PROCEEDINGS


         IN THE CASE OF:
        

         BOARD DATE: 14 February 2002
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2001054359


         I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.

Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director
Mr. Joseph A. Adriance		Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Mr. John N. Slone		Chairperson
Ms. Barbara J. Ellis		Member
Mr. John E. Denning		Member

         The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

         The Board considered the following evidence:

         Exhibit A - Application for correction of military
records
         Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
         advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS :

1. The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

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2. The applicant requests, in effect, that her record be corrected to grant her the proper amount of constructive credit.

3. The applicant states, in effect, that her record does not include the original Record of Award of Entry Grade Credit-Medical and Dental Officers (DA Form 5074-R). She claims that at the time of her commissioning, she was board certified in two specialties (General Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Diving, and Hyperbaric Medicine). She also states that she is currently board certified in two additional specialties (Aerospace Medicine and Occupational Medicine). She claims to have additional training and expertise in the form of a Master of Arts (MA) Degree and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree (PHD), expertise she has used in the Army since her commissioning. She indicates that there is precedent for awarding additional credit to a medical officer with ancillary expertise when it was of use to the Army and requests that based on this she be considered for credit based on her MA and PHD. She concludes by indicating that her date of rank (DOR) should be adjusted based on the correction of her constructive credit, which based on the original award was 8 May 1986.

4. The applicant’s military records show that she is currently serving on active duty as a preventive medicine staff officer, in the rank of lieutenant colonel (LTC) with a date of rank of 6 May 2001, and she is assigned to the Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG), Falls Church, Virginia.

5. On 21 January 1993, a medical personnel staffing technician of the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) procurement office, United States Army Health Professional Support Agency (USAHPSA), provided a memorandum that indicated that the applicant’s profile did not include her complete medical credentials. She provided a complete record of the applicant’s medical experience and training that included verification from the University of Washington, that the applicant had completed a Practicum, Preventive Medicine Residency Program, from 1 July 1988 to 20 June 1989.

6. On 15 March 1993, an appointment memorandum pertaining to the applicant, was published by the United States Army Total Army Personnel Command (PERSCOM), St. Louis, Missouri. This document confirms that the applicant was commissioned a captain (CPT) in the Medical Corps (MC) of the United States Army Reserve (USAR) and that she was granted 9 years, 10 months, and 7 days of constructive credit. She was promoted to major (MAJ) on 7 May 1994 and LTC on 6 May 2001.

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7. In connection with the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was requested of and received from the Chief, Medical Corps Division, United States Army Recruiting Command (USAREC). A USAREC opinion, dated 22 June 2001, recommended that the applicant’s date of rank stand as presently noted and stated that the information provided by the applicant did not increase the amount of her constructive credit. It also stated that by regulation, credit may be given on a year for year basis for her medical school from 1980 to 1984, internship 1984 to 1985, residency in preventive medicine 1985 to 1987, training in diving and hyperbaric medicine 1987 to 1988, and a fellowship in preventive medicine 1988 to 1989.

8. The 22 June 2001 USAREC opinion also stated that by regulation, credit for professional experience is granted a ½ year for each year, up to three years and she was granted professional experience credit for her experience as an assistant clinical professor from 1 May to 30 June 1992, assistant clinical professor from 1 July 1992 to 30 June 1993, and her private practice for one month in 1993. It went on to state that she was denied credit for her MA and PHD in Slavic languages because she received those degrees before completing her qualifying degree (MD) and the skills did not add adjunctive skills to her primary specialty. It also indicated that she was denied experience credit as an instructor at the Academy of Medical Sciences of Russia Post-Graduate Surgical Research Center, Moscow, because the regulation prohibited award of the credit for experience outside the United States. Finally, the opinion indicated that a recomputation completed with the information provided resulted in a determination that the applicant would receive 9 years, 10 months, and 7 days of constructive credit as previously noted in her 10 February 1993 request for orders.

9. A second opinion provided by USAREC, dated 13 November 2001, recommended that the applicant’s date of rank stand as presently noted and that the information provided by the applicant did not increase the amount of constructive credit that is allowable by regulation. It also responded to a question in regard to what credit could be granted for overseas experience if an exception to policy were granted. The USAREC official responded that it was difficult to quantify overseas service for scope and quality, and that he had never seen an exception to policy granted on this issue. The official further indicated that if an exception were granted, credit awarded would fall into the professional experience category and be granted on ½ year for each year basis, however, no policy or regulatory basis was provided for this determination.

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10. On 27 November 2001, the applicant provided a brief resume of her academic training, medical training, and professional activities prior to her commissioning to the Board. In it, she commented that at the time she was being recruited into the Army by a Special Forces Group, a heavy emphasis was placed on her linguistic and area knowledge skills, which are clearly documented in her service record. Less emphasis was placed on her documenting her medical training and activities for the same period. To further complicate matters, she was never given a DA Form 5074-R by her medical recruiter or USAREC, which may have alerted her to discrepancies existing in her record. In addition, there was still no copy of a DA Form 5074-R in her record at the time she prepared this letter. Even after she submitted her application to this Board, a recalculation of constructive credit by USAREC was returned to her without the required DA Form 5074-R. Only when she insisted that a copy be provided in order to prepare a rebuttal was one produced.

11. On 11 January 2002, subsequent to a rebuttal by the applicant, a second advisory opinion was provided by USAREC. It recommended that the applicant’s constructive credit be changed to 11 years, 3 months, and 22 days based on the information provided by the applicant. It further specified that credit for professional experience is granted ½ year for each year, up to three years in accordance with the applicable regulation and that the applicant was awarded credit for her experience as an assistant clinical professor from 1 May 1992 through 30 June 1992, assistant clinical professor from 1 July 1992 through
30 June 1993, and her private practice for one month in 1993. In addition, she was granted professional experience credit for her time spent as an instructor at the Academy of Medical Sciences of Russia Post Graduate Surgical Research Center, from 1 July 1989 through 24 October 1991.

