IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 25 October 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160010524 BOARD VOTE: ___x_____ ___x___ ___x ___ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 25 October 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160010524 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 showing a waiver was granted authorizing him to enlist in the U.S. Army Reserve and then the Regular Army in pay grade E-3 in 2003 in lieu of an immediate enlistment in pay grade E-1 upon disenrollment from the Reserve Officers? Training Corps. 2. The Board further recommends that the Defense Finance and Accounting Service determine if he has been paid or is due to be paid a bonus or any other monetary incentives. In the event that he has been paid an enlistment or reenlistment bonus or becomes due for payment of such bonus, that bonus payment should be recouped from the original debt to offset an equal portion of his 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. IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 25 October 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160010524 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, in effect, his Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship debt to the United States government be waived. 2. The applicant states he returned from deployment in Afghanistan in January 2016. Shortly thereafter, he received a letter from the U.S. Department of the Treasury showing he had a debt in the amount of $16,452.19. a. He investigated the matter and also spoke with a Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) official. He learned that the debt was from his ROTC scholarship in 2003. He adds that it was considered an "out of service" debt, it was not reported through active duty channels, and all correspondence possibly went to old addresses. The debt (as of the date of his application) is $21,387.85. b. He states he had a 4-year active duty service obligation (ADSO) from his ROTC scholarship. During the time he was in ROTC he was not doing well. He also states that one of his parents passed away. He decided to enlist and enter active duty. He believed that his service would serve as a means of repaying the government for his education up to that point. c. He states he has served on active duty in the U.S. Army for 13 years, more than 3 times the ADSO requirement, and he was not aware of the debt during that time. d. He acknowledges that he was supposed to obtain approval to enter active duty in lieu of repaying the cost of his ROTC scholarship. He adds he was not aware of this until he contacted the ROTC administrative office at the college. e. The applicant requests personal appearance before the Board. 3. The applicant provides a copy of the U.S. Department of the Treasury letter. 4. On 13 July 2016, the Director, Case Management Division, Army Review Boards Agency, Arlington, VA, notified the applicant that in order for the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to consider his application, he must provide a copy of his ROTC program contract (with addendums), ROTC disenrollment documents, and DFAS correspondence pertaining to the debt. He was afforded a period of 30 days to allow him the opportunity to provide the documentation. A response was not received from the applicant. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. A copy of the applicant's ROTC Cadet Contract is not filed in his official military personnel file. 2. A DD Form 1966 (Record of Military Processing – Armed Forces of the United States), prepared and certified by the applicant and his military recruiter on 26 April 2003, shows, in pertinent part: a. Section III (Other Personal Data), item 22 (Education), line b (Have you ever been enrolled in ROTC, Junior ROTC, Sea Cadet Program, or Civil Air Patrol?), an "X" in the "Yes" column. b. A review of his DD Form 1966 failed to reveal an exception to Army Regulation 135-210 (Order to Active Duty as Individuals for Other than a Presidential Selected Reserve Call-Up, Partial, or Full Mobilization) was approved (i.e., ROTC scholarship recipient not ordered to active duty) allowing the applicant to enlist in the Regular Army (RA) in pay grade E-3 based on his service in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) ROTC program. 3. A DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document – Armed Forces of the United States) shows the applicant enlisted in the USAR on 26 April 2003 in pay grade E-2 for a period of 8 years. 4. A DD Form 1966, prepared and certified by the applicant and his military recruiter on 20 August 2003, shows, in pertinent part: a. Section III, item 22, line b (Have you ever been enrolled in ROTC, Junior ROTC, Sea Cadet Program, or Civil Air Patrol?), an "X" in the "Yes" column and in Section VI (Remarks) it states 2 years Junior ROTC and 3 years ROTC. b. A review of the DD Form 1966 failed to reveal an exception Army Regulation 135-210 was approved (i.e., ROTC scholarship receipt not ordered to active duty) allowing the applicant to enlist in the RA in pay grade E-3 based on his service in the USAR ROTC program. 5. A DD Form 4 shows the applicant enlisted in the RA on 2 September 2003 in pay grade E-3 for a period of 8 years. 6. A Statement for Enlistment, U.S. Army (USA) Enlistment Program (Annex B) shows the applicant enlisted for USA Training Enlistment Program, Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) 15R (AH-64 Attack Helicopter Repairer) and USA Incentive Enlistment Program (Partnership for Youth Success (PaYS) Program). The applicant and the recruiter signed the form on 2 September 2003. 7. The applicant was promoted to sergeant/pay grade E-5 on 1 September 2006. 8. A DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) shows the applicant entered active duty on 2 September 2003 and he was honorably discharged on 23 October 2007 to accept commission or warrant in the USA. He had completed 5 years, 1 month, and 22 days of net active service this period. 9. USA Installation Management Command, Headquarters, USA Garrison, Fort Rucker, AL, memorandum, dated 24 October 2007, appointed the applicant as a Reserve warrant officer of the Army, in the grade of rank of warrant officer one (WO1), on 24 October 2007. 