PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           26 August 2003                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003091288

	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	
	Mr. G. E. Vandenberg		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond J. Wagner		Chairperson	
	Mr. Robert L. Duecaster		Member	
	Ms. Marla J. Troup		Member	

	The applicant and counsel, if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records:

	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion, if any).

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests, in effect, that his current active duty commitment and service be accepted in lieu of the service obligation and/or repayment of his Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) debt.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that his enlistment in the Regular Army should erase his ROTC debt by fulfilling his military obligation.

4.  Although the applicant's complete ROTC file is not available, the available records show that he incurred a $15,167.70 debt for disenrollment from a ROTC program in May 2002. 

5.  The applicant was notified of the disenrollment requirements and was provided his options as to repayment of the scholarship monies he had received. These options were to request a board of officers or an investigative officer to review his case, to waive his right to a hearing, to repay the funds he received, or to accept expeditious call to active duty in lieu of monetary repayment.  

6.  The applicant enlisted through a recruiter on 12 February 2003 with a 3 year obligation in the Regular Army.  He was afforded the enlistment incentives of entrance as an E-3, a guaranteed military occupation specialty, participation in the loan repayment program, and an $8,000.00 high school graduate bonus.

7.  He was notified of his indebtedness and recoupment actions initiated on 2 May 2003 and informed that he could apply to this Board.

8.  In the development of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from Headquarters, Cadet Command.  The Director, Personnel and Administration, noted that the applicant had been given an opportunity to elect to be ordered to active duty and had declined it.  The Director also noted that in similar cases individuals have been allowed to have their enlisted active duty service satisfy the ROTC contractual obligation.  He recommended that, if relief is granted, the applicant's enlistment bonus be recouped.

9.  A copy of the advisory opinion was forwarded to the applicant and he has failed to respond as of this time.

10.  The standard Army ROTC Scholarship Cadet Contract, DA Form 597-3, includes the following provisions and options:

a.  paragraph 7d states that if the cadet were disenrolled from the ROTC Program for any reason, the Secretary of the Army could order the cadet to reimburse the United States the dollar amount plus interest that bears the same ratio to the total cost of the scholarship financial assistance provided by the United States to the cadet as the unserved portion of active duty bears to the total period of active duty the cadet agreed to serve or was ordered to serve.  In lieu of repayment, the cadet could be ordered to active duty for not more than four years.

b.  paragraph 8 states that if called to active duty for breach of contract under the provisions of paragraph 7, the cadet would be ordered to active duty for a period of service based upon the year during which the breach occurs: i.e. for a Military Science II, 2 years; a Military Science III, 3 years; or a Military Science IV, 4 years.

11.  In accordance with Army Regulation 135-210, former ROTC cadets, when ordered to active duty, will be ordered to report to the U. S. Army Reception Battalion, bypassing the recruiting function where enlistment options are offered and negotiated, and will be ordered to active duty in pay grade E-1. 

12.  Army Regulation 145-1 provides, in pertinent part, that a scholarship or non-scholarship cadet under consideration for involuntary call to active duty for breach of contract will be so ordered within 60 days after they would normally complete baccalaureate degree requirements or the cadet is no longer enrolled in school.  The cadet will not be discharged/disenrolled from ROTC until determination has been received from Headquarters, Cadet Command.  If it is determined that the cadet will be ordered to active duty, the cadet will not be discharged, but Headquarters, Cadet Command will issue orders ordering them directly to active duty.  

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The available evidence and information indicates that the applicant was properly disenrolled from the ROTC and had enlisted without any prior agreement regarding debt relief.  The indebtedness was properly created and there is no error or injustice shown.

2.  Had the applicant not had a service or repayment obligation, based on the ROTC program requirements, he would have been entitled to all of the enlistment incentives he received including the $8,000.00 bonus.  However, he did have an existing obligation to either serve for 2 years or to repay the educational assistance monies that he had already received.

3.  If the applicant had chosen to enter active duty, or been involuntarily ordered to active duty, at the time of his disenrollment from ROTC, he would have been assigned according to the needs of the Army and would not have had the opportunity to choose his training nor to receive the cash bonus.  In this sense, the applicant has sustained an advantage over individuals who upon disenrollment from ROTC elected to enter active duty or were involuntarily ordered to active duty.  This advantage occurs because Army Regulation 145-1 dictates that cadets ordered to active duty for breach of contract are ordered directly to active duty in pay grade E-1.  Cadets so ordered report directly to a military installation and do not participate in the recruiting function where enlistment options are offered and negotiated.

4.  Although not provided for on the DA Form 597-3, the applicant’s 12 February 2003 enlistment in the Regular Army serves the same purpose as if he had been ordered to active duty.  The Department of the Army is still benefiting from his service for a period in excess of the 2 years obligated service he would have had to serve.  As a matter of equity it would be appropriate to consider his first two years of this enlistment as meeting the active duty obligation required by his ROTC scholarship contract. 

5.  However, negating the applicant's entire $15,167.70 debt plus allowing him to receive the $8,000 enlistment bonus, a bonus he would not ordinarily have been entitled to, creates a windfall.  The enlistment bonus is a legitimate factor to be considered in balancing equitable relief regarding the ROTC debt.

6.  The applicant's enlistment bonus equates to receipt of $2,666 per year of obligated service.  The Board concludes that an equitable balance is reached by forgiving the applicant's ROTC indebtedness except that portion that would equal two years of his enlistment bonus ($5,332) based on the fact that he would have had to have served this period (two years) to fulfill his ROTC obligation.

7.  The Board further directs that the Defense Finance and Accounting Service audit the applicant's pay records and record of payment and apply any monies already collected against the adjusted indebtedness ($5,332) plus the appropriate interest.  Further, if an amount in excess that has already been collected that that money will be returned to the applicant.

8.  If, however, the applicant fails to complete the obligated period of enlisted service either voluntarily or because of misconduct, his total ROTC debt would be required to be recouped on a pro-rated basis.

9.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, correcting the applicant’s records as recommended below will correct an error.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by:

	a.  amending the applicant’s ROTC scholarship contract to show that he would satisfy the service obligation under the original terms of the ROTC contract as a Regular Army enlisted soldier;

	b.  directing that the Defense Finance and Accounting Service audit the applicant's pay records and record of debt recoupment and apply any monies already collected against the adjusted indebtedness ($5,332) and the appropriate interest; 

	c.  suspending collection of the remainder of the $15,167.70 (and any accrued interest) ROTC debt during this enlistment, to be remitted upon satisfactory completion of his two years of obligated enlisted service; and,

d.  showing that if he fails to complete the period of obligated enlisted service, either voluntarily or because of misconduct, his ROTC debt would be required to be recouped on a pro-rated basis.

2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

__RJW__  __RLD __  __MJT__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_   Raymond J. Wagner___
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003091288	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20030826	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	ROTC Debt 	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.