12. A DA Form 5074-R, dated 9 January 2002, published by USAREC and provided to this Board with the 11 January 2002 advisory opinion, awards the applicant a total of 11 years, 3 months, and 22 days of entry grade constructive credit. This included 4 years for her basic qualifying degree; 1 year for her internship; 4 years for graduate professional education; and 2 years, 3 months, 22 days for professional experience, which included 1 year, 7 months, and 22 days performed for the Universities of Hawaii and Washington for the period
1 July 1989 through 24 October 1991. It further indicated that the entry grade for which the credit qualified the applicant was MAJ, which required 10 years of credit, and that she received an additional 1 year, 3 months, and 22 days of constructive credit in excess of that required for appointment as a MAJ.

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13. On 7 February 2002, the applicant responded to the advisory opinion provided by USAREC. She indicated that she found inconsistency in the recalculation done by USAREC and documented in the DA Form 5074-R , dated 9 January 2002. Her contention was that the period 1 July 1989 through
24 October 1991, was fellowship time at the University of Washington and this was clearly identified in supporting records. She further indicated that this period was incorrectly entered in section E (Professional Experience), rather than under section C (Graduate Professional Education), where her other fellowship time was recorded and since the items in section E allow for ½ year credit per year and those listed in section C allow for year for year credit, this oversight produces a rather significant difference in the final determination of entry grade credit. She also claims that there was a less critical inaccuracy in the form in section D (Credit for Advance Education), which listed Epidemiology as an academic institution as opposed to an area of study, and that she earned her MPH degree at the University of Hawaii. In support of her rebuttal, the applicant provided a payroll record from the University of Washington, which indicates that she was paid as a Senior Fellow in the Department of Epidemiology from 1 July 1988 through 24 October 1991.

14. Department of Defense Instruction (DODI) 6000-13 (Medical Manpower and Personnel) contains guidance on granting constructive credit to health care professionals for additional education, training, and experience in order to provide them an entry level grade and date of rank comparable to that obtained by officers who begin commissioned service after obtaining a baccalaureate degree and serve for a period of time it would take to gain the additional education. It further states, in pertinent part, that constructive credit will be awarded on a year for year basis for completion of internship, residency, fellowship, or equivalent graduate medical training required by the military service concerned. Army Regulation 135-101 provides the Army implementation guidance on the policies and procedure outlined in this DODI.

CONCLUSIONS:

1. The Board notes that the primary issue of contention in this case is the difference in the constructive credit awarded for the period 1 July 1989 through 24 October 1991. In its 9 January DA Form 2002 DA Form 5074-R, USAREC categorized this period as professional experience and granted ½ year credit per year. The applicant claims the period should be categorized as a fellowship and should result in her being awarded constructive credit on a year for year basis.

2. By regulation, members appointed in the MC are entitled to receive constructive credit on a year for year credit for completion of a fellowship and ½ year credit per year for professional experience.

3. The applicant has submitted independent evidence that shows that she was a Senior Fellow, Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, from
1 July 1988 through 24 October 1991, which would indicate she was serving in this capacity during the periods she was instructing at the Academy of Medical Sciences of Russia Post Graduate Surgical Research Center, Moscow.

4. In the opinion of the Board, the applicant has provided sufficient evidence confirming that she completed a fellowship in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Washington during the contested period. Lacking evidence to the contrary or a further explanation from USAREC regarding the policy used to support its determination that the period in question should be categorized as professional experience, as opposed to a graduate professional education fellowship, the Board concludes it would be appropriate for this period to be categorized as a fellowship and for the total entry grade constructive credit awarded by USAREC be changed to 11 years, 11 months, and 24 days accordingly.

5. In addition, the Board concludes it would be appropriate to correct Item 18 (Academic Institution) of the 9 January 2002 DA Form 5074-R issued by USAREC to read University of Hawaii in lieu of the current Epidemiology entry.

6. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1. That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by revising the DA Form 5074-R pertaining to the individual concerned, dated 9 January 2002, issued by USAREC as follows:

         a. add 2 years, 3 months, and 24 days of constructive credit for a board certified fellowship, for the period 1 July 1989 through 24 October 1991, to Section C (Credit for Graduate Professional Education), in lieu of the 1 year,
7 months, and 22 days of professional experience constructive credit awarded in Section E for this same period;

b. change the Epidemiology entry in Item 18 (Academic Institution) to read the University of Hawaii;

c. correct Part III (Computation of Entry Grade and Date of Rank), to show she was awarded a total of 11 years, 11 months, and 24 days of entry grade constructive credit, in lieu of the 11 years, 3 months, and 22 days of entry grade constructive credit currently listed.

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d. correct Item 40 (Credit in Excess of that Required for Grade), to show she was granted 1 year, 11 months, and 24 days of constructive credit beyond the 10 years required for appointment to MAJ, in lieu of the 1 year, 3 months, and
2 days currently listed.

2. That the appointment grade and date of rank of the individual concerned; in addition, to all subsequent promotion dates and dates of rank be adjusted based on the entry grade constructive credit changes authorized in the preceding paragraph and that she be provided any back pay and allowances due as a result.

3. That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:

__JNS___ __BJE__ __JED___ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION




                  ____John N. Slone____
                  CHAIRPERSON

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001054359
SUFFIX
RECON
DATE BOARDED	2002/02/14
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	N/A
DATE OF DISCHARGE	N/A
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	N/A
DISCHARGE REASON	N/A
BOARD DECISION	GRANT
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1. 229	112.0700
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.