10. USA Installation Management Command, Headquarters, USA Garrison, Fort Rucker, AL, Orders 284-382-A-1050, dated 15 October 2007, ordered the applicant to active duty on 24 October 2007 for a period of 6 years. A separate memorandum states his appointment is for an indefinite term. 11. He was promoted to chief warrant officer two on 24 October 2009. 12. In support of his application the applicant provides a copy of a U.S. Department of the Treasury, Debt Management Services, St. Louis, MO, letter addressed to the applicant (undated) and shows both the Federal Debt Case and Agency Debt identification numbers. It also shows the applicant's unpaid delinquent debt owed to the Department of Defense (DoD), DFAS, was referred to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for collection. According to the records of the DoD, the applicant owed $16,452.19. It also shows collection action would continue unless the applicant made payment, within ten (10) days from the date of the letter, in the amount of $21,387.85, which includes all applicable fees, interest, and penalties (as of the date of the letter). REFERENCES: 1. Army Regulation 15-185 (ABCMR) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the ABCMR. The regulation provides that the ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity. The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence. Paragraph 2-11 states that applicants do not have a right to a hearing before the ABCMR. The Director of the ABCMR or the chair of an ABCMR panel may grant a formal hearing whenever justice requires. 2. Army Regulation 135-210 (Order to Active Duty as Individuals for Other than a Presidential Selected Reserve Call-Up, Partial, or Full Mobilization) prescribes policies and procedures for ordering individual Soldiers of the Army National Guard of the United States and the USAR to active duty during peacetime. 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. 3. Army Regulation 145-1 (Senior ROTC Program: Organization, Administration, and Training) provides policies and general procedures for administering the Army's ROTC Program. Chapter 3 (Student Administration), paragraph 3-43 (Disenrollment), provides the reasons that an ROTC cadet may be disenrolled from the ROTC program. 4. Army Regulation 601-210 (Regular Army and Reserve Components Enlistment Program) prescribes eligibility criteria governing the enlistment of persons, with or without prior service, into the RA, the USAR, and the Army National Guard. Chapter 4 (Enlistment Waivers – Waiverable and Nonwaiverable Criteria and Administrative Instructions), provides that any exception granted must be annotated in the remarks section of the DD Form 1966 and noted on the waiver memorandum, if a waiver was required. 5. Title 10, U.S. Code (USC), section 2005 (Advanced education assistance: active duty agreement; reimbursement requirements), provides 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: a. to complete the educational requirements specified in the agreement and to serve on active duty for a period specified in the agreement; b. that if such person failed to complete the education requirements specified in the agreement, such person would serve on active duty for a period specified in the agreement; c. that if such person does not complete the period of active duty specified in the agreement, or does not fulfill any term or condition prescribed, such person shall be subject to the repayment provisions of Title 37 USC, section 303a(e); and d. to such other terms and conditions as the Secretary concerned may prescribe to protect the interest of the United States. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant contends, in effect, that his ROTC scholarship debt should be waived because he enlisted in the RA on 2 September 2003 and completed more than 5 years of active duty service in an enlisted status, which more than fulfills the 4-year ROTC ADSO he incurred. He is currently serving as a CW2 on active duty in the USA. 2. The applicant's request for a personal appearance hearing was considered. By regulation an applicant is not entitled to a hearing before the ABCMR. Hearings may be authorized by a panel of the ABCMR or by the Director of the ABCMR. The applicant failed to provide additional relevant evidence in response to a request by the Board. However, the evidence of record and independent evidence provided by the applicant (debt notification) is sufficient to render a fair and equitable decision. 3. The regulations governing the Board's operation require that the applicant's disenrollment as a Scholarship Cadet from the ROTC program under the provisions of Army Regulation 145-1 be presumed to have been in accordance with applicable law and regulations unless the applicant can provide evidence to overcome that presumption. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the ROTC disenrollment and discharge process is presumed proper and correct. 4. The evidence of record shows that, as a result of his disenrollment (on an unspecified date, presumably in early 2003), the applicant incurred an ROTC scholarship debt in the gross amount of $16,452.19. He has been informed his debt, including fees, interest, and penalties, is $21,387.85 and that the debt is currently being recouped by the U.S. Treasury. 5. The applicant enlisted in the USAR on 26 April 2003. He subsequently enlisted in the RA on 2 September 2003 in pay grade E-3. a. The applicant's enlistment in the RA and his completion of more than 5 years of honorable active duty enlisted service is acknowledged. b. The evidence of record fails to show the applicant was granted an exception to being expeditiously called to active duty upon disenrollment from the ROTC program in lieu of being required to repay scholarship benefits. c. At some point after his disenrollment, he enlisted in the RA in the pay grade of E-3 (vice E-1) with an MOS training option, along with the U.S. Army Incentive (PaYS) Enlistment Program. 6. The applicant's enlistment and service in the RA serve the same purpose as it would have had he been ordered to active duty. In other words, the Department of Defense received and continues to receive the benefit of his service. The evidence supports a conclusion that his RA enlistment met the active duty obligation required by his apparent ROTC scholarship contract. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160010524 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160010524 6 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2