IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  7 April 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140011167 


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 military records to show he is entitled to retroactive payment for a 4-year Registered Nurse Incentive Special Pay (RNISP) contract at $20,000.00 per year effective 25 June 2007 through 24 June 2011.

2.  The applicant states an RNISP contract for the period 25 June 2007 through 24 June 2011 was erroneously omitted from his Army military pay record due to an administrative error.

3.  The applicant provides no additional evidence.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Having prior enlisted and commissioned service in the U.S. Coast Guard, Army National Guard, and U.S. Army Reserve (USAR), the applicant was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the USAR on 9 April 2007 in the Army Nurse Corps.  He entered active duty on 12 June 2007 to fulfill his 6-year active duty commitment in area of concentration (AOC) 66H (Medical-Surgical Nurse).  He was promoted to captain effective 27 January 2010.

2.  The available records do not contain a 4-year RNISP contract for the period 25 June 2007 through 24 June 2011.


3.  On 28 February 2014, he retired in the rank of captain due to reaching the maximum age.  Item 11 (Primary Specialty) of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) shows the entry "66H 5P MEDICAL-SURGICAL NURS – 6 YRS 9 MOS//NOTHING FOLLOWS."

4.  He provided a self-authored letter, dated 25 July 2014, which states:

	a.  In January 2006, he graduated with a Master of Science in Nursing degree having satisfied all requirements, academic and clinical, for that degree for national certification as a nurse practitioner.  He has been certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners as an adult nurse practitioner since 1 April 2006.  He has been licensed by the State of Arkansas as a registered nurse and certified nurse practitioner since 14 August 2006 and by the State of Ohio since 7 September 2006.

	b.  In the spring of 2007 while serving as an Army Reserve Soldier, he accepted a direct commission as a second lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps with a 6-year active duty service obligation (ADSO) beginning 25 June 2007.  He was encouraged to return to active duty by the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) recruiters' assurances of training, educational opportunities, and special pay.  As a nationally-certified and state-licensed nurse practitioner and a member of the Army Nurse Corps, he was eligible for RNISP.

	c.  During in-processing at his first active duty assignment, he requested a 
4-year RNISP contract to begin on 25 June 2007.  Subsequently, he inquired about the status of his RNISP request and was told by the S-1 that he was not eligible for special pay because he was assigned to a hospital as a medical-surgical nurse and not to a clinic as a nurse practitioner.

	d.  He disagreed noting his qualifications, the governing directive, and eligibility information provided to him by AMEDD recruiters.  He also noted that Nurse Corps and Medical Corps officers throughout the Army were receiving incentives and other special pay when assigned to administrative and command rather than provider positions (such as nurse practitioners assigned as officers in charge of clinics and physicians assigned as hospital and Medical Department Activity (MEDDAC) commanders).  His arguments were not well received.

	e.  The S-1 also informed him that she would not process any request for him for special pay.  He tentatively accepted the administrative officer's opinion of his eligibility for RNISP.

	f.  In April 2011, now with a different administrative officer, he submitted another request for an RNISP contract.  In May 2011, he was informed he was ineligible for RNISP because, although he was a nurse practitioner and otherwise eligible for RNISP, he was assigned to a medical-surgical position and so his latest request for RNISP would not be processed.

	g.  In June 2011, he was told by his Nurse Corps career manager that he was eligible for RNISP until his mandatory retirement date (MRD).  In July 2011, he was transferred to Madigan Army Medical Center (MAMC) and he was offered a 1-year RNISP contract during in-processing.

	h.  At that time his pending MRD was 31 October 2012 which allowed for only a 1-year contract.  He accepted and signed the 1-year RNISP contract on 4 August 2011.  He retired from the Army by reason of maximum age on 28 February 2014, having served 16 months beyond his MRD for maximum age of 31 October 2012.

	i.  In December 2011, when he finally received a portion of the RNISP for which he had accepted a 6-year ADSO back in 2007, he knew for certain the S-1 at Fort Riley had been mistaken and his Army military pay record was in error by the omission of a 4-year RNISP contract.  He and the AMEDD recruiters had been right all along.

	j.  He has exhausted all available administrative remedies for correction of the erroneous omission of a 4-year RNISP contract in his Army pay record.  He requested an RNISP contract of the responsible personnel service office at Fort Riley several times between June 2007 and June 2011 without success.

	k.  In August 2011, he complained to the Office of the Inspector General (IG) that he had been improperly denied an RNISP contract while assigned to Fort Riley.  The IG investigated and referred him to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records.

