BOARD DATE:	  18 October 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120006774 


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, correction of the effective date of his current Registered Nurse Incentive Special Pay (RNISP) agreement from 18 April 2011 to 7 September 2011 and relief from a suspended debt in the amount of approximately $1,931.00.

2.  The applicant states that at the time he applied for the RNISP at $20,000 per year he had an existing contract for $5,000.00 per year for the period September 2009 through September 2010.  He contends he specifically asked if the start date of the RNISP should be September 2011 and was told there was no need wait and that the incentive could become effective right way.  This year he was informed he had to pay approximately $1,900.00 for recoupment and debt.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his request for the RNISP, nursing license, family nurse practitioner certification, and copies of e-mail traffic regarding application procedures for the ISP.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is an Army Nurse Corps captain serving on active duty as a family nurse practitioner assigned to Fort Bliss, Texas.

2.  The applicant's pay records were not available and the applicant did not provide any documentation to show he incurred or paid a debt.

3.  In the processing of this case, a favorable advisory opinion was obtained from the Chief, Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Special Pay Branch, it stated:

	a.  The RNISP agreement can be executed 90 days in advance of the chosen effective date or up to 30 days post effective date; any effective date thereafter will be date of signature.  A review of the applicant's pay file indicated the current 4-year RNISP at $20,000.00 per year is effective for the period 18 April 2011 through 17 April 2015.  The previous 1-year RNISP at $5,000.00 was effective for the period 7 September 2010 through 6 September 2011.  There is currently a suspended debt of $1,931.00 pending collection.

   b.  The officer must bear the responsibility of his part of the agreement eligibility criteria, execution, and submission.  The executed 4-year RNSIP agreement indicated an effective date of 18 April 2011 and with the previous 
1-year RNISP agreement not expiring until 6 September 2011, there was an approximate 4-month overlapping contractual period.  Because agreements can only be paid once for the same contractual period, the overlap was subject to a prorated recoupment of $1,931.00.
   
   c.  The current 4-year RNISP at $20,000.00 per year effective 18 April 2011, should be changed to have an effective date of 7 September 2011 and he be granted relief for the suspended debt of $1,931.00.
   
4.  On 16 April 2011, the applicant was provided an opportunity to respond to the advisory opinion; however, a response was not received by the required suspense date.

5.  He submits email correspondence which shows that although he originally requested an effective date of September 2011 on his RNISP application, he was informed by the Human Resources Specialist processing his request that the contract could begin immediately.

6.  The Department of Defense (DoD) Financial Management Regulation (FMR), Volume 7A, Chapter 21, states in order to be eligible for the ISP for nurses a person must be:

   a.  An officer of the Nurse Corps of the Army or Navy, or an officer of the Air Force designated as a nurse; and
   
   b.  Be on active duty under a call or order to active duty for a period of not less than 1 year;


   c.  Fully qualified registered nurse with an active, full unrestricted license in a designated specialty of:
   
* Preoperative nursing
* Critical-care nursing
* Emergency nursing
* Obstetrics/gynecological nursing
* Medical-Surgical nursing
* Psychiatric/Mental Health nursing
* Community/Public Health nursing 
* Pediatric nursing
* Neonatal Intensive Care nursing
* Nurse Midwife
* Any Nurse Practitioner
   
   d.  Hold a nationally recognized certification in one of the clinical nursing specialties listed above;
   
   e.  Have completed a specialty nursing course approved by the service Surgeon General or graduate program in one of the clinical specialties listed above; and
   
   f.  Execute a written agreement to remain on active duty for a period of not less than 1 year which is accepted by the Secretaries concerned.

7.  The same DoD FMR states the Secretaries concerned may, upon acceptance of the written agreement, pay an eligible individual incentive pay in an annual amount not to exceed:

* $5,000 a year for a 1-year contract
* $10,000 a year for a 2-year contract
* $15,000 a year for a 3-year contract
* $20,000 a year for a 4-year contract

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, correction of the effective date of his current RNISP agreement from 18 April 2011 to 7 September 2011, and relief from a suspended debt in the amount of approximately $1,931.00.


2.  The available evidence indicates he was fully eligible for RNISP, but was given improper guidance on the effective start date which caused his contracts to overlap.  It appears that this administrative error caused the applicant to exceed his annual authorized ISP amount resulting in a debt of approximately $1,931.00.

3.  In view of the foregoing, it would be appropriate and in the interest of justice to correct his records to show that he executed the appropriate written agreement with an effective date of 7 September 2011.  This should remove the reason for the pending debt.

BOARD VOTE:

___x__  ____x____  ____x____  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 a recommendation for relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

* showing he requested payment of RNISP in the amount of $20,000 with an effective date of 7 September 2011
* having the Defense Finance and Accounting Service reconcile his pay account as a result of this correction and adjust the suspended debt accordingly




      _______ _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)                                         AR20120006774





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120006774



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