RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:                 19 JANUARY 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:         AR20050003667


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Ms. Deyon D. Battle               |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John Infante                  |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. William Crain                 |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Gerald Purcell                |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, that she be awarded additional
constructive credit.

2.  The applicant states that she was commissioned as a second lieutenant
(O1) in the Army Reserve after having served 21.5 years as an enlisted
member obtaining the rank of sergeant first class.  She states that both
she and her recruiter believed that something had gone wrong in her
commissioning process. She states that in June 2004, she received excess
documents in the mail including a Record of Award of Entry Grade Credit (DA
Form 5074-1-R) indicating that she was only granted 3 months and 15 days of
credit and that item number 19 on the DA Form 5074-1-R is incomplete as she
has been a licensed and practicing Medical Technologist since March 1984.
The applicant states that she worked at North Broward Hospital District,
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from March 1984 until December 1994; at Boston
Children's Hospital, Boston Massachusetts, from December 1994 until March
1997; and at Groton Naval Base, Groton, Connecticut.  She states her
experience at Groton Naval Base is the only time period listed as
experience on her DA Form 5074-1-R and that as an enlisted member, she held
a medical laboratory specialist (91K40) military occupational specialty,
for a total of 14 years of credit.

3.  The applicant provides, in support of her application, a copy of her DA
Form 5074-1-R dated 9 November 1998; a copy of a facsimile transmittal from
an officer at Army Medical Recruiting, Holyoke, Massachusetts, to an
individual at the 7217th Medical Support Unit regarding a position that was
promised to her; a memorandum addressed to her from the North Broward
Hospital District dated October 1993, increasing her pay; a copy of her
Certificate of Award from the North Broward Hospital District, appreciating
her 10 years of active service; a copy of her Clinical Laboratory
Technologist Certification; a copy of her Clinical Laboratory Technologist
License; a copy of her resume; and a chronology of her education, work, and
military experience.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  On 1 June 1977, the applicant enlisted in the United States Army
Reserve (USAR) in Miami, Florida, for 3 years, in the pay grade of E-1 and
she successfully completed her training as an orthopedic specialist.  She
remained a member of the USAR through continuous reenlistments.



2.  She was promoted to the pay grade of E-2 on 1 March 1978, to the pay
grade of E-3 on 23 September 1978, to the pay grade of E-4 on 1 February
1979, to the pay grade of E-5 on 3 March 1980, to the pay grade of E-6 on
25 March 1985, and to the pay grade of E-7 on 1 April 1992.

3.  The available records show that the applicant enlisted in the Army
National Guard on 10 December 1997, and she went on to earn her Bachelor of
Science Degree in Biomedical Laboratory and Clinical Sciences from Boston
University on 25 January 1998.

4.  On 9 November 1998, the applicant's experience was calculated for the
purpose of determining the amount of constructive entry grade credit to be
awarded.  The DA Form 5074-1-R that was completed shows that she was
awarded 3 months and 15 days on 10 March 1999, when she accepted an
appointment as an O1 in the USAR.

5.  During the processing of this case a staff advisory opinion was
obtained from Headquarters, United States Army Recruiting Command (USAREC),
Chief, Medical Service Corps Division, who opined that, after a careful
review of the record, the applicant was not entitled to the constructive
credit that was awarded to her based on information contained in Army
Regulation (AR) 135-101, dated 15 February 1984 and Title 10, Department of
Defense Instruction (DODI) 6000.13.  In the advisory opinion the Chief
stated that AR 135-101, Table 3-1, number 6 states that additional credit
may be awarded based on special education or professional experience in the
specialty in which assigned when experience is accrued after obtaining a
qualifying degree and licensure, if applicable.  Experience of 1/2 year or
less earns no credit.  The Chief stated that the applicant received her
degree in January 1998 and that although she completed three categorical
certifications with the National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory
Personnel (NCA) in 1994, per telephonic conversation with that agency on 16
August 2005, she did not complete the fourth (Microbiology) until 31 August
1998.  The Chief stated that, per the NCA, the applicant has not taken, nor
passed the NCA-Clinical Laboratory Specialist (CLS) certification and that
as this test encompassed the four categorical tests the applicant did pass,
she has technically received the equivalent of this certification.  The
chief stated that per NCA, the applicant still has to apply to the NCA to
receive NCA-CLS certification and that based on the applicant's completion
of the categorical certification and "technical equivalency" to actual
certification, the earliest date in which constructive credit could have
began being awarded would be 1 September 1998.


