ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 1 April 2021 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20200001218 APPLICANT REQUESTS: reconsideration of his previous request for cancellation/ remission of his Reserve Officers’ Training Corps debt, due to his active duty service. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record), dated 20 January 2020 * Self-authored Statement, dated 20 January 2020 * Email appeal for AR20180015213, dated 28 January 2020 * DA Form 597-3 (Army Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Scholarship Cadet Contract), dated 20 November 2013 * DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document – Armed Forces of the United States), dated 20 November 2013 * Department of the Army, San Diego State University Memorandum, dated 29 October 2015 * Department of Military Science Memorandum for Record, dated 29 October 2015 * DD Form 785 (Record of Disenrollment from Officer Candidate – Type Training), dated 7 December 2015 * Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) Account Statement, dated 4 February 2016 * DD Form 4, dated 22 February 2016 * Army Achievement Medal Certificate, dated 24 June 2016 * DA Form 1059, dated 22 March 2019 * Army Review Boards Agency, Case Management Division Letter, dated 27 September 2019 * Enlisted Record Brief, dated 24 January 2020 * DFAS Installment Agreement, dated 16 February 2020 FACTS: 1. Incorporated herein by reference are military records that were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20180015213 on 8 November 2019. 2. The applicant states: a. He accepted a ROTC scholarship in the Fall of 2013 and participated in the program through Summer 2015 before deciding he was better suited for the Enlisted career path. He enlisted in the Army in February 2016 and completed the Special Forces Qualification Course in August 2018. He is a 18D (Special Forces Medical Sergeant) with B Company, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne); b. In 2018, he applied for debt forgiveness relating to his disenrollment from the ROTC at San Diego State University. On 8 January 2020, he received a letter from the ABCMR requesting additional evidence to support his claim. The letter was dated 27 September 2019 with a suspense date of 27 October 2019. The letter was mailed to his old duty station, Address X (Fort Bragg, North Carolina), and he did not have the chance to provide the additional evidence before his case was administratively closed. His current address is Address Y (). c. Outlined in the terms of disenrollment in the ROTC contract, he would have been required to serve 3 years on active duty in order to repay the debt. The ROTC contract deems enlisted active duty service as a viable means to pay back monetary debt. He has essentially taken the same route as service in lieu of repayment, except he has served longer than the original service obligation. 3. Following prior honorable service in the U.S. Army Reserve, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 22 February 2016. 4. The applicant provides: a. DA Form 597-3, dated 20 November 2013, outlining the terms of his ROTC scholarship contract showing he was enrolled at San Diego State University from 20 November 2013 through 18 May 2017; (1) Under Part II (Agreement of Scholarship Cadet Contracting in the Senior ROTC Program), Item 4 (Cadet Agreement Upon Program Completion), Paragraph a1 (Active Duty Assignment), he agreed to serve 4 years on Active Duty as a Commissioned Officer in the Regular Army; and (2) Under Part II, Item 5 (Terms of Disenrollment), Paragraph e (I Agree That Any Obligation to Reimburse Will Not Be Altered by Subsequent Enlisted Duty), he understood that if he disenrolled from ROTC, the Secretary of the Army retained the right to either order him to active duty or order monetary repayment of scholarship benefits. If required to repay his advanced educational assistance, subsequent enlistment in the Armed Forces would not relieve him from the repayment obligation. b. DD Form 4, dated 20 November 2013, showing that he enlisted as an Army Reserve Cadet on 20 November 2013; c. Department of the Army, San Diego State University Memorandum, dated 29 October 2015, showing that he withdrew from his Military Science classes; which breached the terms of his ROTC contract and his Professor of Military Science (PMS) initiated his disenrollment from the ROTC program; d. Department of Military Science Memorandum for Record, dated 29 October 2015, showing that he was served with the Notification of Disenrollment from the ROTC and Appellate Rights of Scholarship Memorandum; e. DD Form 785, dated 7 December 2015, showing that his disenrollment was effective 30 November 2015 and he utilized $23,000.00 of his scholarship; f. DFAS Account Statement, dated 4 February 2016, showing that he owes $23,000.00 for ROTC Education Tuition Assistance. The installment amount was $640.27 and the interest rate was 0.14 percent; g. DD Form 4, dated 22 February 2016, showing that he enlisted in the Regular Army as a Private First Class on 22 February 2016; for 4 years and 19 weeks; h. Army Achievement Medal Certificate, dated 24 June 2016; i. DA Form 1059, dated 22 March 2019, showing that he completed the Special Forces Medical Sergeant Course and Advanced Leader Course from 22 November 2016 through 22 March 2019. He received all Superior ratings and exceeded course standards; j. Army Review Boards Agency, Case Management Division Letter, dated 27 September 2019, showing that his application did not provided sufficient evidence to support the requested change. The letter was mailed to Address X with a suspense of 27 October 2019; k. Enlisted Record Brief, dated 24 January 2020; and l. DFAS Installment Agreement, dated 16 February 2020, showing his total balance due as $28,569.41, his installment amount as $193.07, the interest rate at 0.14 percent, and the penalty administrative fees as $166.93. 5. On 8 November 2019, the Army Review Boards Agency, Case Management Division administratively closed his request under Docket Number AR20180015213 since the requested evidence was not received by the suspense date. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found that relief was warranted. The applicant’s contentions, his military record, and regulatory guidance were carefully considered. The Board noted the terms of disenrollment in the ROTC contract, state the applicant would have been required to serve 3 years on active duty in order to repay the debt. The Board agreed the ROTC contract deems enlisted active duty service as a viable means to pay back monetary debt and the applicant has fulfilled the active duty service requirement; thereby warranting correction to the applicant’s records. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 XXX XX XX GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant amendment of the ABCMR's decision in Docket Number AR20180015213 dated 8 November 2019. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by showing cancellation/ remission of his Reserve Officers’ Training Corps debt, due to his active duty service. 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. REFERENCES: 1. Title 10, U.S. Code (USC), section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within three years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the ABCMR to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the three-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. Title 10, 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 (usually a four-year enlistment at the grade of E-1, in a military occupational specialty at the needs of the Army); 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. 3. Title 10, USC, section 2005(a)(3), states, in pertinent part, 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. 4. Army Regulation 145-1 (Senior ROTC Program Organization, Administration, and Training) provides processes and procedures for all of the Army ROTC Incentives Programs. A nonscholarship cadet may be disenrolled by the PMS. A scholarship cadet may be disenrolled only by the Commanding General, Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Cadet Command (ROTCCC). Disenrollment authority does not include the discharge authority for Simultaneous Membership Program participants. Nonscholarship and scholarship cadets will be disenrolled for the following reasons: a. To receive an appointment or enter an officer training program other than ROTC. The release must be approved by the region commander or higher headquarters; b. To receive training under Army Medical Department programs such as Health Professional Scholarship Programs and United States Uniform Health Services; c. At their own request, if they are nonscholarship basic course cadets. The 4-year scholarship cadets may disenrolled at their own request during Military Science I only; d. Because of withdrawal or dismissal from the academic institution. A former cadet may be reenrolled if he or she enters a school that offers ROTC, provided that he or she meets the reenrollment criteria in paragraph 3–16; e. Medical disqualification (to include pregnancy if complications exist) when determined and approved by Headquarters, ROTCCC, or higher authority. A medical condition that precludes appointment will be cause for disenrollment; f. Failure to maintain a minimum semester or quarter cumulative academic GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale or higher if required by the school and at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or equivalent semester or quarter and cumulative average in all ROTC courses; g. Personal hardship as specified in Army Regulation 635–200, chapter 6; h. Failure to meet the same requirements of the Army Weight Control Program and the Army Physical Fitness test as required of active duty Soldiers prior to the end of the last school term of the Military Science III year; i. For being an approved conscientious objector. j. For being dismissed from advanced camp, receiving a recommendation not to receive credit for advanced camp or withdrawal from advanced camp for reasons other than breach of contract. If breach of contract is involved, (see 16 below); k. It is discovered that a fact or condition exists that will bar a cadet for appointment as a commissioned officer, to include a positive urinalysis for drug and alcohol abuse. When a cadet is under charges, in confinement or under investigation, will be notified immediately if the cadet is a Military Science IV and an accession file was evaluated by Headquarters, Department of the Army ROTC Selection Board; l. Misconduct, demonstrated by disorderly or disrespectful conduct in the ROTC classroom or during training, or other misconduct that substantially interferes with the ROTC mission, including participation in unlawful demonstrations against the ROTC, illegal interference with rights of other ROTC students, or similar acts; m. Inaptitude for military service as demonstrated by lack of general adaptability, skill, hardiness, ability to learn, or leadership abilities; n. Undesirable character demonstrated by cheating on examinations, stealing, unlawful possession, use, distribution, manufacture, sale (including attempts) of any controlled substances, as listed or defined in 21 United States Code 812, discreditable incidents with civil or university authorities, falsifying academic records or any forms of academic dishonesty, failure to pay just debts, or similar acts. Such acts may also be characterized as misconduct; o. Indifferent attitude or lack of interest in military training as evidenced by frequent absences from military science classes or drill, an established pattern of shirking, failure to successfully complete an established weight control program, or similar acts; and p. Breach of contract (including formerly used term willful evasion). Breach is defined as any act, performance or nonperformance on the part of a student that breaches the terms of the contract regardless of whether the act, performance or nonperformance was done with specific intent to breach the contract or whether the student knew that the act, performance or nonperformance breaches the contract). 5. Army Regulation 600-4 (Remission or Cancellation of Indebtedness) provides policy and instructions for submitting and processing packets for remission or cancellation of indebtedness to the U.S. Army. Requests for remission or cancellation of indebtedness must be based on injustice, hardship, or both. A Soldier's debt to the U.S. Army may be remitted or canceled on the basis of this regulation in cases arising from debts incurred while serving on active duty or in an active status as a Soldier. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20200001218 5 1