5.  An advisory opinion was obtained from the Chief, AMEDD Special Pay Branch, Office of the Surgeon General, in the processing of this case.  The advisory official states:

	a.  The applicant indicates he was eligible for the contract but was never allowed by the command to execute a contract due to interpretation of his eligibility.

	b.  Paragraph 6 of All Army Activities (ALARACT) messages 191/2007 and 365/2010 provide the basic eligibility for the RNISP, which includes being fully qualified in the specialty; being credentialed to the restriction of clinical privileges; possessing a full, unrestricted license or waiver; and performing the duties of a specialty registered nurse for sufficient time during the contract period to allow for the full maintenance of professional skills in that specialty.  Additionally, the messages indicate the commander will evaluate each requesting officer for satisfaction of all qualifying criteria, certification, and training requirements; they are the contract approval authority.

	c.  The applicant indicates that although he had graduate degree training and board certification as an adult nurse practitioner in AOC 66H8E, his assignment on active duty and utilization by the command was as a medical/surgical nurse in AOC 66H.

	d.  Specialty registered nurses who meet the basic eligibility, combined with the training, board certification, and retention criteria, are authorized annual RNISP contracts at $5,000.00 per year while under an ADSO.  When officers are within 1-year of the expiring ADSO, they can option to execute a 2, 3, or 4-year RNISP (higher variable rate based on length of contract) in lieu of another annual RNISP contract.

	e.  A review of special pay and finance records indicate the applicant had a 
6-year ADSO for receipt of an accession bonus and loan repayment recruitment package; therefore, if eligible for the RNISP he would have been limited to annual RNISP contracts from 25 June 2007 through 24 June 2013.  He departed active duty on 28 February 2014.

	f.  The applicant did not meet the eligibility criteria to receive the RNISP as a multi-year contract for the period 25 June 2007 through 24 June 2011 based on having a 6-year ADSO effective 12 June 2007 through 11 June 2013.

	g.  He was ineligible to execute annual RNISP contacts as an adult nurse practitioner in AOC 66H8E since he did not meet all the eligibility criteria as determined by the command.

6.  On 26 August 2014, the advisory opinion was furnished to the applicant for comment.  On 23 September 2014, he responded and stated:

	a.  Contrary to the advisory opinion, he did not claim he was never allowed by the command to execute an RNISP contract.  He explained in his application for correction and relief that the administrative officer at the Fort Riley MEDDAC had declined to process his request for RNISP because she did not believe he was eligible for special pay.  He was offered and accepted an RNISP contract in July 2011 at MAMC.

	b.  In his letter, dated 25 July 2014, his explanation of the error of omission in his Army pay record of an RNISP contract for the period July 2007 through July 2011 is direct and unambiguous, virtually impossible to misapprehend.

	c.  He believes that neither the MEDDAC Commander at Fort Riley nor any member of his command staff was ever aware of his request for RNISP.  The S-1 at the Fort Riley MEDDAC refused to process or forward his request for RNISP.  His request for RNISP was never seen by a senior member of his chain of command, including the MEDDAC Commander at Fort Riley.  His request for RNISP at Fort Riley stopped with the S-1.

	d.  In the spring of 2008, in response to his verbal inquiry, the S-1 staff at the Fort Riley MEDDAC claimed to have no record of his requests for RNISP in their personnel actions or correspondence logs.

	e.  He doubts the MEDDAC Commander at Fort Riley delegated any of his decision-making authority for RNISP to the S-1.  He believes his request for RNISP should have been processed like any other.  The S-1 was not the RNISP contact approval authority at the Fort Riley MEDDAC.

