PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           18 March 1999                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AC98-11146
                                              AR1999014676

	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. Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Ms. Juanita I. Williams .		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. James M. Alward		Chairperson	
	Ms. Karen Y. Fletcher		Member	
	Mr. Ernest W. Lutz, Jr		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests correction of her Incentive Special Pay (ISP) eligibility dates and correction of her 1996 ISP payment.  

3.  The applicant states that she re-entered active duty on 5 July 1995 after completing a military residency on 30 June 1993 and a civilian (non-sponsored) fellowship on 30 June 1995.  She received an ISP contract for the 1-year period from 5 July 1995-4 July 1996.  However, the following year her ISP contract was for the period 1 October 1996-30 September 1997.  When she inquired she was told that everyone had to be on an October-September cycle.  She later learned that this was not true and that the real reason her cycle had changed was due to an error in her records, which was subsequently corrected.  The applicant also states that there was a change in the amount of the ISP bonus for Neurology, effective 1 October 1996 with the amount decreasing from $13,000.00 to $12,000.00.  She asks to be paid the difference of $1,000.00    

4.  The applicant’s military records are not available and are not considered essential for a review of this case.  At the time she submitted her application she was serving on active duty as a neurologist in the rank of major, Medical Corps.  

5.  During the processing of this case an advisory opinion was obtained from the Office of The Surgeon General (TSGO) and was forwarded to the applicant for comment.  As of this date, no response has been received.   

6.  The advisory opinion states that the applicant was indeed eligible to enter into a 1-year ISP agreement effective 5 July 1995.  However, it appears that she was incorrectly counseled regarding renewal of her existing ISP contract in 1996.  TSGO stated that she should have continued with the July anniversary date.  It was recommended that her records be corrected by changing the dates of her 1996 and 1997 contracts from 1 October 1996-30 September 1997 and 1 October 1997-30 September 1998 to 5 July 1976-4 July 1997 and 5 July 1997-4 July 1998, respectively.  It was further recommended that she be paid $1,000.00 for the period 5 July 1996-4 July 1997.    

7.  The ISP program constitutes a voluntary retention program for Medical Corps officers wherein they agree to continue on active duty in their specialties for incremental periods of 1 year, renewable annually.  In return, the Army agrees to pay them ISP in a one-time lump sum.  The authorized ISP payment for neurologists in 1995 was $12,000.00, 1996 $13,000.00, and 1997 $12,000.00.   

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  From a review of the information provided by TSGO, it appears the applicant was eligible for and was initially properly paid ISP for the period 5 July 1995-
4 July 1996.  This established her anniversary date as July. 
2.  Through no fault of her own, however, in 1996 and again 1997 the applicant’s anniversary date was changed to October, and she was paid ISP in the amount of $12,000.00 for each of those years.      

3.  However, the ISP authorized for neurologists in 1996 (up until 1 October) was $!3,000.00.  Had the applicant’s anniversary date not been erroneously changed, she would have been entitled to $13,000.00 in July 1996 vice the $12,000.00 she was paid in October.  

4.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected:

a.  by changing the 1996 and 1997 ISP contracts of the individual concerned to reflect the effective dates as 5 July 1996- 4 July 1997 and 5 July 1997-4 July 1998, respectively; and   

b.  by showing that she is entitled to payment of $1000.00 for the period 5 July 1996-4 July 1997, representing the difference in the amount of ISP authorized and the amount she was paid.  

BOARD VOTE:  

____X____  ____X____  ____X____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID AR1999014676	AC98-11146	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	19990318	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	DASA	
ISSUES         1.128.1700		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.