RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-03265 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: YES APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His time as an Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) student be credited as active duty service. APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: He was inappropriately enrolled into the HPSP and put into reserve status. He completed a competitive application for the Health Professions board and was accepted. He should have been officially detailed to attend medical school in accordance with Title 10, United States Code (USC), subtitle A, Part III, chapter 101 2004a, and remained on active duty. He did not sign page four of the HPSP contract, which did not apply to him, specifically, participating in an inactive status. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. STATEMENT OF FACTS: On 29 Jun 00, the applicant was admitted into the Air Force Academy as a cadet. The applicant was selected for the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program (AFHPSP) to obtain his medical degree. On 5 Apr 04, the applicant signed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 AFHPSP contract to attend medical school. On 3 Aug 04, the applicant was appointed as an officer in the Air Force Reserve in the grade of second Lieutenant (O-1) and assigned as an HPSP student during the period 2004 through 2008. On 3 May 08, the applicant was appointed as a captain (O-3) in the Medical Corps (MC) after completion of educational requirements. On 4 Jun 08, the applicant commenced extended active duty (EAD) service. According to AFI 36-2406, Service Dates and Dates of Rank, Table 1.3., Note 5, service while a student in the Health Professions Scholarship Program, or the Uniformed Services University of Health Service (USUHS), is not creditable as active military or active commissioned service. In fact, according to Note 12 of the same table, such service is only creditable for enlisted personnel as a cadet or midshipman at a military service academy; it is not creditable as such service for officers such as the applicant. The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are contained in the memorandum prepared by the Air Force office of primary responsibility (OPR), which is attached at Exhibit C. AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/JA recommends denial indicating there is no evidence of an error or an injustice. A thorough review of the documents on file reflects that the applicant was indeed an HPSP recipient. Paragraph 6(f) of the HPSP contract, executed on 5 Apr 04, states “I will not receive service credit for the purpose of computing basic pay or promotion for the period of the AFHPSP participation.” Further, his ARPC Form 92, Appointment Order, dated 17 Mar 05, reflects his participation in HPSP with provision for the medical school to bill the Air Force Institute for Technology (AFIT) for all tuition and fees totaling over $117,000 from HPSP funds. A complete copy of the AFPC/JA evaluation is at Exhibit C. AFPC/DPANE recommends denial indicating there is no evidence of an error or an injustice relating to the applicant’s active duty service commitment. The statute to which the applicant refers-- Title 10 of the United States Code 2004a—does establish authority for the service secretary to detail up to 25 active duty officers per year to medical school. However, there is no documentation in the applicant’s record to establish that he was selected for this program. Moreover, he was not qualified for the program he is referring to because the governing provision of law for this program requires the member to have been on active duty for not less than two years in order to be eligible. At the time that the applicant entered medical school; he had obviously not met that requirement. The current HPSP active duty service commitment remains firm. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPANE evaluation is at Exhibit D. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: The applicant refutes virtually every point made by the OPR and argues that he is not disputing his active duty service commitment. He would like to correct the fact that he was administratively enrolled into the wrong program for his medical school training. He reiterates that based on USC 101 (b)(21), his time at the Academy counts as four years of active duty service and satisfies the requirements for him to be detailed. According to the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM), sections addressing the Department of Defense: Chapter 14, Table 14-A Rule 3 and 6, not all details require documentation. It is not reasonable to expect a graduating cadet to know what personnel form is required and to double check theses forms. Additionally, there is no record of an application to the HPSP program, because he never applied for the HPSP program. He never initialed page four of the HPSP contract which includes the clause that he will participate in inactive status. There is no valid contract for HPSP, and a correct contract for detail into medical school was never provided. In support of his response, the applicant provides email communication and excerpts from OPM (Exhibit F). THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations. 2. The application was timely filed. 3. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice. We took notice of the applicant’s complete submission in judging the merits of the case; however, we agree with the opinions and recommendations of the Air Force offices of primary responsibility (OPR) and adopt their rationale as the basis for our conclusion the applicant has not been the victim of an error of injustice. While we note that in response to the advisory opinions, the applicant argues that he never applied to the HPSP program and that he intentionally neglected to initial page four of the HPSP contract, we do not find these arguments or the documentation provided sufficient to conclude that the applicant is the victim of an error or injustice. In our view, the mere fact that he purposely decided to not acknowledge the individual terms of the contract and that the contract was subsequently processed is not sufficient for us to conclude that the applicant is somehow the victim of an error or injustice or has been treated unfairly. While the applicant indicates he never applied to the HPSP, the fact remains that he signed an HPSP contract and he has provided no evidence to indicate that he was somehow miscounseled or erroneously led to believe that he was participating in some other program that would have resulted in the time in question being creditable as active duty service. Finally, we note the applicant’s argument that his four years at the Air Force Academy is creditable as active service and therefore made him eligible to be detailed to medical school under the provisions of Title 10 of the United States Code 2004a. However, in view of the fact that cadet service at a service academy is not creditable as active service per AFI 36- 2406, the applicant was ineligible to participate in the program that he claims to have been accepted into. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no basis to recommend granting the requested relief. 4. The applicant’s case is adequately documented and it has not been shown that a personal appearance with or without counsel will materially add to our understanding of the issues involved. Therefore, the request for a hearing is not favorably considered. THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: The applicant be notified the evidence presented did not demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; the application was denied without a personal appearance; and the application will only be reconsidered upon the submission of newly discovered relevant evidence not considered with this application. The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-03265 in Executive Session on 21 May 15, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: The following documentary evidence was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 27 Jul 14, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Email, AFPC/JA, dated 17 Jan 14. Exhibit D. Memorandum, AFPC/DPANE, dated 12 Sep 14. Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 17 Nov 14. Exhibit F. Letter, Applicant, undated.