RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


         IN THE CASE OF:
        

         BOARD DATE: JANUARY 22, 2004
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2003086042


         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. Luis Almodova		Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Ms. Joann Langston		Chairperson
Mr. Ronald J. Weaver		Member
Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		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).


1. The applicant requests, in effect, that a correction or adjustment be made to the effective dates of rank for his promotion to Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel.

2. The applicant states, in effect, that he was given 1/2 day credit for each 1 day of active duty for his prior service on active duty in the Regular Army, Medical Service Corps, upon reentering active duty as a Dental Corps Officer. The applicant states that he should have received 1-day credit for each 1-day of his prior service.

3. The applicant provides a self-authored memorandum detailing his contentions and seventeen documents chronicling his military service and educational pursuits related to his service as a Dental Corps Officer.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1. In his self-authored memorandum, the applicant bases his contentions on paragraphs 6.1, 6.1.1, and 6.1.1.1, of DOD Instruction 6000.13 and states,

"I should have received 1 day credit for each 1 day of my prior service.

         a. DOD Instructions Number 6000.13 paragraph 6.1 states 'The entry grade credit to be awarded shall equal the sum of constructive service credit and prior commissioned service credit. . . . '.

         b. DOD Instructions Number 6000.13 paragraph 6.1.1 states 'Prior Commissioned Service Credit…For entry grade credit, the Medical Service Corps (MSC), the Biomedical Sciences Corps (BSC), and the Army Medical Specialist Corps (AMSC) are considered as the same Corps.'

         c. DOD Instruction Number 6000.13 paragraph 6.1.1.1 states 'Service on active duty or in an active status as a commissioned officer in any of the Uniformed Services, in the corps or professional specialty in which being appointed, shall be credited on a day-for-day basis with any commissioned service performed before such appointment."

2. He further states that orders he submitted show that he was a Regular Army Commissioned Medical Service Corps officer and therefore should be considered in the same corps and that the total constructive service credit that he should have received, in addition to the 4 years constructive service credit for his professional degree, should have amounted to 8 years and 48 days thereby backdating the effective date/date of rank to captain from 24 May 1984 to 1 May 1982.

3. He also states that he would also qualify for the same total credit for active duty grade determination under DOD Instruction Number 6000.13 paragraph 6.2.2 which states "A former Regular or Reserve commissioned officer may, if otherwise qualified, be appointed or reappointed as a reserve officer" and paragraph 6.2.2.2 which states, "Credited, for determining date of rank under Section 741 (d) of 10 US Code reference (c), with service in grade equal to that held by that person when discharged or separated."

4. The applicant was tendered an appointment as a second lieutenant in the Regular Army in the Medical Service Corps. On 19 December 1976, the applicant accepted the appointment and entered active duty.

5. The applicant served on active duty and on 20 August 1980, submitted his unqualified resignation under the provisions of Army Regulation (AR) 635-120, chapter 3, to further his education (medical school) and pursue a different profession. The resignation was approved and on 4 February 1981, the applicant was honorably discharged for miscellaneous individual reasons (unqualified resignation) in the rank and pay grade, Captain, O-3. On the date of his discharge, the applicant had completed 4 years, 1 month, and 16 days active military service.

6. On 17 September 1985, the applicant applied for service as a commissioned officer in the Reserve under the provisions of AR 135-101. The US Military Personnel Center, St. Louis, Missouri, notified him of approval of his appointment as a US Army Reserve commissioned officer in the Dental Corps by DAPC-OPF-A Letter, Subject: Appointment as a Reserve Commissioned Officer of the US Army, dated 26 March 1986.

7. On 7 June 1986, the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery was conferred upon the applicant by Baylor College of Dentistry at Dallas, Texas.

8. On 17 June 1986, the applicant, then serving as a US Army Reserve officer, was ordered to active duty in the rank of captain in the Dental Corps. In his orders to active duty, DAPC-OPP-AD Orders A-03-000312, US Army Reserve Components Personnel Administration Center, dated 26 March 1986, he was awarded 6 years 0 months and 0 days constructive credit for active duty grade determination. The applicant was placed on extended active duty in the rank of captain.

9. On 10 June 1987, the above orders were amended to correct the amount of constructive credit to which the applicant was entitled from 6 years, 0 months, 0 days to 6 years 0 months, and 23 days.

10. The applicant's original date of rank as a captain in the Dental Corps was adjusted from 17 June 1984 to 24 May 1984. He was promoted to major with a date of rank of 21 May 1990, promoted to lieutenant colonel with a date of rank of 21 May 1996, and promoted to colonel with a date of rank of 21 May 2002.

11. The applicant has remained on active duty and is currently serving in the U.S. Army in the rank of colonel in the Dental Corps.

