IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 14 June 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160007977 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: 14 June 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160007977 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: 14 June 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160007977 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 government for not completing the requirements of his Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Scholarship be forgiven. 2. The applicant states, on 1 June 2009, he chose to disenroll from the Boston University ROTC program. Given the option to either pay back the tuition or enlist in the U.S. Army for 3 years, he elected to enlist as a private in the Regular Army (RA). a. He states that he cannot locate a signed copy of the ROTC disenrollment memorandum he completed in June 2009. He adds that Mr. Robert B___, G-1, Cadet Command, informed him the ROTC Scholarship debt exists "in holding" until he fulfills the 3-year service obligation. b. He asserts that he served honorably on active duty for more than 6 years and his service more than fulfills the obligation he incurred from the ROTC Scholarship program. c. He also states that he contacted the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), Claims Department, on 18 May 2016, and was informed that he has a debt in the amount of $66,619.87. DFAS could not provide a letter of indebtedness because the account status is "temporarily closed." He states, if the account is closed, then the debt should not be collected. He adds that about a week prior to contacting DFAS he received a letter from the U.S. Treasury showing that his tax return of $1,299 was applied to the debt. 3. The applicant provides copies of: * an ROTC disenrollment memorandum with attachments * DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document – Armed Forces of the United States) * Enlisted Record Brief * two DA Forms 2166-8 (NCO (Noncommissioned Officer) Evaluation Reports) * separation orders * DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. A copy of the applicant's ROTC Cadet Contract is not filed in his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). 2. A DD Form 1966 (Record of Military Processing – Armed Forces of the United States) prepared and certified by the applicant and military recruiter on 3 November 2009, shows, in pertinent part, in: 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 "No" column. b. A review of the DD Form 1966 failed to reveal an exception to U.S. Army Human Resources Command business rules was approved (i.e., ROTC not ordered to active duty) allowing the applicant to enlist in the RA in pay grade E-3 based on his service in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) ROTC program. 3. A DA Form 3286 (Statement for Enlistment, U.S. Army Enlistment Program, U.S. Army Delayed Enlistment Program), Annex A, dated 3 November 2009, shows the applicant enlisted for, in pertinent part, the U.S. Army Incentive Enlistment Program (U.S. Army Cash Bonus, 6–Year Enlistment) and that the bonus cannot exceed $40,000 for a 4 or more year term of Service. It also shows the applicant and recruiter signed the DA Form 3286. 4. A DD Form 4 shows the applicant enlisted in the USAR on 3 November 2009 for a period of 8 years in the grade of E-3 with an active duty obligation of 6 years and 23 weeks. He then further enlisted in the RA on 26 January 2010 for a period of 6 years and 23 weeks in the grade of E-3. 5. The applicant was promoted to sergeant/pay grade E-5 on 1 March 2014. 6. U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Headquarters, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Bliss, TX, Orders 041-0014, dated 10 February 2016, ordered the applicant's release from active duty on 4 July 2016 and transfer to the USAR Control Group (Reinforcement) to complete his Reserve obligation. 7. The applicant's DD Form 214 shows he entered active duty this period on 26 January 2010, he is to be honorably released from active duty on 4 July 2016 based on completion of required service, and transferred to the USAR Control Group (Reinforcement). He will have completed 6 years, 5 months, and 9 days of net active service this period. (The DD Form 214 was authenticated on 3 May 2016.) 8. In support of his application the applicant provides the following documents. a. U.S. Army Cadet Command, Army ROTC Battalion, Boston University, Boston, MA, memorandum, dated 1 June 2009, subject: Disenrollment of Scholarship/Nonscholarship Cadet from ROTC. (1) It shows Lieutenant Colonel Scott T. W____, Professor of Military Science, notified the applicant that he was initiating disenrollment from the ROTC program based on the applicant's failure to maintain a minimum semester academic grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale and his failure to maintain full-time student status, and that these acts constitute a breach of his ROTC contract. (2) It also shows the applicant was notified of his rights and the options available to him. He was also informed, "If you are a nonscholarship cadet, you may be called to enlisted active duty in the enlisted grade of E-1 to fulfill your contractual obligation. If you are a scholarship cadet, you may be called to enlisted active duty in an enlisted grade of E-1 or required to repay scholarship benefits in the amount of $71,480 in lieu of call to active duty in fulfillment of your contractual obligation. (3) The copy of the memorandum that the applicant provided also shows "///Original Copy Signed///." (4) An Acknowledgement of Cadet (pages 4 and 5 of the memorandum); a Senior ROTC (SROTC) Agreement, Special Active Duty Provision, Statement of Understanding; an Addendum to Part II, Agreement to Cadet Contract (Active Duty Option); and a Privacy Act Statement, Army SROTC Disenrollment Proceedings. The attachments are not completed and are unsigned. b. Enlisted Record Brief that shows, in pertinent part, he completed 2 years of college. c. Two DA Forms 2166-8 that cover the period 1 March 2014 through 9 December 2015 that show the applicant's raters both indicated he possessed the seven Army Values. Part IV (Values/NCO Responsibilities) shows he received ratings of "Excellence" and "Success" with his overall potential for promotion and/or service in positons of greater responsibility as "Among the Best." The two senior raters assessed his overall performance as "Successful (1)" and his potential for promotion and/or service in positons of greater responsibility as "Superior (1)." REFERENCES: 1. 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. 2. 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 wiould 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. 3. 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 RA on 26 January 2010 for a period of 6 years and 23 weeks and he will have completed his active service obligation on 4 July 2016. 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 (on 1 June 2009), the applicant incurred an ROTC scholarship debt in the gross amount of $71,480. He states that he has been informed his debt is $66,619.87 and that the debt is currently being recouped by the U.S. Treasury. 4. 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. 5. The applicant's enlistment in the RA (on 26 January 2010) and his completion of more than 6 years of honorable active service was considered and is acknowledged. a. During his processing for enlistment, he failed to acknowledge his previous participation in the ROTC program. b. He was afforded the benefit of enlisting in the RA in the pay grade of E-3 (vice E-1) with a $40,000 cash bonus. 6. Given the applicant's $40,000 cash bonus based on his enlistment in the RA, the granting of forgiveness of his ROTC debt, in essence, would constitute a 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) AR20160007977 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160007977 6 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2