IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	       10 September 2009

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090009962 


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, in effect, award of constructive service credit for a Masters degree he earned before signing up for the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program (AFHPSP).  

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was incorrectly denied constructive service credit for graduate experience he earned prior to his commission in the U.S. Army Medical Corps.  He contends that the Graduate Medical Education (GME) Office has changed its interpretation of granting constructive service credit for graduate work that is contrary to U.S. Code and Department of Defense Instruction (DODI) 6000.13.  He claims that the GME Office instead wants to grant credit only for graduate degrees that are prerequisites for a medical degree and shortened training.  He states the change results in denial of constructive service credit for all previous graduate work for officers commissioned in the Medical Corps, which is also contradictory to previous Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) decisions.  He also states that because of this change he was not given the opportunity to make his case that his graduate experience contributes to Army medicine.  

3.  The applicant states that his graduate work includes a Masters degree and a PhD, that he first enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) in 1991, that he was commissioned in the USAR on 27 March 1995, and that he entered medical school in 2005 and graduated in May 2009.  He goes on to state that his prior commissioned service has all been credited but his graduate work was denied because of a change in interpretation of the DODI 6000.13 from a misapplication of paragraph 6.1.1.3.  He points out that requesting constructive service credit for both prior commissioned service in the USAR since 1995 and for graduate work in the humanities before 1995 through the GME Office has been a challenge.  He indicates that after a Senator's office got involved he was given the proper credit for his prior commissioned service; however, the GME Office denied his request for constructive service credit for his graduate work citing paragraph 6.1.1.3. of DODI 6000.13.  He points out that the GME Office agreed with previous ABCMR decisions to grant constructive service credit for graduate degrees.  

4.  The applicant states that paragraph 6.1.1.3. of DODI 6000.13 is about credit "while participating in" the program towards the medical degree in a commissioned status already, and is not about additional graduate experience prior to commissioning.  He indicates that paragraph 6.1.1. concerns prior commissioned service credit and the qualifying degree while in a commissioned status.  The proper paragraph is 6.1.2. (constructive service credit) with the pertinent subparagraphs (6.1.2.2.2. through 6.1.2.2.6.) that address additional graduate experience before entering commissioned service.  There are no references in DODI 6000.13 that prior graduate degrees must be medical or dental degree prerequisites that shorten residency.  The requirements for constructive service credit are that the degrees provide adjunctive skills under paragraph 6.1.2.2.3. 

5.  The applicant further states that paragraph 6.1.2.2.2. authorizes credit for prior graduate work before commissioning and paragraph 6.1.2.2.3. states that graduate work must add adjunctive skills and contribute directly.  He claims that he clearly meets the requirements for paragraph 6.1.2.2.6. which allows for "additional credit in unusual cases, based on special education or experience."  He contends that his graduate experience is non-traditional in the humanities, yet it adds directly and significantly to Army medicine in the areas of academic research, teaching, and medical ethics.  Consequently, his prior graduate experience should qualify for constructive service credit.  He indicates that his prior work is the foundation for his research in the medical humanities, history of medicine, and in the practical application to patient care.  He points out that he is qualified to teach at the graduate level, that he taught for the Marine Corps University at the Naval Post Graduate School, and that he is qualified to sit on hospital medical ethics committees.  As a military historian, he has extensive practical experience with Soldiers with symptomatic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or clinical Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for over 10 years. 

6.  The applicant states that he was granted 9 years, 2 months, and 10 days of constructive service credit.  Four years are for the basic qualifying medical degree and an additional 5 years, 2 months, and 10 days are for prior commissioned service.  The maximum constructive service credit for graduate experience is 4 years and the limitations of entry level credit may limit constructive service credit to a maximum of 10 years and initial appointment as a major unless an exception is approved by Headquarters Department of the Army.  So, the maximum amount of time he may request may only be 9 months and 
20 days which is $900/month or almost $9,000.  Although, he would prefer a maximum of 4 years.   

7.  The applicant provides 17 enclosures outlined on the last page of his memorandum, dated 1 June 2009. 

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant obtained his Masters degree in History in 1989.  

2.  The applicant enlisted in the USAR in 1991.  He was appointed as a second lieutenant in the USAR on 27 March 1995.   

3.  The applicant obtained a Doctor of Philosophy degree in History in 2000.  

4.  On 1 June 2005, the applicant completed a Department of the Army service agreement to participate in the AFHPSP.

5.  On 21 April 2009, the applicant was appointed as a captain in the USAR, Medical Corps, with a date of rank of 21 April 2009.  He was credited with 9 years, 2 months, and 10 days of service in an active status, as of the date of his graduation from medical school.  This service is not valid for basic pay and it is not the result of prior military service.