12. In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion, dated 11 August 2003, was obtained from the US Army Recruiting Command, Health Services Directorate. After a careful review of the applicant’s record, that office advised that, in review of documents provided to recompute and correct entry grade credit awarded the applicant upon appointment in the Dental Corps, 6 years, 0 months, and 23 days, was appropriate. The applicant was awarded 4 years 0 months, and 0 days, for his professional qualifying degree and 2 years, 0 months, and 23 days, for his prior commissioned service as a Medical Service Corps officer.

13. The Health Service Directorate explained that the term "Military Services" used in paragraph 2.1 in DOD Instruction Number 6000.13 refers to the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force and that "for the purposes of the medical department, health care professionals are designated in one of the following: Medical Corps, Dental Corps, the Veterinary Corps, the Nurse Corps or the Army Medical Service Corps (MSC) (if designated as an allied health officer, an optometrist, or a biomedical science officer), the Army Medical Specialist Corps (occupational therapist, physical therapist, dietitian, physician assistant – after 1992), the Air Force BSC [Biomedical Service Corps] (if qualified for service as a veterinarian, an optometrist, or a podiatrist), or Navy MSC (if designated to perform as an optometrist, a podiatrist, or an allied health officer in the reserves)."

14. The Health Service Directorate agreed that the applicant's statements in his application to this Board, "The entry grade credit to be awarded shall equal the sum of constructive credit and prior commissioned service credit (other than as a commissioned warrant officer), except in cases where the total exceed the maximum credit allowed"…and, "The entry grade credit, the Medical Service Corps (MSC), the Biomedical Science Corps and the Army Medical Specialist Corps are considered the same corps" are true statements; however, in this instance, the advisor states that the acronym, MSC, refers to the Navy Medical Service Corps and not the Army Medical Service Corps. As an example, the advisor added, if the applicant "had been reappointed from the Navy MSC (as an allied health officer) to the Army Medical Specialist Corps (of which Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Dietitians, and now Physician Assistants are a part), then he may have been eligible for day for day credit at the time of reappointment."

15. The advisor adds that the applicant cites paragraph 6.1.1.1 which states "Service on active duty or in an active status as a commissioned officer in any of the Uniformed Services, in the corps or professional specialty in which being appointed, shall be credited on a day-for-day basis with any commissioned service performed before such appointment" but since the applicant was reappointed to the US Army Dental Corps, with prior commissioned service in the Army Medical Service Corps, he is only eligible for 1/2 credit for each day served as a commissioned officer in the specialty (Army MSC) other than that in which being appointed (Army Dental Corps) and not day for day credit.

16. A copy of the advisory opinion was provided the applicant for review on 22 August 2003. On 28 August 2003, the applicant submitted a rebuttal to the advisory opinion. In his rebuttal, the applicant stated,

"2. Advisory opinion by LTC . . . dated 11 August 2003 paragraph 3 states that constructive credit of 6 years, 00 months, 23 days is appropriate. However, review of regulatory guidance does not support this opinion.

         a. Constructive credit for prior commissioned service.

"1. LTC . . . cites AR135-101, Fig Table 3-2, number 4, extended active commissioned service in other than the specialty in which being appointed: 1/2 credit year for year .

2. However, DODI 6000.13, paragraph 6.1.1 clearly states, 'prior commissioned service credit for entry grade credit … the Medical Service Corps (MSC) … are considered as the same corps '. I was a MSC officer and should be considered in the same Corps.

3. DODI 6000.13, paragraph 6.1.1.1 states, 'service on active duty or in an active status as a commissioned officer in any of the Uniformed Services, in the Corps or professional specialty in which being appointed, shall be credited on a day-for-day basis with any commissioned service performed before such appointment. ' Therefore, IAW DODI 6000.13 a day-for-day should be used in constructive credit determination.

4. Taking the above guidance into account when using AR 135-101, Fig Table 3-2, number 2 should have been used in calculating constructive credit instead of number 4. Number 2 states, 'extended active duty commissioned service in the specialty in which being appointed and a 1 year for each year ' and this year-for-year should have been applied towards constructive credit.

         b. LTC . . . advisory opinion, para 6 cites DODI 6000.13. para 2.1 and delineates Army MSC (if designated as an allied health officer, an optometrist, or a biomedical science officer). DODI 6000.13 makes no delineation breakdown of Army MSC as being limited to an allied health officer, an optometrist, or a biomedical sciences officer. DODI 6000.13, para 6.1.1 states '. . . Medical Services Corps (MSC). . .'

         c. LTC . . . advisory opinion, para 6 states, 'MSC refers to the Navy MSC and not Army MSC .' In review of DODI 6000.13 and specifically para 6.1.1 no distinction between the services is mentioned. This paragraph states that for entry grade credit, the Medical Service Corps (MSC) is considered as the same Corps."