6.  In the advisory opinion, the Chief stated that it should be noted that
enlisted time is not creditable for constructive credit purposes as an
officer.  The Chief opined that the applicant's constructive credit should
have been figured from 1 September 1998 until the date of the board, 24
February 1999, thus giving her 5 months and 23 days of work experience and
that because this time is less than the 6 months required by regulation,
the applicant should not have been awarded any constructive credit.  In the
opinion, the Chief stated that as a part of her investigation, she
requested that the Clinical Laboratory Consultant to the Surgeon review the
applicant's resume to ensure that the positions she held were in the field
of Medical Technology as the work experience must be related to the area of
concentration (AOC) and the consultant confirmed that the positions that
the applicant held were related.  The Chief concluded the advisory opinion
by requesting that the applicant's constructive credit be adjusted and that
the DA Form 5074-1-R that she completed on 18 August 2005, supersede the DA
Form 5074-1-R that was completed on the applicant on 9 November 1998.

7.  A copy of the advisory opinion was forwarded to the applicant on
31 August 2005 for her review and possible rebuttal.  To date, there has
been no response from the applicant regarding the advisory opinion.

8.  Army Regulation 135-101 provides for additional service credit in
unusual cases based on special education or professional experience in the
specialty in which assigned when experience is accrued after qualifying
degree and licensure, if applicable.  It provides, in pertinent part, that
experience of 1/2 year or less earns no credit and 1/2 year of service
credit may be granted for each year of education or experience up to a
maximum of 3 years.  Unusual case determinations will be made by The
Surgeon General or designee.

9.  DODI 6000.13, at paragraph 6.1.2.2.5. provides that credit of 1/2 year
for each year of experience, up to a maximum of 3 years of constructive
credit, may be granted for experience in a health profession, if such
experience is directly used by the Military Service concerned.  Creditable
experience cannot predate the receipt of licensure, registration, or
certification.  Experience of 1/2 year or less earns no credit.
Accordingly, volunteer or student status cannot be credited and enlisted
time is not creditable for constructive credit purposes as an officer.







DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must
show, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in
error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would
satisfy this requirement.

2.  The applicant's contentions have been noted.  However, the Board agrees
with the advisory opinion that was obtained from Headquarters, USAREC,
Chief, Medical Service Corps Division in that the applicable regulation
does provide that creditable experience cannot predate the receipt of
licensure, registration, or certification and that experience of 1/2 year
or less earns no credit.  The Board also agrees with the Chief's note that
enlisted time is not creditable for constructive credit purposes as an
officer.

3.  It does appear that the applicant was erroneously awarded constructive
credit upon her appointment as an O1 in the USAR.  However, it is not the
policy of this Board, to correct errors in an individual's record that
would result in the individual being left in a less beneficial position
than the individual was prior to making application to this Board.

4.  The applicant was granted constructive credit for her experience in the
field in which he was commissioned, for a total of 3 months and 15 days.
While she may now believe that she should have been given more constructive
grade credit, she has failed to provide sufficient justification for
granting her any additional credit.

5.  Accordingly, the evidence of record provides no basis to approve her
request.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____JI __  ___CW __  ___GP __  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.




                                  _____John Infante_________________
                                            CHAIRPERSON
































































                                  INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050003667                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060119                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |N/A RC Soldier TPU                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |N/A RC Soldier TPU                      |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |N/A RC Soldier TPU                      |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |N/A RC Soldier TPU                      |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |AR 15-185                               |
|ISSUES         1.  229  |112.0000/CONSTRUCTIVE SVC CREDIT        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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