	f.  In June 2011, the Nurse Corps point of contact at the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) determined his eligibility for RNISP.  AMEDD recruiters advised him in early 2007 that he would be eligible for the RNISP and he would be offered an RNISP contract at his first permanent duty station, the Fort Riley MEDDAC.  The assertion of his eligibility for RNISP by the Nurse Corps point of contact at HRC was consistent with the advice given to him by AMEDD recruiters and consistent with his understanding of the program.

	g.  He served on active duty with a direct commission as an officer in the Regular Army Nurse Corps from 3 April 2007 to 28 February 2014.  His MRD for maximum age was 31 October 2012.  In April 2012, he submitted a request for deferment of MRD for maximum age for 6 years until 31 October 2018, the maximum period allowed by law and regulation.  He was continued on active duty by HRC in monthly increments beyond his MRD of 31 October 2012 pending a decision by the Secretary of the Army.  Apparently, the Secretary of the Army never considered his request and HRC issued retirement orders effective 28 February 2014.

	h.  He was awarded a Master of Science in Nursing degree in January 2006, having satisfied all requirements, academic and clinical, for that degree, for national certification as a nurse practitioner, and for state licensure as a registered nurse and nurse practitioner.  He has been certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners as an adult nurse practitioner, continuously, without restriction, since 1 April 2006.  He has been fully licensed as a registered nurse (unrestricted) and certified nurse practitioner (unrestricted) by the State of Arkansas since 14 August 2006 and by the State of Ohio since 7 September 2006, without interruption.

	i.  He was credentialed and granted clinical privileges as a nurse practitioner.  The MEDDAC Commander at Fort Riley allowed him to practice at a family health clinic on post as a nurse practitioner doing primary care for several months in 2010 so he could maintain and enhance his clinical skills and thereby ensure compliance with all RNISP eligibility requirements.

	j.  During in-processing at MAMC in late July 2011, he was offered and accepted a 1-year RNISP contract as an adult nurse practitioner.  Had the Special Pay Office at MAMC known he would be continued on active duty until 28 February 2014, 16 months beyond his MRD for the maximum age, he would no doubt have been offered and he would have accepted a 2-year rather than a 
1-year RNISP contract.

	k.  The Special Pay Manager and command staff at MAMC immediately, without reservation or exception, recognized his eligibility for RNISP under the relevant directive.  The S-1 at the Fort Riley MEDDAC was simply wrong in her earlier opinion.

	l.  Incidentally, he now realizes that because ALARACT 191-2007 became effective on 11 July 2007, his RNISP contracts should all begin on 11 July of the apposite years, including his 1-year RNISP contract at MAMC.

	m.  Perhaps he should have asked for a 2-year RNISP contract in February 2012, 2 years before his actual retirement date of 28 February 2014, in lieu of a 1-year contract in July 2011, because no one knew his eventual retirement date.

	n.  All things considered, in retrospect, if not a 4-year RNISP contract at the Fort Riley MEDDAC, perhaps he should have executed three 1-year contracts beginning on 11 July 2007 – rather than executing a 1-year contract for the period 4 July 2011 through 3 July 2012 at MAMC, he should have executed a 
2-year contract beginning on 1 March 2012.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant requests correction of his military records to show he is entitled to a retroactive 4-year RNISP contract at $20,000.00 per year effective 25 June 2007 to 24 June 2011.

2.  The evidence of record shows he served in AOC 66H (Medical-Surgical Nurse) during his active duty assignment from 12 June 2007 to 28 February 2014.

3.  The governing directive states specialty registered nurses who meet the basic eligibility, combined with the training, board certification, and retention criteria, are authorized annual RNISP contracts at $5,000.00 per year while under an ADSO.

4.  He contends the 4-year RNISP was erroneously omitted from his Army military pay record.  However, per the advisory opinion:

	a.  The evidence shows the applicant did not meet the criteria to receive the RNISP as a multi-year contract for the period 26 June 2007 through 24 June 2011 based on having a 6-year ADSO effective 12 June 2007 through 11 June 2013.

	b.  He was ineligible to execute annual RNISP contracts as an adult nurse practitioner since he did not meet all the eligibility criteria as determined by his command.

5.  Based on the foregoing, there is insufficient evidence on which to base granting relief in this case. 

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 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)                                         AR20140011167



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140011167



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