DFAS verified that a debt of $7,978.00 had been established against the applicant on 21 April 2000 and he was initially notified on 1 May 2000.  He has been paying on the debt, never been delinquent, and his remaining balance is $2,361.05.

10.  On 25 March 2010, the applicant responded to the advisory opinion.  He stated that the Cadet Command scholarship in no way covers the true cost of going to college.  He took out several college loans and worked full-time to just make ends meet while in school.  When he enlisted he was able to negotiate a bonus and used the majority of that funding to pay off his college loans.  From his point of view the opinion of using his enlistment bonus as grounds to deny his request is not valid.  The options presented at his disenrollment were to either pay back the scholarship or enlist.  He chose the former.  His enlistment in late August 2001 was of his own volition.  He was selected for the Warrant Officer Flight Training Program in 2003 and his enlist bonuses ceased.

11.  He also stated that as his records as an officer show he had not only exceeded the Cadet Command standard for an ROTC cadet, but he has moved way beyond the areas they taught in their classrooms.  He is a fully qualified Army Warrant Officer and he has continued to pay off the debt even though he thought enlisting was not the right option for him at that time, but he did not want to engage the leadership and agreed to pay the funding back over time.  He has never missed a payment and believes his request should be approved.  Many cadets who drop out or are dismissed do not pay anything back and he has been a good steward.

12.  Army Regulation 145-1 (Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps Program:  Organization, Administration, and Training), prescribes polices and general procedures for administering the Army's Senior ROTC Program.  This regulation specifies as part of a scholarship enlistment in the ROTC, an individual must sign a DA Form 597-3 (Army Senior ROTC Scholarship Cadet Contract), which is the agreement between the Army and a potential ROTC cadet.  The form contains the promises made between the Army and the potential cadet, and includes what action the Army will take in the event that a cadet fails to successfully complete the terms of the contract.  Paragraphs 3-43a(15) and 3-43a(16) specifies that non-scholarship and scholarship cadets will be disenrolled for indifferent attitude or lack of interest in military training and for breach of contract.

13.  Army Regulation 135-210 prescribes policies and procedures for ordering individual soldiers of the Army National Guard of the United States and the U.S. Army Reserve to active duty during peacetime.  In pertinent part, it states that former ROTC cadets, when ordered to active duty, will be ordered to report to the U. S. Army Reception Battalion and will be ordered to active duty in pay grade  E-1.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record confirms he was accepted into an Army ROTC scholarship program and that he failed to satisfy the contractual requirements of 
this program for an unknown reason.  He was disenrolled from the ROTC program and was subsequently found in breach of his ROTC contract.  Therefore, he was offered the opportunity to be ordered to active duty through Cadet Command channels, repay the debt in a lump sum, or repay the debt in monthly installments.  If appears he chose to repay his debt and a debt was established in March 2000.

2.  The evidence of record also shows he enlisted in the Regular Army on 8 August 2001 and he received an enlistment bonus.  He was subsequently appointed in the USAR on 20 June 2003 and he is currently serving on active duty.

3.  The terms of the ROTC scholarship contract require a cadet to either monetarily repay his/her debt or agree to be ordered to active duty (emphasis added) as an enlisted Soldier through Cadet Command channels based on the needs of the Army.  He did neither.  His enlistment in 2001, appointment in 2003, and current active duty service neither satisfy the requirements of being ordered to active duty through Cadet Command channels in satisfaction of his ROTC contractual obligation nor do they satisfy those contractual requirements.

4.  Each case is considered on its own merits.  In his case, he received monetary benefits in the form of an enlistment bonus of $11,000.00 subsequent to his disenrollment which was in addition to his scholarship benefits of $7,978.00 as a cadet.  His ROTC contract called for an expeditious call to active duty through Cadet Command channels based on the needs of the Army.  His subsequent enlistment in 2001 and appointment in 2003 after his disenrollment from ROTC were not expeditious and were not at the needs of the Army.  He breached his ROTC contract and he is not entitled to the relief requested.  There is also no evidence the applicant submitted an appeal to his disenrollment and the amount and validity of the debt.

5.  Although the applicant stated, in his rebuttal to the advisory opinion, that his enlistment bonus ceased after he was appointed as a warrant officer he provides no evidence to show how much of the enlistment bonus he actually received.

6.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.


BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____x____  ____x____  ____x____  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.




      _______ _   _x______   ___
               CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090017893



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090017893



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