IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 10 July 2014 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140007474 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 payment of a Health Professions Officer Incentive Pay (HPOIP) effective from 17 January to 30 September 2013. 2. The applicant states she completed her basic officer leader course (BOLC) on 24 July 2012. She received her dental license on 17 January 2013 and became eligible for the HPOIP contract. However, she did not get it. 3. The applicant provides copies of: * State of Utah, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL) Active License - Dentist (Anesthesia Class I Permit) (Controlled Substance Schedule 2-5), dated 17 January 2013 * State of Utah, DOPL Certificate of License Renewal - Dentist (Anesthesia Class I Permit) (Controlled Substance), dated 21 April 2014 and expiration 31 May 2016 CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. At the time of her application, the applicant was serving on active duty as a captain, Dental Corps. 2. In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Chief, Army Medical Department, Special Pay Branch, Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG), Falls Church, VA. The opinion stated: a. The applicant requests retroactive payment of the 1-year HPOIP in the dollar amount of $20,000/year, retroactive for the period 17 January to 30 September 2013. b. The applicant must bear responsibility for her part of the contract preparation, to include her inquiry as to eligibility, requesting a contract to be initiated, and executing the contract by signature up to 90 days in advance or within 30 days after the effective date; otherwise, effective date must be reestablished as the date of signature. Current policy requires contracts to be prepared with a full valid unrestricted license via the Medical Operational Data System special pay module. All contracts executed outside of the policy for signature date or received outside the funded fiscal year are returned without action. c. A review of the applicant's special pay and finance records indicates an HPOIP contract at $20,000/year was processed commencing on 1 October 2013. There are no other records of HPOIP having been requested or processed for the period in question. d. The applicant was eligible to receive an HPOIP contract at $20,000/year payable effective 17 January 2013 at $1,666.66 per month. The retroactive payment for this total period ending on 30 September 2013 is $14,166.00, prior to withholding; exact payment to be determined by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS). e. During this same period of 17 January to 30 September 2013, the applicant received a monthly Variable Special Pay (VSP) at $3,000/year, payable at $250.00 per month. Simultaneous payments for these categories of special pay are not authorized. The applicant's VSP is subject to recoupment of approximately $2,125; exact payment to be determined by DFAS. 3. On 16 May 2014, a copy of the advisory opinion was sent to the applicant for information to allow her the opportunity to submit comments or a rebuttal. She did not respond. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The available evidence indicates the applicant did not perform her part of the contract preparation. However, because she had only recently completed training and received her initial license at the same time, it is understandable that she may not have understood the process. Therefore, it would be appropriate to excuse her failure in this matter. 2. The applicant was clearly authorized to enter into an agreement for HPOIP for the period stated above. Therefore, her record should be corrected to show she did so in a timely manner. 3. Furthermore, because she may not receive both the HPOIP and VSP for the same period, the VSP must be recouped. 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 she entered into an HPOIP contract for the period 17 January through 30 September 2013 in a timely manner; b. paying her retroactive HPOIP in accordance with her contract for the entire period in the approximate amount of $14,166.66; the exact amount to be determined by DFAS; and c. auditing her finance records and recouping all VSP received for the same period of the subject HPOIP contract. ____________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) AR20140007474 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140007474 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1