MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           1 November 2001                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001057145

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the record of consideration of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		                         Director	
	Mr. Edmund P. Mercanti		                         Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Walter T. Morrison 		Chairperson	
	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Member	
	Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		Member	

	The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date.  In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

	The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

APPLICANT REQUESTS:  That his College Access Loan (CAL) be paid under the terms of his Loan Repayment Program (LRP) addendum.

APPLICANT STATES:  That when he enlisted in the Army Reserve Delayed Entry Program (DEP) he asked his recruiter if all of his college loans were payable under the LRP.  His recruiter told him that he wasn’t sure if all his loans were payable, and instructed him to ask that question of the people who would process his enlistment into the Regular Army at the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS).  When he complied with those instructions, the people processing his enlistment into the Regular Army at the MEPS told him that as long as his loans totaled less than $65,000.00 he would have nothing to worry about.

In support of his application he submits a memorandum from his recruiter who states that he wasn’t sure whether a promissory note that was given to him by the applicant was payable, so he sent a facsimile of the note to his brigade headquarters.  When he (the recruiter) didn’t receive a solid answer on the eligibility of the note to be paid under the LRP, he instructed the applicant to take that note to the MEPS when he was processed for enlistment and shipment and they would inform him then whether it was payable or not.

Also submitted by the applicant is a letter sent to him by the US Total Army Personnel Command in which he is informed that his CAL was not made or insured under the Higher Education Act of 1965 and, therefore, is not payable under the LRP.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records show:

He enlisted in the DEP on 22 October 1999.  He chose the enlistment options of training of choice for Electronic Warfare Signal Intelligence, of a $12,000.00 cash bonus, and the LRP.

He enlisted in the Regular Army for 5 years in pay grade E-4 on 19 January 2000.

At the time the applicant submitted his request to the Board, he was serving on active duty in pay grade E-4.

The LRP is an educational enlistment incentive which provides for payment of 33 1/3 percent or $1,500.00, whichever is less, of the unpaid principal of eligible student loans for each year of active duty a soldier completes.

Title 10, U.S. Code, section 2171, limits loans that are eligible for repayment under the LRP to those made, insured, or guaranteed under the Higher Education Act of 1965.
DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record and applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  While the applicant has demonstrated that his recruiter was unable to ascertain whether his CAL was payable under the LRP, he has not proven that he was misinformed by the people processing his enlistment into the Regular Army at the MEPS.

2.  The applicant received an enlistment bonus of $12,000.00 and training for a high skill military occupational specialty, both of which are significant enlistment incentives.  There is no evidence which would indicate that the applicant would have declined his enlistment, and with his enlistment a large bonus and skill training, if his CAL was not payable under the LRP.  As such, absent documentation to show that he was misinformed of his CAL’s eligibility to be paid under the LRP by the people processing his enlistment in the MEPS, the Board will not recommend that his request be approved.  

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

DETERMINATION:  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

__wtm __  ___aao__  ____clg _  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		    Carl W. S. Chun
		    Director, Army Board for Correction
    of Military Records

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001057145	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20011101	
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.	128.05	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.