RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        20 December 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040006796


      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             |
|     |Ms. Joyce A. Wright               |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. James Hise                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Ronald E. Blakely             |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Jeanette R. McCants           |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests reconsideration of his previous request for
4 years constructive service credit for longevity pay and retirement
purposes for his attendance at the Uniformed Services University of the
Health Sciences (USUHS), Class of 1987, from August 1983 to May 1987.

2.  The applicant states that the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act
(DOPMA), which became law on 15 September 1981, repealed the 4 years of
constructive credit under Title 37, United States (US) Code (USC), Section
205a(7) and (8) for medical officers attending USUHS, but preserved credit
for officers who were enrolled in USUHS on 14 September 1981.  He
interviewed at USUHS initially in late 1981 or early 1982 (when applying
for the Class of 1986) but was not accepted.  He was briefed, at that time,
that the 4 years at USUHS would count for pay and retirement purposes upon
graduation.  He was later briefed again in January 1983, at Letterman Army
Medical Center, by a school representative from USUHS.  During the
briefing, there was no information provided that there had been a change in
credit for pay or retirement purposes for attendance at USUHS relating to
the passage of DOPMA.

3.  He states that the School of Medicine Bulletin, USUHS, provided a
briefing that specifically stated that "longevity credit for pay purposes
accrues for students for time spent in school ….."  Constructive credit for
time at USUHS was granted to the entire class of 1986 because they had not
been briefed of the changes prior to matriculation.  Most or all members of
the class of 1987 were similarly misinformed, and when they attempted to
appeal their decision they were denied. He recently discovered that many
members of the class of 1987 individually appealed this decision and were
granted credit for the 4 years at USUHS by the Board of Corrections of
Military Records (BMCR).  He goes on to state that he entered USUHS in 1983
believing that the 4 years of medical school would count for longevity
purposes, as he and many of his classmate were informed otherwise until
their first year of medical school was already underway.  He has been
informed that several of his former classmates were granted constructive
credit by the BCMR.   He is now requesting that he be granted the same
relief, in equity and fairness, and that his records be corrected with back
pay and allowances.

4.  The applicant provides copies of three memorandums, an extract of the
School of Medical Bulletin for period 1983-1984, two former cases granting
relief by the Board, and a copy of a memorandum from a U.S. Senator.



CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were
summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the
Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AC90-
10735A on 13 February 1991.

2.  The Board concluded that the facts clearly established that the
applicant became a USUHS student in August 1983, and as a matter of law,
was not entitled to service credit under Title 37, USC, Section 205(a)(6),
which was repealed by the DOPMA effective 14 September 1981.  There was
insufficient material evidence to support his contention that he was misled
regarding service credit to be awarded upon completion of USUHS.

3.  The applicant's military records show that he was commissioned on
16 May 1987 and entered active duty as a captain (CPT/O-3) in the Medical
Corps in area of concentration (61G).  He was member of the USUHS Class of
1987.  He  was promoted to colonel (COL/O-6) on 16 May 2005 and is
currently serving on AD.

4.  The applicant provides a copy of memorandum from the Director of
Admissions/Registrar of the Medical School, dated 18 April 1985.  The
memorandum admitting that segments of the Class of 1987 which he did not
personally brief could have been misled on the issue of constructive
service credit; and a copy of the pertinent pages of the Bulletin of The
School of Medicine, USUHS 1983-1984 which states, “Longevity credit for pay
purposes accrues for students for time spent in school, but students cannot
receive longevity pay increases during that time.  Length of prior service,
however, does count in determining the amount of base pay in grade O-1."

5.  The applicant provides a copy of memorandum from the Dean of the
Medical School to the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records,
dated 26 December 1985.  The memorandum admitted that the USUHS, School of
Medicine Bulletin did not include revisions concerning constructive service
credit which were mandated by DOPMA.  It also indicated that certain
briefing officials did not clarify the issue for prospective students.

6.  The applicant provides a copy of another memorandum from the Dean of
Medical School, dated 5 December 1986 to the Board for Correction of Naval
Records (BCNR).  It reiterated his belief that applicants from the class of
1987 who either were not informed, or misinformed, about constructive
service credit be given constructive service credit for attendance at
USUHS.
7.  The applicant provides a copy of a letter from the USUHS, General
Counsel, dated 29 September 1998 to the Secretary of Defense.  The letter
stated that USUHS admitted that they may have misinformed students of the
Class of 1987 concerning the issue of constructive service credit.

8.  The applicant provides a copy of a letter from a United States Senator,
dated 16 October 1998.  The Senator stated that several of his military
constituents had raised serious concerns about how the Department of
Defense (DOD) and the BMCR had handled the inquiries between members of the
USUHS Class of 1987 with regards to pre-DOPMA service credits.  He stated
that some credit was awarded to some members of the class while others had
not been afforded such credit.  After a review the facts of the cases, he
was inclined to agree with the position of his constituents and that
satisfactory resolution of this issue was critical to the retention of
these vital uniformed medical personnel.  He concurred with the USUHS
General Counsel on the USUHS official position on this matter and concurred
that all members of the affected USUHS class be treated equally and awarded
pre-DOPMA constructive credit for longevity pay purposes.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was previously denied a request for constructive service
credit for his attendance at the USUHS.

2.  The applicant was briefed that the 4 years at USUHS would count for pay
and retirement purposes for graduation.  He was briefed in January 1983 by
a school representative and was provided no information that there had been
a change in credit for pay or retirement purposes for attendance at USUHS
relating to the passing of DOPMA.

3.  The Dean of Admissions/Registrar admitted that he did not personally
brief every prospective student and that those staff who conducted
briefings on his behalf provided inaccurate or incomplete information
concerning the effects upon entitlements (pay purposes at the time of
graduation and retirement) due to the DOPMA legislation.  Pertinent records
reflect that the applicant was briefed by a staff member and not the Dean
of Admission/Registrar at the Letterman Army Medical Center (LAMC), San
Francisco, California on 27 January 1983.

4.  The briefing for prospective USUHS students which the applicant
attended may not have addressed the issue of constructive service credit
and the applicant was provided a copy of the official Bulletin of the
Medical School which emphatically stated that students accrued constructive
service credit for attendance at the USUHS.


5.  The applicant was misinformed about the issue of constructive service
credit and used that misinformation to make a career decision about which
medical school program to accept.  Only after he had made his irrevocable
decision to attend the USUHS, did he discover that he would not receive
constructive service credit.  It would, therefore, be unjust and
inequitable to deny the applicant the relief requested.

BOARD VOTE:

__JH____  __RB___  _JM ____  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
amendment of the ABCMR’s decision in Docket Number AC90-10735A, dated
13 February 1991.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of
the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected:

      a.  by showing that he was enrolled in the Uniformed Services
University of the Health Sciences on 15 August 1983; and

      b.  by showing that he was awarded constructive service credit for
longevity pay purposes only while attending the Uniformed Services
University of the Health Sciences at Bethesda, Maryland, from 15 August
1983 to 16 May 1987.




                                  ______James Hise________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040006796                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051220                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . ACTIVE DUTY                    |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |112                                     |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |
















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