6.  In May 2009, the applicant was awarded his medical degree. 

7.  The applicant was ordered to active duty for four years on 8 June 2009 to fulfill his active Army requirement.  

8.  The applicant provided an email, dated 15 April 2009, from the Program Manager, GME Office which states that his constructive service credit is 9 years, 2 months, and 10 days.  He was given 4 years of credit for medical school and he was given half of his prior service credit (5 years, 2 months, and 20 days).  The email states that per the Director, Medical Education, Office of The Surgeon General, he was not given credit for his Doctor of Philosophy in History degree because it was not a prerequisite for the Medical Corps and he was not given credit for his Masters degree.  His total constructive service credit calculation for entry grade credit is 9 years, 2 months, and 10 days. 

9.  The applicant also provided an email, dated 22 April 2009, from the Director, Medical Education, Office of The Surgeon General.  The email points out that paragraph 6.1.1.3. of DODI 6000.13 specifically states that constructive service credit may be awarded only if such advanced education or advanced degree is required as a prerequisite for original appointment as a commissioned officer in a particular officer category.  The email states that the applicant is being commissioned as a physician in the Medical Corps and that the required prerequisite degree is either medical or dental, nothing else.  The email states that the applicant will be training as a resident in emergency medicine for the next 3 years and that neither of the degrees he alludes to will allow him to complete training in less time or sit for his board certification examinations any earlier.  The email further states the Director's office had methodically gone through the applicant's documentation and granted him the maximum amount of constructive credit per DODI 6000.13.    

10.  Title 10, U.S. Code, section 12207(b)(1)(A) and (B) states, in pertinent part, that a person who is receiving an original appointment as a Reserve commissioned officer (other than a commissioned warrant officer) of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, or a designation in, or an assignment to, an officer category in which advanced education or training is required and who has 
advanced education or training shall be credited with one year for each year of advanced education beyond the baccalaureate degree level, for persons appointed or designated in, or assigned to, officer categories requiring such advanced education or an advanced degree as a prerequisite for such appointment; credit for any period of advanced education in a health profession (other than medicine and dentistry) beyond the baccalaureate degree level which exceeds the basic education criteria for such appointment; and credit for experience in a health profession (other than medicine or dentistry), if such experience will be directly used by the armed force concerned.  

11.  Paragraph 6.1.1.3. of DODI 6000.13 states, in pertinent part, that constructive service credit may be awarded only if such advanced education or advanced degree is required as a prerequisite for original appointment as a commissioned officer in a particular officer category.  

12.  Paragraph 6.1.2. of DODI 6000.13 states that constructive service credit provides a person who begins commissioned service after obtaining the additional education, training, or experience required for appointment, designation, or assignment as an officer in a health profession, with a grade and date of rank comparable to that attained by officers who begin commissioned service after getting a baccalaureate degree and serve for the period of time it would take to obtain the additional education.     

13.  Paragraph 6.1.2.2.2. of DODI 6000.13 provides that: "Credit for Masters and Doctorate degrees in a health profession other than medicine and dentistry, whether it is the primary degree or an additional advanced degree, shall be awarded based on actual full-time equivalent education of up to two years for a Masters degree and up to four years for a Doctorate.  Credit may not include time spent in attainment of baccalaureate or other lower degrees.  No additional credit may be given for more than one advanced degree in a single field, or closely related field.  The total credit allowed for having both a master’s and a doctorate degree may not exceed the maximum allowed for a doctorate."

14.  Paragraph 6.1.2.2.3. of DODI 6000.13 states that the additional degree must add adjunctive skills to the primary specialty and must contribute directly to performance in the anticipated position in the Military Service concerned.

15.  Paragraph 6.1.2.2.6. of DODI 6000.13 states that additional credit in unusual cases, based on special education or experience, can be granted by the Secretary of a Military Department, or designee.  As determined by Service needs, the additional credit applies to individuals with unique qualifications that are beyond normal requirements for appointment as commissioned officers.  The amount of credit shall be one year for each year of special education or experience.  Maximum credit under subparagraph 6.1.2.2.5., above, must be earned before earning any experience credit under this paragraph. 

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

The applicant's contentions that the GME Office made an incorrect change in its interpretation of DODI 6000.13 and he was incorrectly denied constructive service credit for graduate experience he earned prior to his commission were carefully considered.  However, the governing regulation states that constructive service credit may be awarded only if such advanced education or advanced degree is required as a prerequisite for original appointment as a commissioned officer in a particular officer category.  The applicant was not given credit for his Masters degree or Doctor of Philosophy in History degree because they were not  prerequisites for being commissioned in the Medical Corps.  Therefore, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.  








BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___X____  ___X____  ___X___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

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.




      _______ _ 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)                                         AR20090009962



3


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090009962



2


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1