IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 15 May 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140003237
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 remission/cancellation of his Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) debt.
2. The applicant states, in effect, that he entered active duty because he was informed he could repay his debt through active service and he has now served over 4 years. He originally disputed the debt in 2010 when he had less than 2 years of service and was told by Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) officials that he had to have more than 2 years of service. He also states that Judge Advocate officials informed him that the debt would be forgiven, and he stopped receiving debt notices until January 2012 when he received a notice from the Department of the Treasury. He has deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, and Enduring Freedom and believes his service to his country should satisfy his debt.
3. The applicant provides a one-page letter explaining his application, his original notification of debt, permanent change of station orders, documents from his Army Military Human Resource Record, deployment orders, Leave and Earnings Statements, a dispute of his indebtedness, officer evaluation reports, and a blank ROTC contract.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant has not provided and the records do not contain his ROTC contract; however, his records show that he enlisted in the Regular Army (RA) in the pay grade of E-4 on 27 July 2009 for a period of 3 years under the Officer Candidate School enlistment option. He completed his training and was honorably discharged on 13 January 2010 to accept a commission.
2. On 14 January 2010, he was commissioned as an RA Military Intelligence second lieutenant and after completion of his training he was transferred to Fort Carson, Colorado for his first assignment.
3. On 19 July 2010, DFAS dispatched a bill to the applicant in the amount of $4,433.54.
4. The applicant has continued to serve and was promoted to the rank of captain on 1 January 2014.
5. On 22 January 2014, the Bureau of Fiscal Services, Department of the Treasury notified the applicant that he was indebted to the Government in the amount of $6,963.83 and that the debt was referred by DFAS.
6. Title 10, U.S. Code (10 USC), section 2005(a)(3), states, in pertinent part, that the Secretary concerned may require, as a condition to the Secretary providing advanced education assistance to any person, that such person enter into a written agreement with the Secretary concerned under the terms of which such person shall agree that if such person, voluntarily or because of misconduct, fails to complete the period of active duty specified in the agreement, or fails to fulfill any term or condition prescribed by the Secretary to protect the interest of the United States, such person will reimburse the United States in an amount that bears the same ratio to the total costs of advanced education provided such person as the un-served portion of active duty bears to the total period of active duty such person agreed to serve.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant's contention that his active duty service in the RA should fulfill his obligation under his breached ROTC contract was carefully considered. The applicant's ROTC contract would have called for an expeditious call to active duty in an enlisted status through ROTC channels for the needs of the Army. Nevertheless, in this case, the applicants enlistment and active duty service in the RA more than serve the same purpose as would have been served had he been ordered to active duty in the Army through ROTC channels.
2. The record shows that as a result of the applicants active duty service, the Government will receive the benefit of his service for more than the period he would have served had he been ordered to active duty as a result of breaching his ROTC contract.
3. Had the applicant chosen active duty or been involuntarily ordered to active duty as a result of disenrollment, he would have been assigned against the needs of the Army, in pay grade E-1, and not allowed any monetary enlistment options. While his available records do not show that he received any enlistment bonus, the prospect of negating the applicant's debt for a free education he received from the Army, plus allowing him to receive any enlistment bonus he ordinarily would not have received, would be a windfall.
4. If DFAS records show the applicant did in fact receive an enlistment bonus, and while the Board has no jurisdiction to stop any enlistment bonus, any such bonus would be a legitimate factor to consider in granting or denying equitable relief regarding the ROTC debt.
5. In view of the facts of this case, it would be appropriate to consider his active duty service to have met the active duty obligation required by his ROTC scholarship contract as a matter of equity.
BOARD VOTE:
___x____ ____x___ ____x___ 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 his ROTC scholarship contract to show that he will satisfy his entire ROTC scholarship debt under the original terms of the ROTC contract as a result of completing 4 years of active duty in the RA.
2. The portion of the ROTC debt that would be satisfied by the above correction will be the total amount of the ROTC debt minus any cash enlistment bonus he may have received.
