IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 1 May 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140004411
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 termination of his Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship debt.
2. The applicant states, in effect, that at the time he did not realize the opportunity he had before him and he decided to disenroll from ROTC and pursue a career as an enlisted man. He understood he would be required to serve the needs of the Army but thought he would best serve the Army in a military occupational specialty (MOS) of his choosing. He was told that if he elected the pay-back option his active duty service would serve as monetary pay back.
3. The applicant provides a one-page letter explaining his application, documents related to his disenrollment, his reenlistment contract, Enlisted Record Brief, and a letter to the Training and Doctrine Command commander.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant was disenrolled from the senior ROTC program at Northwestern University on 20 December 2010 and resigned from Northwestern University on 16 January 2010. He was notified that he had a debt to the government in the amount of $18,183.15 and he elected to repay the debt.
2. On 15 March 2011, he enlisted in the Regular Army in the pay grade of E-3 for a period of 3 years and 18 weeks and training as a cavalry scout. His enlistment contract does not reflect any monetary incentives being offered for his enlistment.
3. He completed his one-station unit training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and was transferred to Fort Bragg, North Carolina where he currently serves.
4. On 4 November 2013, he reenlisted for a period of 2 years in the pay grade of E-4, with no bonus entitlement.
5. 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 Regular Army should fulfill his obligation under his breached ROTC contract was carefully considered. The applicant's ROTC contract called for an expeditious call to active duty in an enlisted status through ROTC channels at the needs of the Army. Nevertheless, in this case, the applicantÂ’s 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 channels.
2. The record shows that as a result of the applicantÂ’s active duty service, the Government will receive the benefits 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 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. 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 without becoming an officer, 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:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
___x____ ___x____ ___x____ 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 partial 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 ROTC scholarship debt of $18,183.15 under the original terms of the ROTC contract as a result of completing 3 years of active duty in the Regular Army.
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.
3. The Board further determined that the evidence presented was insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief. As a result, the Board recommends
denial of so much of the application that pertains to terminating his entire ROTC scholarship debt.
___________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.
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