MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:           16 November 2000                 
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000042057

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

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr. Kenneth H. Aucock		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Walter T. Morrison 		Chairperson	
	Mr. James E. Anderholm 		Member	
	Ms. Martha E. Schuler 		Member	

	The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date.  In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

	The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

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

APPLICANT REQUESTS:  In effect, the applicant requests that his four years of medical school be credited for pay purposes.  In effect, the applicant’s request requires an administrative change in the date of his entrance into the Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) to 14 September 1981, the day before the effective date of the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA).    
APPLICANT STATES:  That he was a member of the 1987 medical school graduating class and a former participant in the HPSP.  In the spring of 1983, a recruiter informed him that four years of medical school would count toward pay and grade.  Conversations with many people, including those in the Air Force and Navy, indicated the information regarding pay credit was consistent with that provided him.  After he entered medical school, his new recruiter reinforced this same misinformation, but stated that the four years credit would not count toward 20 years for retirement purposes, but would count for pay purposes after he had completed 20 years of active service for retirement.  He was not informed differently until he began his active duty residency training.  Some of the people in his residency class complained, especially in view of the fact of the successful appeal of the 1986 class, and that that appeal would not be extended to the 1987 class, despite the erroneous information provided by recruiters. 

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records show:

On 13 June 1983 the applicant entered into a service agreement to participate in the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program.  In this contract, which he signed, he stated that he understood “that all financial inducements and benefits, including, but not limited to, basic pay, housing allowances…retirement benefits, annual leave, and other benefits are either statutory or regulatory and are subject to change at any time without notice and any subsequent loss of such financial inducements or benefits by virtue of a statutory, regulatory or policy change shall not release me from any obligations incurred under this contract.” 

The applicant was appointed a second lieutenant in the Reserve on                    18 August 1983.

On 13 March 1987 the Army Reserve Personnel Center at St. Louis appointed the applicant a Captain in the Army Reserve and credited him with four years of service in an active status (constructive service credit) as of his graduation date.  That appointment letter stated:  “This service is not valid for pay entry basic date (see paragraph 10102, DODPM for Medical and Dental Corps personnel) and it is not the result of prior military service.”  The applicant accepted his appointment by completing the oath of office on 19 June 1987.

On 13 June 1988 the applicant was ordered to active duty with a reporting date to Walter Reed Army Medical Center of 8 July 1988.  The order directing this action stated, in pertinent part, that for pay purposes only, the officer was not entitled to constructive service under the provisions of paragraph 10102b, DODPM.  It also stated that the applicant had 5 years of constructive credit for active duty grade determination.

In a similar case, this Board granted an applicant’s request for constructive service credit for basic pay purposes while attending the Uniformed Services University of Health Services (USUHS) at Bethesda, Maryland, from                   15 August 1983 to 16 May 1987.  That case involved an officer who had graduated from the U.S. Military Academy (USMA), Class of 1983, resigned his Regular Army commission, and accepted the USUHS agreement and a U.S. Army Reserve appointment with the understanding that he would receive 4 years of longevity credit for his 4 years at medical school, thereby remaining on par with his USMA peers.  This understanding was fostered through various USUHS briefings provided to selected USMA cadets by the then Acting Surgeon, USMA, and Chairman, Medical Program Advisory Committee.  That officer, however, had submitted a certificate from the former Surgeon, USMA, and Chairman, Medical Program Advisory Committee, who stated that he specifically instructed the applicant (then a USMA cadet) that regulations, then in effect, directed that longevity credit for pay purposes would accrue for student during time spent in medical school.  This Board concluded that the applicant was specifically misinformed by the responsible counselors at the USMA.  The Board concluded that the applicant made a detrimental career decision based on erroneous information, and as a USMA graduate, he would have most likely pursued other career options rather than lose 4 years’ service credit had he not been misinformed.  The Board granted relief for this applicant and others in the USUHS class of 1987 who were also 1983 graduates of the USMA.  The Board noted that the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records had already granted relief to former USAFA cadets who were similarly counseled

On 17 June 1985, the Office of The Judge Advocate General (OTJAG) advised the Board that, in order for USUHS graduates to receive longevity credit under Title 37, United States Code, section 205(a)(6), the provision of law which was repealed by DOPMA, they must have been enrolled in the USUHS as of             14 September 1981, the day before the effective date of DOPMA.  Accordingly, it was the opinion of OTJAG that the failure to credit periods of service while attending USUHS for individuals enrolled on or after 15 September 1981 did not constitute an error entitling the applicant to the relief sought as a matter of law.

The DOD Financial Management Regulation, Volume 7A, chapter 1, talks about creditable service.  Paragraph 010101 states that the pay entry basic date (PEBD) is the date used by the Army to denote how much service a member has for the purpose of determining longevity pay rates.    

Paragraph 010105 concerns constructive service and states in pertinent part, that some medical and dental officers are entitled to extra credit for longevity purposes to reflect the time spent in medical or dental school.  Medical and dental officers must meet certain criteria – on or before 15 September 1981, already had constructive service credit; on 14 September 1981, the individual was enrolled either in the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program or the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, completed that program, and was appointed as a medical or dental officer; on 14 September 1981, the individual was participating in a program that credited years of service and led to an appointment as an officer.

Paragraph 0102 lists service that is not creditable.  Paragraph 010201H states, in effect, that the time a member serves while enrolled in the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship and Financial Assistance Programs, or while a student at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences is not creditable service used to compute a basic pay date.     

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  Notwithstanding the applicant’s contentions, there is no evidence, nor has the applicant provided any, to show that the applicant was misled or misinformed either prior to medical school or during medical school.  There is likewise no evidence that he entered into the HPSP based on a promise of longevity credit for medical school. 

2.  He was not enrolled in the HPSP until 13 June 1983, almost two years after the effective date of the DOPMA, which repealed longevity credit for medical school.  Therefore, he is not entitled to longevity credit for medical school.

3.  The applicant has submitted neither probative evidence nor a convincing argument in support of his request.   

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

5.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

DETERMINATION:  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___jea___  __mes___  __wtm__  DENY APPLICATION

		    Carl W. S. Chun
		    Director, Army Board for Correction
    of Military Records

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000042047	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20001116	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR .  .  .  .  .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  22	102.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.