RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           1 November 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050001495


      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. James E. Anderholm            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Thomas E. O’Shaughessy        |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Carol A. Kornhoff             |     |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, in effect, payment of medical special pay for
2002 and 2003.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, he did not receive his medical
specialty pay because he was deployed to Iraq while his physician’s license
was pending.  He claims he was told he would be paid Incentive Special Pay
(ISP) once he received his medical license and returned from Iraq.

3.  The applicant provides the following documents in support of his
application:  Self-Authored Letter; Officer Basic Course (OBC) Orders;
Active Duty and Iraq Deployment Orders; Medical License and State of
Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners Letter; and Request for ISP.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  On 6 July 2002, the applicant entered active duty as an obligated
volunteer officer for 3 years.  He attended the OBC at Fort Sam Houston,
Texas from
7 July through 13 September 2002.  Upon completion of the OBC, he was
assigned to Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

2.  The applicant served in Iraq from 5 March 2003 through 4 February 2004
and was honorably released from active duty on 5 July 2005, after
completing a total of 3 years of active duty service.

3.  In connection with the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was
obtained from the Chief, Army Medical Department (AMEDD), Special Pay
Branch, Office of The Surgeon General (OTSG).  This official states that
eligibility to execute any Health Professions Special Pay agreement
requires the officer be in possession of a current, valid and unrestricted
license, which the applicant received on 29 April 2003.  This official
states that based on the date the applicant received his license, he was
indeed eligible to enter into his one-year obligatory ISP agreement for the
period 29 April 2003 through 28 April 2004, and each year thereafter in the
amount of $12,000 per year.  This official further states that it appears
that due to the applicant’s deployment, he was unable to execute his
special pay agreement in a timely fashion and in turn, was not able to
execute the agreement until 1 October 2003.

4.  This OTSG official further states it appears the applicant’s failure to
receive ISP was through no fault of his own.  Further, if approved the
following adjustment should be made by the Defense Finance and Accounting
Service (DFAS):  the applicant’s ISP agreement for the period 1 October
2003 through 30 September 2004 at $12,000 per year be corrected by changing
the period to 29 April 2004 through 28 April 2005, and upon completion of
this action, the applicant should immediately submit a new ISP agreement
for the period 29 April 2004 through 28 April 2005, at $12,000 per year for
payment.

5.  On 7 March 2005, the applicant was provided a copy of the OTSG advisory
opinion in order to have the opportunity to respond.  To date, he has
failed to reply.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s claim that he was not properly authorized ISP in 2002
because of his deployment to Iraq was carefully considered and found to
have partial merit.

2.  The evidence of record confirms the applicant was not eligible for ISP
in 2002. However, he did become eligible for ISP upon his receiving his
medical license on 29 April 2003.  The evidence further confirms that due
to his deployment in Iraq, his ISP agreement was not processed in a timely
fashion and his ISP agreement was not approved until 1 October 2003.

3.  In view of the facts of this case, as confirmed by the OTSG advisory
opinion, it would be appropriate and serve the interest of justice to
revise the applicant’s ISP agreement covering the period 1 October 2003
through 30 September 2004 by amending the effective dates of the agreement
to 29 April 2003 through
28 April 2005.  Further, given the applicant has since separated from
active duty, it would also be appropriate to pay him the difference in any
ISP based on these corrected agreement dates without requiring him to
submit a new agreement to the OTSG.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___JEA__  ___TEO _  __CAK__  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to
warrant a recommendation for partial relief.  As a result, the Board
recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual
concerned be corrected by replacing the applicant’s ISP agreement for the
period 1 October 2003 through 30 September 2004 with an ISP agreement that
covers the period 29 April 2003 through 28 April 2005; and by providing him
any additional ISP due as a result of this change.

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is
insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result,
the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to
ISP payments in 2002, prior to his receiving his medical license on 29
April 2003.




            ____James E. Anderholm______
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050001495                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2005/11/01                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |2005/07/05                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 600-8-4                              |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |ETS                                     |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schneider                           |
|ISSUES         1.       |128.1700                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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