_______ _ _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) AR20140003237
3
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140003237
2
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140018077
The applicant states: * he is not in possession of his complete Army record despite requests for it, but he has submitted all documents in his possession with his request * he has always had the desire to serve in the Army as a chaplain * he enrolled in the ROTC Program at Baptist Bible College, Pennsylvania and executed an Army Senior ROTC Scholarship Cadet Contract to achieve that goal * he understood his obligations under the contract to consist of remaining enrolled as a full-time...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140019281
He agreed to serve on enlisted active duty: Under the terms of this contract, the Secretary of the Army or his or her designee, may order him to active duty as an enlisted Soldier, if he was qualified, for a period of not more than two (2) years if he failed to complete the ROTC program and is disenrolled after the point of obligation. Specifically, he stated he wanted to explain why he did not enter basic training until July 2013, confirm that he did not receive any benefit during his...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140015684
The applicant requests his active service as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy (USN) since 16 April 2010 be accepted in lieu of his Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship debt of $43,404.97. The applicant provides: * DA Form 5315-E (U.S. Army Advanced Education Financial Assistance Record), dated 5 April 2006 * a letter, dated 22 November 2006, from DFAS * a letter, dated 10 April 2010, from the Department of the Treasury Financial Management Service * a certificate,...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120010919
His DD Form 1966 (Record of Military Processing) shows he enlisted for the U.S. Army Training Enlistment Program for a period of 5 years, he was authorized a $1,000 enlistment bonus, and enlistment in the grade of E-3 upon his entry on active duty (24 May 2010), by virtue of having completed 48 or more semester hours. Additionally, the commanding general provided the applicant with a DA Form 5315-E (U.S. Army Advanced Education Financial Assistance Record) detailing the debt and ordered the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130001909
c. A DA Form 597-3 he executed on 20 October 2010 which shows in: (1) Part I (Agreement of the Department of the Army) shows an agreement for a period of 2 academic years of tuition and educational fees up to an amount of $30,000.00 and for books and laboratory expenses a flat rate of $1,200.00; (2) Paragraph 5 (Terms of Disenrollment) of the applicant's DA Form 597-3 states that if the cadet was disenrolled from the ROTC Program for any reason, the Secretary of the Army could order the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130015211
The applicant states that he believes his ROTC Scholarship debt should be remitted/cancelled because he served on active duty more than 3 years. Had the applicant chosen active duty or been involuntarily ordered to active duty as a result of his disenrollment, he would have been assigned against the needs of the Army, in pay grade E-1, and not allowed any monetary enlistment options. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130022218
f. Once he became obligated and was disenrolled from the ROTC Program for breach of contractual terms or any other disenrollment criteria (1) he agreed to serve on enlisted active duty for a period of not more than 4 years or (2) if offered the opportunity to repay his advanced educational assistance in lieu of being ordered to active duty, he would be required to reimburse the U.S. Government an amount equal to the entire amount of financial assistance paid by the United States for his...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140003275
The applicant provides an email, dated 4 November 2010, to Ms. NC, USACC, wherein he stated "I received the attached file because I disenrolled from the Army ROTC at the UW. c. A letter written to the applicant, dated 7 November 2013, from DFAS, wherein it stated the applicant would need to contact his former ROTC command to protest his debt. The evidence of record confirms the applicant enlisted in an ROTC program.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140010738
The applicant's record shows he entered the ROTC Program on 27 February 2008; however, his DA Form 597-3 (Army Senior ROTC Scholarship Cadet Contract) is not available. His DD Form 785 indicates he was disenrolled from the ROTC Program on 11 February 2011. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. amending his ROTC Program Scholarship Contract to reflect that his debt obligation will be satisfied upon...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130014760
The applicant states, in effect, that he was disenrolled from the Army ROTC program in December 2011 after having received scholarship benefits for 2 1/2 years and received a debt notice from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) in the amount of $100,560.00. Nevertheless, in this case, the applicants enlistment and active duty service in the Regular Army more than serve the same purpose as would have been served had he been ordered to active duty in the Army through ROTC...