IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	    22 June 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090019789 


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 correction of his record to show his date of rank (DOR) and pay entry basic date (PEBD) as 6 January 2004.

2.  The applicant states:

	a.  He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) in May 2000.

	b.  After graduating, he was accepted to attend medical school and resigned his [Regular Army (RA)] commission while attending medical school.

	c.  Prior to resigning his RA commission after graduating from the USMA, he took 60 days of leave from 26 May 2000 to 26 July 2000.

	d.  During medical school, he served on active duty for the following periods:

* 45 days in 2001 to attend the officer basic course (OBC) at Fort Sam Houston, TX
* 4 weeks of active duty for training (ADT) in 2003 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC
* 4 weeks of ADT in 2003 at Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, WA

	e.  Upon completing medical school, he reentered active duty to begin his residency in June 2004.  At this time, his date of rank was set as 8 June 2004, which did not include the 22 weeks he was on active duty after graduating from the USMA and while he was attending medical school.

	f.  His DOR and PEBD were set based on criteria applicable to most physicians joining the military after medical school without prior active duty service.  Most physicians' DOR is correctly set as their report date for internship training, but he had 22 weeks of prior active duty military service that was not taken into account.

3.  The applicant provides:

* a DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty)
* an Officer Record Brief
* an Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Officer Basic Course Certificate
* a transcript from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
* a diploma from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The record shows the applicant was appointed as an officer after graduating from the USMA in the grade of second lieutenant and he entered active duty on 27 May 2000.  

2.  Orders 116-11, Headquarters, United States Corps of Cadets, dated 25 April 2000, show the applicant was honorably relieved from active duty on 26 July 2000 after serving for 2 months.  He was assigned to the U.S. Reserve Personnel Center Control Group (Officer Active Duty Obligor) for the purpose of attending the U.S. Army Health Professional Scholarship Program (HPSP).

3.  On 29 July 2000, the applicant executed a DA Service Agreement in conjunction with his application to participate the HPSP.  By signing the agreement, the applicant agreed to participate in designated military training while in the HPSP and acknowledged that service performed while a member of the HPSP would not be counted in determining eligibility for retirement or in computing years of service creditable under Title 37, U.S. Code, section 205.

4.  Orders T-04-106185 and Orders T-07-310240, both issued by U.S. Army Reserve Personnel Command, St. Louis, MO, dated 11 April 2001 and 15 July 2003, respectively, show the applicant was ordered to active duty for training (ADT) for a period of 45 days on each occasion.


5.  Orders A-03-490545, U.S. Army Reserve Personnel Command, dated 29 March 2004, show the applicant was ordered to report for active duty on 8 June 2004 to fulfill his active duty commitment.  The applicant's record shows he reported as ordered and he has served on active duty from that date forward.

6.  The applicant's record in the interactive Personnel Electronic Records Management System includes U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC), Alexandria, VA, Order Number 189-001, dated 7 July 2004, which announced a determination affecting the applicant's promotion status.  The order established his active duty date of rank (ADOR) to captain as 8 May 2004.

7.  The applicant's record in the Total Officer Personnel Management Information System (TOPMIS) shows his DOR, Basic Active Service Date (BASD), and PEBD as 8 June 2004.

8.  In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was provided by the Program Manager, Graduate Medical Education, Office of the Surgeon General on 19 April 2010.  The advisory official recommended granting the applicant 1 month of credit for prior service in accordance with DOD Instruction 6000.13 (Medical Manpower and Personnel).  The advisory opinion further recommended that no credit be granted for attendance at OBC or for periods of active duty while in medical school.

9.  The advisory opinion was forwarded to the applicant for information and to provide him the opportunity to submit comments or a rebuttal.  The applicant agreed with the advisory opinion; however, he noted the following:

	a.  If his DOR is moved to 8 May 2004, he would like to request back pay for being promoted to major 1 month late.

	b.  He believes the full 2 months of active duty time after graduation from the USMA should be included in his basic active service date (BASD) calculation.

10.  Title 10, U.S. Code, section 12207, states constructive service credit for an officer shall be used only for determining the officer's:

* initial grade as a reserve officer 
* rank in grade
* service in grade for promotion eligibility

11.  DOD Instruction 6000.13 implements policy, assigns responsibilities, and prescribes procedures to carry out medical manpower and personnel programs.  It establishes guidelines for calculating a prospective health professions officer's entry grade and rank within grade based upon the sum of constructive service credit and prior commissioned service credit.  It provides:

* a period of time shall be counted only once when computing entry-grade credit
* active commissioned service not in the Medical Corps shall be awarded one-half day of credit for each day served
* military service while enrolled in the HPSP will not count towards years of service for the purpose of computing basic pay

12.  The DOD Financial Management Regulation, volume 7, chapter 1, states the several military pay and personnel systems use a variety of dates to determine various entitlements.  Among them is the date denoting how much service a member has for the purpose of determining longevity pay rates.  The Army refers to this as the PEBD.  This chapter refers to this data element as the "basic pay date," which is defined as reflecting all service that is creditable towards longevity.  For most members who enter and serve on active duty without a break in service, the basic pay date is the date the member enters active or inactive service.  If, however, there is a break in service, then the time between periods of service usually is not included.  Also, there are statutory periods when service in a particular component may not be counted.  Conversely, there are periods for which some members are given constructive service credit, even though they were not actually serving on active or inactive duty.  This chapter specifically states that periods of service in the Army of the United States or the U.S. Army Reserve will be treated as creditable service periods without restriction.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request for correction of his record to show his DOR and PEBD as 6 January 2004 was carefully considered and is partially supported by the evidence.

2.  The evidence of record shows the applicant served on active duty for 2 months after graduating from the USMA.  The evidence of record also shows orders assigned the applicant to the HPSP on 26 July 2000 and, by signing a service agreement on 29 July 2000, he acknowledged service performed while a member of the program would not be treated as creditable military service.

3.  When the applicant entered active duty after completing medical school, his DOR and PEBD were set as 8 June 2004, the date of entry on active duty.  However, an order issued by HRC shows his DOR was determined to be 8 May 2004 as a result of receiving one-half day of credit for each day served prior to entering the HPSP.  The evidence of record shows this is the correct DOR.  The applicant is entitled to correction of his records to show his DOR as 8 May 2004.

4.  The applicant's PEBD and BASD are incorrect.  The evidence of record shows he served 2 months on active duty prior to entering the HPSP.  Accordingly, he is entitled to correction of his record to show his PEBD and BASD as 8 April 2004.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

__X_____  ___X____ ____X___  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined 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:

	a.  changing his DOR to CPT to 8 May 2004 in TOPMIS,

	b.  changing his PEBD and BASD to 8 April 2004, and

	c.  auditing his records and paying him any pay and allowances due as a result of these corrections.

2.  If these changes result in a different promotion eligibility date for major, the Board further recommends his records be submitted to a duly-constituted special selection board for appropriate promotion consideration or, if he has already been promoted to major, that his DOR to major be adjusted as appropriate.

3.  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 a DOR earlier than 8 May 2004 and a PEBD earlier than 8 April 2004.




      __________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)                                         AR20090019789



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090019789



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