PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:     

	BOARD DATE:           24 June 2003                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002082642

	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. Edmund P. Mercanti		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Margaret K. Patterson		Chairperson	
	Mr. Ronald E. Blakely		Member	
	Mr. Frank C. Jones, II		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 records be corrected to show that he elected the Loan Repayment Program (LRP) enlistment incentive instead of the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB).

3.  The applicant states that he was under the belief that the LRP was only valid for paying student loans leading to an undergraduate degree.  As such, he never mentioned his student loans to his recruiter.  If he had known the LRP would pay for the loans he had made for medical school, he would have opted for the LRP instead of the MGIB.

4.  In support of his request, he submits promissory notes showing that he has $17,647.18 in outstanding student loans as of 7 July 2003.

5.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in the Regular Army for 5 years on 7 May 2002 in pay grade E-4.  The applicant elected the $20,000.00 enlistment bonus, the MGIB, and the Special Forces Trainee options in conjunction with his enlistment.  The applicant’s enlistment packet shows that he had been conferred a Doctorate from the University of Santo Tomas in January 2001.

6.  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.  When a soldier enlists for this option, a DA Form 3286-66 must be completed indicating that he has been promised the LRP, and the soldier must disenroll from the MGIB.  Only those loans made or insured under the Higher Education Act of 1966 are payable under the LRP.

7.  The MGIB, as outlined in title 38, United States Code, provides for soldiers who entered the service after 30 June 1985 to be automatically enrolled into the MGIB and to contribute $1,200.00 during their first 12 months service, which is non-refundable.  The Department of Veterans Affairs will provide soldiers who enrolled in this program with monthly educational benefits after their discharge when they attend college or other institution of higher learning.

8.  In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Total Army Personnel Command (PERSCOM).  The PERSCOM stated that the LRP is not a benefit a soldier becomes eligible to receive while on active duty, it is an option elected at the time of enlistment.  The PERSCOM continued that since the applicant did not disenroll from the MGIB, he was not eligible for the 
LRP.  The PERSCOM recommended denial of the applicant’s request.  The 

applicant was provided a copy of this advisory opinion and given the opportunity to submit additional comments and/or documentation.  The applicant did not respond.

9.  In the processing of this case, the staff of the Board contacted the PERSCOM and confirmed that the applicant’s Military Occupational Specialty qualified for the LRP at the time of his enlistment, and his loans are payable under the LRP since they were made or insured under the Higher Education Act of 1966.  The PERSCOM also confirmed that the applicant was, in fact, eligible for both the LRP and a cash bonus at the time of his enlistment.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  By the applicant’s own admission, he did not tell his recruiter that he had any student loans at the time he enlisted.  As such, there is no error in his election of the MGIB and the omission of an LRP addendum from his enlistment contract.

2.  However, it is apparent that the applicant was misinformed concerning the scope of the LRP.  No reasonable person would elect the MGIB when he was eligible for the LRP when that person already possessed a doctorate and had outstanding student loans.  

3.  The Board has carefully considered the PERSCOM’s advisory opinion in this case, and fully concurs with the PERSCOM’s assessment that no error was made in the applicant’s case and that there are no provisions to establish LRP eligibility after a soldier enlists.  This is a thorough and proper analysis of the regulations and laws as it applies to this case.

4.  However, the Board is not confined to correcting errors in records.  The circumstances in this case lead the Board to conclude that, since it is apparent that the applicant mistakenly thought that the LRP wouldn’t pay for loans to pay for graduate school and he was eligible for the LRP when he enlisted, it would be equitable to correct the applicant’s records to show that he disenrolled from the MGIB and completed an LRP addendum at the time of his enlistment.

5.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

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

	a.  showing that the individual concerned disenrolled from the MGIB at the time of his enlistment; 
	b.  showing that he completed an LRP addendum at the time of his enlistment; and

	c.  returning to him the contributions he has made towards the MGIB.

BOARD VOTE:  

___mkp__  ___reb__  ____fcj__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__________Margaret K. Patterson______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002082642	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2002082642	
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.		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.