17. The applicant concludes his rebuttal by stating that he should have been give 4 years and 48 days credit for his prior service plus the 4 years constructive credit for dental school for an overall total of 8 years and 48 days constructive service credit.

18. AR 135-101, Appointment of Reserve Commissioned Officers for Assignment to Army Medical Department Branches, with an effective date, 15 February 1984, prescribes policy, procedures and eligibility criteria for appointment in the Reserve Components of the Army in the six branches of the Army Medical Department (AMEDD).

19. Chapter 3, of the above regulation, governs grade determinations. Specifically, this chapter states that the grade and date of rank upon original appointment and assignment to an AMEDD branch will be determined by the number of years of entry grade credit awarded. Figure Table 3-2 (Computation of Prior Active Commissioned Service Credit), Line 4, shows that individuals appointed in the Medical Corps or Dental Corps with extended active commissioned service in other than the specialty in which being appointed will receive 1/2 year for each year of service completed.

20. Paragraph 6.1 DODI 6000.13 states, "Entry Grade Credit. A prospective health professions officer’s entry grade and rank within grade shall be determined by the number of years of entry grade credit awarded on original appointment, designation, or assignment as a health professions officer. The entry grade credit to be awarded shall equal the sum of constructive service credit and prior commissioned service credit (other than as a commissioned warrant officer), except in cases where the total exceeds the maximum credit allowed, as stated in paragraph 6.1.3. below. A period of time shall be counted only once when computing entry grade credit, and qualifying periods of less than one full year shall be proportionately credited to the nearest day, except where noted otherwise. Credit shall be awarded in accordance with this Instruction and Sections 533 and 12207 of 10 U.S.C. (reference (c))."

21. Paragraph 6.1.1 DODI 6000.13 states, "Prior Commissioned Service Credit. Credit for prior service as a commissioned officer (other than as a commissioned warrant officer) shall be granted to recognize previous commissioned experience, while maintaining cognizance of the level of professional knowledge, skill, and experience required at specific rank levels of each health profession. For entry grade credit, the Medical Service Corps (MSC), the Biomedical Sciences Corps (BSC), and the Army Medical Specialist Corps (AMSC) are considered as the same Corps. The Secretaries shall establish procedures to ensure the awarding of prior commissioned service credit is applied in an equitable and consistent manner. Credit shall be awarded as follows:" [continuing into paragraph 6.1.1.1]

22. Paragraph 6.1.1.1 states, "Service on active duty or in an active status as a commissioned officer in any of the Uniformed Services, in the corps or professional specialty in which being appointed, shall be credited on a day-for-day basis with any commissioned service performed before such appointment. DODI 6000.13, June 30, 97 ."

23. The applicant was reappointed as a commissioned officer in the US Army Reserve as an AMEDD officer assigned to the Dental Corps in specialty code 63A (General Dentist). The applicant's prior Army commissioned officer service was in the Army Medical Service Corps before he was honorably discharged for the purposes of furthering his education and pursuing a different profession.

24. The officer's Officer Record Brief shows that he performed his duties in the specialty codes 67B (Laboratory Sciences) and 67E (Pharmacy).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS :

1. In order to justify correction of a military record, the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.

2. The applicant's prior active duty service, before being honorably discharged for the purposes of furthering his education and pursuing a different profession, was performed in the Army Medical Service Corps in specialty codes 67B and 67E.

3. The Officer's Officer Record Brief shows that the applicant performed his duties in specialty code 67B as a Medical Platoon Leader/Assistant S-1 and later as a Battalion Motor Officer, and in specialty code 67E (Pharmacy) as the Chief, Patient Administration Division. On his return to the Army, he returned in an altogether different specialty and in an altogether different branch within the Army Medical Department.

4. The applicant was reappointed as a commissioned officer the US Army Reserve as an AMEDD officer assigned to the Dental Corps in specialty code 63A (General Dentist).

5. The application of number 2, Figure Table 3-1 was not appropriate in this case since the applicant was not commissioned in the same specialty nor in the same branch in which he served before his honorable discharge and reappointment.

6. The application of number 4, Figure Table 3-1, was the appropriate line to follow in arriving at the amount of constructive service credit to be awarded in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________ ________ ________ GRANT RELIEF

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

jl _ ____ aao _____ rjw _____ DENY APPLICATION


The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned.





                  ____Joann Langston_____
                  CHAIRPERSON

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003086042
SUFFIX
RECON
DATE BOARDED	20040122
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
DATE OF DISCHARGE
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION	DENY
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1. 14	102.0000
2. 22	102.0800
3.
4.
5.
6.