IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 27 April 2010 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090020805 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 records be corrected to reflect entitlement to Medical Corps (MC) Incentive Special Pay (ISP) from 1 October 2007 through 30 September 2008. 2. The applicant states that ISP is paid to specialized MC officers who possess a current, unrestricted medical license or approved waiver, based on board-eligible/certified specialty and execution of contract. The effective date of eligibility is 90 days after completion of civilian or military residency. In his case, due to oversight during deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the ISP contract was not completed and thus the ISP was not paid. 3. The applicant provides a copy of Orders 058-8, issued by Headquarters, III Corps, Fort Hood, TX, on 27 February 2006; a copy of his Medical Licensure and Board Certification printout, dated 16 November 2009; and copies of several emails, in support of his request. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Having had prior enlisted service, the applicant's records show he was appointed as a Medical Service Corps second lieutenant in the USAR and executed an oath of office on 4 June 1998. Subsequent to completion of medical school, he entered active duty in 2002 as a captain in the MC. He served in various positions, within and outside continental United States and attained the rank of major. 2. In July 2003, in accordance with his Army Graduate Medical Education residency training in Family Practice agreement, he was ordered to a training program beginning in July 2003 and ending on 30 June 2005. His participation in this program incurred an additional active duty service obligation through 9 May 2012. 3. In September 2005, he was notified that he passed the 2005 Examination given by the American Board of Family Medicine and as of 23 July 2005, he was certified in the specialty of Family Medicine until 31 December 2012. 4. On 27 February 2006, Headquarters, III Corps, Fort Hood, ordered him deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom for a period of 365 days, effective 20 March 2006. 5. An advisory opinion (AO) was obtained on 23 February 2010 from the Chief, Army Medical Department (AMEDD), Special Pay Branch in the Office of The Surgeon General (OTSG) in the processing of this case. The opinion stated that an ISP agreement requires execution and submission by eligible officers through their chain of command for payment. It stated that officers must execute their agreement no earlier than 90 days, but no later than 30 days from the effective date. The opinion noted he was, in effect, requesting payment of ISP at $13,000 for 1 October 2007 through 30 September 2008. The opinion stated that a review of his military pay account failed to indicate a record of an ISP agreement for the period in question. The opinion recommended payment of $13,000 for the period 1 October 2007 through 30 September 2008 and further noted the OTSG was precluded from initiating payment because the period of arrears exceeded their authority as granted by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), Indianapolis Center. 6. He was provided with a copy of this AO on 1 March 2010 but he did not respond. 7. Title 37, U.S. Code, section 302, states that an officer of the MC of the Army or the Navy or an officer of the Air Force designated as a medical officer and who is on active duty under a call or order to active for a period of not less than 1 year is entitled to special pay in accordance with this subsection. Subsection 5(b), paragraph (1) states that subject to subsection (c) and paragraph (2) and under regulations prescribed under section 303a(a) an officer may be paid ISP for any 12-month period during which the officer is not undergoing medical internship or initial residency training. The amount of incentive special pay paid to an officer under this subsection may not exceed $50,000 for any 12-month period. 8. Section 050301, chapter 5, Volume 7A of the Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation states that to be eligible for ISP a medical officer must be below the grade of 0-7; have a current, valid, unrestricted license or approved waiver; have completed specialty qualification before 1 October 2008; and execute a written agreement to remain on active duty for a period of not less than 1 year beginning on the date the officer accepts the award of ISP. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The available evidence indicates the applicant was eligible for ISP commencing on 1 October 2007 but did not execute the ISP agreement due to deployment. 2. The advisory opinion confirms he was entitled to ISP in the amount of $13,000 for the period 1 October 2007 through 30 September 2008. Therefore, his records should be corrected to provide for that payment. 3. In view of the foregoing, it would be appropriate to correct his records to show that he executed the appropriate written agreement to receive ISP in the amount of $13,000 for the period 1 October 2007 through 30 September 2008. BOARD VOTE: ____x____ ____x____ ____x____ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. showing he requested payment of ISP in the amount of $13,000 for the period 1 October 2007 through 30 September 2008; b. showing it was timely received and processed; and c. authorizing ISP in arrears for the period from 1 October 2007 through 30 September 2008. _______ _ 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. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090020805 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090020805 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1