BOARD DATE: 20 December 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160001815 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 BOARD DATE: 20 December 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160001815 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. BOARD DATE: 20 December 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160001815 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, that his debt to the U.S. Government for not completing the requirements of his Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship be forgiven. 2. The applicant states that his ROTC scholarship debt should be removed from his Defense Finance Accounting Service (DFAS) account because he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force (USAF) on 19 April 2011 and he has completed more than 24 consecutive months of service required to have the debt removed. 3. On 31 October 2016, the Director, Case Management Division (CMD), Army Review Boards Agency (ARBA), Arlington, VA, requested specific records from the applicant to support his application for remission/cancellation of his ROTC debt. 4. The applicant provided copies of his: * ROTC disenrollment memorandum with 2 enclosures * ROTC discharge order and memorandum * DFAS Account Statement * DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document – Armed Forces of the United States) * education debt information CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. A DD Form 4 shows the applicant enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (ROTC) on 9 October 2008 for a period of 8 years. 2. A DA Form 597-3 (Army Senior ROTC Scholarship Cadet Contract) shows in: a. Part I (Agreement of Department of the Army (DA)), that DA agreed to pay scholarship benefits to the applicant for a period of 4 academic years, along with an annual flat rate of $1,200 for books and laboratory expenses, commencing 8 September 2008 and ending 10 June 2012. b. Part II (Agreement of Scholarship Cadet Contracting in the Senior ROTC (SROTC) Program), in pertinent part, shows in: * item 2 (General Cadet Agreement) – * paragraph b (Enrollment Agreement): I agree to enroll in the necessary courses and successfully complete, within the prescribed time, the requirements for the degree in the academic major stated * paragraph d (Academic Grade Point Average (GPA) Agreement): I agree to maintain, at a minimum, a cumulative academic GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 or equivalent scale. This GPA must also be maintained for each semester or quarter * item 5 (Terms of Disenrollment), paragraph a (I Agree to Serve on Enlisted Active Duty): Under the terms of this contract, the Secretary of the Army or his or her designee, may order me to active duty as an enlisted Soldier, if I am qualified, for a period of not more than four (4) years, if I fail to complete the ROTC program * item 6 (Enlisted Active Duty Service Obligations): If I am called to active duty for breach of contract under the provisions of item 5, I will be ordered to active duty for one of the periods listed below, based upon the year during which the breach occurs – * during Military Science II – 2 years * during Military Science III – 3 years * during Military Science IV – 4 years c. The applicant and a professor of military science signed the form on 9 October 2008. 3. In support of his application the applicant provides the following documents: a. Headquarters, U.S. Army Cadet Command (USACC), Fort Monroe, VA, memorandum, dated 10 June 2010, subject: Disenrollment from the U.S. Army ROTC Program (with 2 enclosures). (1) It shows Major General AMB, Commander, USACC, notified the applicant of disenrollment from the ROTC program based on the applicant's failure to maintain a minimum term academic GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale and failure to enroll for required courses for his nursing degree, and that these acts constitute a breach of his ROTC contract. * he was informed the amount of monies spent in support of his education was $12,362 * he was advised that he had 14 days from receipt of the memorandum to respond by (1) agreeing to pay the total amount owed in a lump sum or (2) promising to repay the total amount by initiating a repayment plan (2) Enclosed was a DA Form 5315-E (U.S. Army Advanced Education Financial Assistance Record) detailing the debt and an Addendum to Part I (Scholarship Contractual Agreement), which is blank (i.e., no entries indicating the applicant's election option, signature, or date). b. U.S. Army ROTC Raider Battalion, Wright State University, Dayton, OH, Orders 180-01, dated 29 June 2010, and memorandum, dated 29 June 2010, that announced the applicant's disenrollment and discharge from the USAR Control Group (ROTC), effective 29 June 2010. c. DFAS, Indianapolis, IN, Account Statement, dated 10 December 2015, that shows the applicant was notified he owed a balance of $15,607.15; his account was delinquent; and if payment was not remitted immediately, he would be in default of his installment agreement. d. A DD Form 4 that shows the applicant enlisted in the USAF Reserve on 21 October 2010 for period of 8 years and that he further enlisted in the Regular Component of the USAF on 19 April 2011 for a period of 6 years. The form lists Annexes A, B, and C; the applicant did not provide copies of the annexes. e. Applicant's Common Access Card (expiration date of 18 April 2017). f. An information sheet explaining an education debt and the documentation required for individuals that elect to serve on active duty in lieu of repayment of the ROTC debt. It shows, in pertinent part, "The individual is required to complete the educational requirement, and serve on active duty, for the full period outlined within the contract." REFERENCES: 1. 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. 2. Army Regulation 145-1 (SROTC 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), subparagraph a(6), provides that an ROTC cadet may be disenrolled for 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. 3. Army Regulation 37-104-3 (Finance Update) provides policies and provisions for entitlements and collections of pay and allowances of military personnel. Chapter 59 provides for recoupment of educational expenses (e.g., SROTC, United States Military Academy, and advanced civilian schooling) under a previous agreement when obligated active duty service has not been completed. 4. Army Regulation 15-185 (Army Board for Correction of Military Records (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. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant contends, in effect, that his ROTC scholarship debt should be forgiven because he enlisted in the USAF on 19 April 2011 for a period of 6 years and he will complete his active duty service obligation on 18 April 2017. 2. The evidence of record shows the applicant enlisted in the USAR as a cadet in the ROTC scholarship program commencing 8 September 2008. a. He was disenrolled from the ROTC program based on failure to maintain the minimum cumulative academic GPA and failure to enroll for required courses for his nursing degree. He was discharged from the USAR Control Group (ROTC), effective 29 June 2010, and he incurred an ROTC scholarship debt in the amount of $12,362. b. The evidence of record fails to show the applicant was expeditiously called to active duty upon disenrollment from the ROTC program in lieu being required to repay scholarship benefits. c. The evidence of record is absent a copy of the Addendum to Part I that the applicant was required to complete upon disenrollment from ROTC. However, the evidence he provided in support of his request (i.e., DFAS, Indianapolis, IN, Account Statement, dated 10 December 2015), shows the applicant's account was delinquent and he would be in default of his installment agreement. 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. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the ROTC disenrollment and discharge process is presumed proper and correct. 4. Upon receipt of the applicant's application, the Director, CMD, ARBA requested specific additional information regarding his ROTC disenrollment. Despite this request, the applicant failed to provide copies of documents he should have received and completed during his ROTC disenrollment processing (e.g., notification of disenrollment from the ROTC, his acknowledgement, cadet waiver, scholarship contractual agreement upon disenrollment from ROTC, etc.). 5. On 19 April 2011, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Component of the USAF with an active duty service obligation of 6 years. a. The enlistment contract included annexes that are not available to the Board and were not provided by the applicant. Thus, the nature of the enlistment options/incentives cannot be determined. b. The granting of forgiveness of his ROTC debt, without benefit of the knowledge of the full details of both his ROTC disenrollment and his USAF enlistment contract, could result in an inequitable windfall. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160001815 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160001815 6 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2