BOARD DATE: 24 April 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170005829 BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : :X GRANT FULL RELIEF :X :X : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration BOARD DATE: 24 April 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170005829 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 that his current active duty service be accepted in lieu of repayment of his Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship debt in the amount of $11,317.15. 2. The applicant states he enlisted on active duty in the Regular Army on 9 November 2015. As of 1 October 2016, the Army began deducting $300 a month as a miscellaneous debt to reclaim the balance owed. 3. The applicant provides: * DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document, Armed Forces of the United States), dated 2 October 2013 * DD Form 785 (Record of Disenrollment From Officer Candidate - Type Training), dated 2 September 2015 * DD Form 4, dated 9 November 2015 * an information sheet from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) website (dfas.mil) CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. On 2 October 2013, the applicant enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) and enrolled as a cadet in the ROTC Program. 2. The DA Form 597-3 (Army Senior ROTC Scholarship Cadet Contract) he signed on 2 October 2013 when he enrolled in the ROTC Program represents an agreement entered into between the United States Army and the applicant to effect his participation in the ROTC Program. a. Paragraph 5 (Terms of Disenrollment) states if the cadet was disenrolled from the ROTC Program for any reason, the Secretary of the Army could order the cadet to reimburse the United States the dollar amount plus interest that bears the same ratio to the total cost of the scholarship financial assistance provided by the United States to the cadet as the unserved portion of active duty bears to the total period of active service the cadet agreed to serve or was ordered to serve. b. Paragraph 6 (Enlisted Active Duty Service Obligation) states if he were called to active duty for a breach of contract under the provisions of paragraph 5, he would be ordered to active duty for 3 years if the breach occurred during Military Science (MS) III, or for 4 years if the breach occurred during MS IV. 3. On 2 September 2015, the applicant was disenrolled from the ROTC Program due to his failure to maintain the minimum semester and cumulative grade point average (GPA). He was a contracted 3-year scholarship MS III Cadet. He was obligated to repay scholarship benefits in the amount of $11,317.15. 4. Third Brigade, 1st Army Cadet Command, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, Orders UK-245, dated 2 September 2015, discharged the applicant from the USAR Control Group (ROTC), effective 27 August 2015. 5. On 9 November 2015, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army for 5 years for the U.S. Army Training Enlistment Program for military occupational specialty 18X (Special Forces Recruit). There is no indication on his DD Form 4 that he received any type of enlistment bonus. 6. On 17 November 2015, DFAS notified the applicant of his debt in the amount of $11,317.15 for ROTC Education Tuition Assistance. REFERENCES: 1. Army Regulation 145-1 prescribes policies and general procedures for administering the Army's Senior ROTC Program. Paragraph 3-43 states that non-scholarship and scholarship cadets will be disenrolled for a breach of contract. 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. 2. Title 10, U.S. Code (USC), section 2005 (10 USC 2005), provides the law on reimbursement requirements for educational assistance from the Armed Forces. It provides that the Secretary concerned may require any person provided advanced education assistance to reimburse the United States in an amount that bears the same ratio to the total cost of advanced education provided. It also provides that any amount owed by such person to the United States under such agreement shall bear interest at the rate equal to the highest rate being paid by the United States on the day on which the reimbursement is determined to be due and shall accrue from the day on which the member is first notified of the amount due. 3. 10 USC 2005(a) states 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 under the terms of which such person shall agree: (1) to complete the educational requirements specified in the agreement and to serve on active duty for a period specified in the agreement and (2) that if such person fails to complete the education requirements specified in the agreement, such person will serve on active duty for a period specified in the agreement. 4. 10 USC 2005(f) states the Secretary concerned shall require, as a condition to the Secretary providing financial assistance under section 2107a (Financial Assistance Program for Specially Selected Members: Army Reserve and Army National Guard; i.e., ROTC) of this title to any person, that such person enter into an agreement described in subsection (a). In addition to the requirements of clauses (1) through (4) of such subsection, any agreement required by this subsection shall provide (1) that if such person fails to complete the education requirements, the Secretary shall have the option to order such person to reimburse the United States in the manner provided for without the Secretary first ordering such person to active duty as provided for under clause (2) of such subsection. DISCUSSION: 1. Based on the applicant's withdrawal from MS III his active duty obligation was 3 years. He has currently completed over 2 years of active service and his current expiration term of service date is 8 November 2020. 2. Although not provided for in his DA Form 597-3, the applicant's active service serves the same purpose as would have been served had he been ordered to active duty through ROTC channels based on the needs of the Army. The evidence would support a recommendation to amend his ROTC scholarship contract to show he would satisfy the service obligation under the terms of the original ROTC contract by voluntarily serving as an enlisted Soldier on active duty for a period of 3 years. 3. Any relief would be contingent upon him continuing to serve satisfactorily until he has completed 3 years of active duty service. In the interim, recoupment actions may be suspended. 4. A recommendation to grant relief should also consider the possibility that he received a cash bonus in conjunction with his 2015 enlistment. If he did, the amount of relief should be reduced by the amount of such a bonus, as he would not have received a bonus had he been ordered to active duty upon disenrollment from ROTC. BOARD DATE: 24 April 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170005829 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 1. The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. Amending the applicant's Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship contract to show that he would satisfy his $11,317.15 ROTC debt under the original terms of the ROTC contract by successfully completing 3 years on active duty in the U.S. Army. b. Suspending further recoupment of his ROTC debt until such time he completes 3 years of active service. At that time the Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS) should reimburse any monies previously recouped for the ROTC debt. 2. The portion of the ROTC debt that would be satisfied by the above correction will be the total amount of the ROTC debt minus any amount he may have received and/or is due to receive as a cash enlistment bonus in connection with his enlistment in 2015, if any. The Board did not find that the evidence supported granting the applicant’s request for termination of his debt without first completing the service and review described above. 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. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170005829 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170005829 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2