IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 25 October 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150013166 BOARD VOTE: _________ _______ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ____x___ ____x___ ____x____ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 25 October 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150013166 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. _____________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: AR20150013166 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 his Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) debt to the United States government for not completing the requirements of his scholarship be waived. 2. The applicant states he graduated from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in 2009. While at VMI he joined the ROTC program and had aspirations of serving as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. At the end of his second class year, he became interested in being commissioned in the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC). a. He discussed this with the USMC selection officer and was slotted for Officer Candidate School (OCS) in October 2009. He injured his leg and was unable to attend OCS. After almost a year of recovery, he resubmitted his OCS application for a January 2011 class. There were a lot of applicants and he was advised to apply for the June 2011 OCS class; however, he was not selected. b. He joined a USMC reserve reconnaissance unit in Atlanta, GA, in an effort to obtain an officer position; however, he was not successful. He was then made aware of USMC military occupational specialty (MOS) 0321 (Reconnaissance). He applied for the MOS, tested, interviewed, and was accepted. c. He enlisted in the USMC on 7 January 2013 with a 5-year commitment. He was initially stationed at Camp Lejeune, NC, and then assigned to Okinawa in September 2015. 3. The applicant provides copies of a self-authored statement (summarized above) and a Basic Individual Record. 4. On 15 April 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 Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) correspondence pertaining to the debt. He was afforded a period of 30 days to allow him the opportunity to provide the documentation. a. On 9 May 2016, the applicant's father responded. He stated that the applicant is in USMC Force Reconnaissance and stationed at Camp Schwab, Okinawa. His communications with the applicant are very limited due to his work commitments and the time differential. He requested a 90-day extension (to 15 August 2016) to allow them to obtain the necessary information from the VMI ROTC office. b. No further response has been received. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. A review of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Integrated Web Services shows the applicant as a cadet with a date of rank of 11 March 2009. 2. A copy of the applicant's ROTC Cadet Contract is not filed in his official military personnel file (OMPF). There are no documents filed in his OMPF. 3. In support of his application the applicant provides a copy of his Basic Individual Record, printed 28 March 2015, that shows he entered the USMC Reserve on 2 May 2012, he enlisted in the USMC (active duty) on 7 January 2013 for a period of 5 years, and he is serving in the grade of E-4. It also shows he completed 4 years of college with a bachelor's degree. 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. 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. 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 USMC on 7 January 2013 for a period of 5 years and he will complete his 4-year, ROTC active duty service obligation on 6 January 2017. 2. 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. 3. The evidence of record shows that, as a result of his disenrollment (in 2009 or earlier), the applicant incurred an ROTC scholarship debt. 4. The evidence of record fails to show the applicant was expeditiously called to active duty in the U.S. Army Reserve or Regular Army upon disenrollment from the ROTC program in lieu of being required to repay scholarship benefits. 5. The applicant's enlistment in the USMC (on 7 January 2013) and his completion of more than 3 years of active service is acknowledged. a. The evidence of record fails to show the applicant was granted an exception to Army regulations waiving the expeditious call to active duty in the U.S. Army upon disenrollment from the ROTC program in lieu of the requirement to repay scholarship benefits. b. The applicant failed to provide any documentation related to his ROTC program contract, ROTC disenrollment, or DFAS correspondence pertaining to his debt. He did not provide his USMC official enlistment documents and this Board does not have access to his USMC official records. He only provided an uncertified copy of his USMC Basic Individual Record with no official documents supporting the data contained in his USMC record. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150013166 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150013166 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2