Army ROTC Scholarship mess

[pastdigger]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Student was living in TN at time of ROTC but now lives in NC

I am writing this to aid a friend. She received an Army ROTC scholarship to a college. In her sophomore year she developed migraines and notified her commanding officer. He did nothing and said it was okay to continue. She finished her sophomore year and junior year. When she arrived at summer military training between her junior and senior year, an army doctor asked her if she had any problems and she told him about the headaches. He immediately released her from the ROTC program, put her on a plane and sent her home. In order to finish her senior year, she took out a personal student loan for $18,000. She maintained a 4.0 average in ROTC, fully expected and wanted a military career and maintained a 4.0 total average her last 2 years of college. This release was nothing she requested, wanted or desired. Now the Army is suing her for $37,000!!! They state she mislead them. She had no headaches when entering the program and immediately informed them when they came up. This $37,000 can not be converted into a student loan and the only loan she can find is for $10,000 at 13% interest. For 2 years she had been in touch with the military - she is not allowed to meet anyone from the service or plead her case - it is all done by mail. Her commanding officer has even written a letter on her behalf. She has received her last letter from the Army stating they are sending her to collections. What is she to do?? In the mean time she has graduated from a police academy - the first in her class. But this salary in no way pays for living, paying off a student loan of $18,000 (which she has faithfully paid on for 2 years) and $37,000 which is due in its entirety. She even hired an attorney who also says that nothing can be done. This seems so unfair. Is this how the military treats its best and brightest? Do potential ROTC students know about this pit-fall? Any unexpected accident preventing military service during college would leave a student fully responsible for their college bill if they had signed up for an ROTC program. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Crazed98]

Most ROTC students are aware that if they don't complete the training then they need to pay back the goverment the money that was spent on them.

The doctor must have felt that her migraines were bad enough to remove her from the ROTC program. That is why most people joining the military ignore any injuries or problems that they have until they are in where they will be sooner to fix the problem than kick you out.

If they won't let her try and get a waiver to finish the ROTC classes then she has no choice to pay the goverment back.

[rmet4nzkx]

Here is a link to a group for persons with Migraines and who have been in the military they may be of some help. It is important for your friend to find the triggers for their migraines and non medical means to manage them. [url]http://www.migraines.org/disability/military.htm[/url]

[pastdigger]

In reply to crazed98; When the doctor asked her if she had any problems should would have had to lie - and this is against any military regulation. This seems to be a 'catch 22'. You tell the truth and you get kicked out - you lie and you stay in. Not good choices.

In reply to rmet4nzkx. Thank you very much for the congressional info. I have forwarded it on to her.

[Crazed98]

Originally Posted by pastdigger

In reply to crazed98; When the doctor asked her if she had any problems should would have had to lie - and this is against any military regulation. This seems to be a 'catch 22'. You tell the truth and you get kicked out - you lie and you stay in. Not good choices.

Yes you are right it is a catch 22.

Tell the truth and you get kicked out or lie and stay in. Those might not be good choices, but those are the only choices.

If she had just bared with her migraines and not told her military doctor and/or maybe went to a civilian doctor instead she could have finished ROTC and would have become an officer.

The migrains obviously weren't so severe that it would keep her from completing the class since she was able to finish college and graduate from a police academy being top of her class.

But since she didn't do that she now owes the goverment $37,000.

I bet if your friend knew that she would have told the doctor she was just dandy.

[redsnapper9]

I was also disenrolled due to medical disqualification. I appealed my case at least four times, and if your friend hasn't done so yet, she's out of luck.

I am certain if I had not been so persistent, I would be paying back the $68,000 ROTC paid for me to attend college. I will second your comment "it's all done through mail." One way I got around this was to include a time limit in each letter in which I expected a response (generally thirty days), and they always respected this.

In my final letter in which my case was "won," I detailed my medical problem from the moment it was a potential problem (age 13) through my senior year in college (age 21). Yes, it was a lengthy letter, but in it I reiterated over and over how highly I valued my integrity and honesty, ultimately driving me to expose the problem.

Though I am not proud about not paying back my debt through military service or financial means, after what I was put through, I don't let it get me down. In fact, following my experience I have been inspired to go to law school. That is, when I have saved enough money, as I also had to take out loans to pay for senior year.