IN THE CASE OF:	

		BOARD DATE:	  24 April 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140001443 


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 payment of board certification pay (BCP) for the period January 2012 to October 2012.

2.  She states:

	a.  She was board certified in Pediatrics in October 2010 and was eligible for physician BCP.  She received the pay from October 2010 until December 2011.

	b.  She no longer received her BCP from January 2012 until October 2013.  She realized this mistake in August 2013 and submitted pay inquiries to finance and through her specialty pay coordinator.

	c.  She eventually received back pay for November 2012 to October 2013 and she started receiving her monthly stipend.

	d.  She has not been reimbursed for January 2012 to October 2012 and was told by her specialty pay coordinator that she needed to petition the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) for correction of her pay.  

3.  She provides several Leave and Earning Statements (LES).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is currently serving on active duty in the rank of major/O-4.

2.  On 11 June 2003, she was appointed as a Reserve commissioned officer in the rank of second lieutenant.  

3.  On 11 May 2007, she was appointed as a Regular Army captain in the Medical Corps Branch. 

4.  She was certified in Pediatrics on 18 October 2010.  

5.  A review of her personnel records in the Interactive Personnel Electronic Management System (iPERMS) revealed she submitted the following contracts for medical special pays:

SPECIAL PAY
START DATE
AMOUNT
Medical Additional Special Pay (MASP) 
1 July 2010
$15,000
MASP
1 July 2011
$15,000
MASP
1 July 2012
$15,000
MASP
1 July 2013
$15,000
Incentive Special Pay (ISP)
1 October 2010
$20,000
ISP
1 October 2011
$20,000
ISP
1 October 2012
$20,000
ISP
1 October 2013
$23,000
6.  She provided LESs for the following periods which indicate:

* December 2011, she received BCP ($208.33) and Variable Special Pay (VSP)
* January 2012, she did not receive BCP (.00), she received VSP
* February 2012, no entry for receipt of BCP; she received VSP
* March 2012, no entry for receipt of BCP; she received VSP
* April 2012, no entry for receipt of BCP; she received VSP
* May 2012, no entry for receipt BCP; she received VSP
* June 2012, no entry for receipt BCP; she received VSP
* July 2012, no entry for receipt BCP; she received VSP
* September 2012, no entry for receipt of BCP; she received VSP
* October 2012, no entry for receipt of BCP; she received VSP
* October 2013, she received BCP ($2,708.29), which started on 1 November 2012 and she received VSP

7.  On 7 March 2014, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Chief, Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Special Pay Branch, Office of the Surgeon General.  The advisory official stated:

	a.  A review of supporting documentation and available special pay and finance data indicates the applicant's BCP was paid through 31 December 2011 and was restarted on 1 October 2012 with current expiration 31 December 2014.

	b.  There is no record of submission, authorization or payment of BCP for the period 1 January 2012 to 30 September 2012.

	c.  The applicant is eligible to receive BCP for the 9-month period of 1 January 2012 to 30 September 2012.  The retroactive payment for this total period is approximately $1,875 prior to withholding; exact withholding to be determined by Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) - Indiana (IN).  

8.  A copy of the advisory opinion was forwarded to the applicant to allow her to submit comments.  On 25 March 2014, she responded to the advisory opinion.  She stated she wanted to make one correction to the advisory opinion.  In paragraph 2b, it states her BCP was restarted on 1 October 2012.  She has attached her LES from October 2013 which indicates her BCP was restarted on 1 November 2012.  This would entitle her to a 10-month period of back pay from 1 January 2012 to 31 October 2012.  The Remarks section of her LES for the period 1 to 31 October 2013 indicates her BCP started on 1 November 2012.

9.  On or about 17 April 2014, the AMEDD Special Pay Branch confirmed that her BCP restarted in October 2012.

10.  Title 37, U.S. Code, sections 301d, 302, 302f, and 303a, provides for 
multi-year retention bonuses and special pays for medical officers and health professionals of the Armed Forces.  For Army Medical Corps officers (physicians), these special pays include BCP which is paid monthly to all board-certified Medical Corps officers based upon their date of board certification and their creditable service used to establish the Health Professional Pay Entry Date.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record shows the applicant was certified in Pediatrics on 18 October 2010.

2.  However, her service record does not indicate she submitted for or was authorized payment of BCP for the period 1 January 2012 to 30 September 2012.  

3.  The Chief of the AMEDD Special Pay Branch supported payment of retroactive BCP agreement for approximately $1,875 for the 9-month period 1 January 2012 to 30 September 2012.
4.  In view of the foregoing, her records should be corrected to show entitlement to this medical specialty pay. 

5.  It is recognized that it appears her October 2013 LES shows her BCP
restarted in November 2012, but the AMEDD Special Pay Branch confirmed that their records show it restarted in October 2012.  The applicant should contact AMEDD Special Pay Branch to try to discover where the difference in one month comes from.  If the AMEDD Special Pay Branch cannot resolve the issue to the applicant’s satisfaction, she may reapply for reconsideration (with AMEDD Special Pay Branch’s reasoning for using October 2012 and additional evidence, possibly from DFAS, to support her contention that September 2012 is the correct re-start date).

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

____X____  ____X____  ___X_____  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  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 showing she is authorized to receive BCP pay for the 9-month period of 1 January 2012 to 30 September 2012.

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 BCP pay for a 10-month period of 1 January 2012 to 31 October 2012.



      _______ _   _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)                                         AR20140001443



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140001443



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