MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:           13 March 2001                                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000044269

	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. Robert J. McGowan		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. June Hajjar		Chairperson	
	Mr. Donald P. Hupman 		Member	
	Mr. John T. Meixell 		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:  Reconsideration (sic) of her previous request for 4 years’ constructive service credit for longevity pay purposes for her attendance at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), Class of 1987, from August 1983 to May 1987.

APPLICANT STATES:  In effect, that all of her USUHS classmates who were also members of the United States Military Academy (USMA), Class of 1983, were granted constructive service credit based upon their receipt of erroneous information during a briefing at the USMA.  In that briefing, USMA officials told the cadets that they would receive constructive service credit for longevity pay purposes for their 4 years of medical school.  The Board, citing the fact that the USMA cadets made irrevocable career decisions based upon the misinformation, voted to grant relief.  The applicant contends that she, too, was misinformed by a representative to the Dean of Admissions/Registrar at a briefing conducted in October 1982 and made similar career choices based upon the same misinformation.

In support of her application for reconsideration, the applicant submits:  a copy of a 29 September 1998 letter from the USUHS General Counsel to the Office of The Secretary of Defense admitting that the university may have misinformed students of the Class of 1987 concerning the issue of constructive service credit; a copy of a 26 December 1985 letter from the Dean of the Medical School to the Air Force Corrections Board admitting that the USUHS School of Medicine Bulletin for 1983-1984, which was written in December 1982, did not include revisions concerning constructive service credit which were mandated by the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA), and that certain briefing officials did not clarify the issue for prospective students; a copy of a 5 December 1986 letter from the Dean of the Medical School to the Board for Correction of Naval Records reiterating his belief that applicants from the Class of 1987 who either were not informed, or misinformed, about constructive service credit be given constructive service credit for attendance at USUHS; a copy of an 18 April 1985 letter from the Director of Admissions/Registrar of the Medical School admitting that segments of the Class of 1987 which he did not personally brief could have been misled on the issue of constructive service credit; and a copy of the pertinent pages of the Bulletin of The School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences  1983-1984 which states, “Longevity credit for pay purposes accrues for students for time spent in school . . . .”

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

She is a lieutenant colonel serving on active duty in the Army Medical Corps.  She was a member of the USUHS Class of 1987, graduating with a Doctor of Medicine degree in May 1987.  She attended the USUHS under her maiden name.

In a letter dated 18 April 1985 to the each Service’s Board of Corrections, the Director of Admissions/Registrar stated, “It is very possible that a given segment of the Class of 1987 could have, and probably did, receive inaccurate or incomplete information from any number of official/semi-official sources concerning the effects upon entitlements (pay purposes at the time of graduation and retirement) due to the DOMPA legislation.”  He made this statement regarding those prospective students whom he did not personally brief and added that on three occasions (two on the west coast - 25-27 January 1983 and 22-24 February 1983 - and one on the east coast - 9 December 1982), he did not personally give the briefings.

According to records from the Office of the Registrar at USUHS, the applicant, as a prospective student, attended a briefing at the USUHS, Bethesda, Maryland on 28 October 1982.  The briefing was given by the Dean of Admissions/Registrar and not a staff member as the applicant contends.  The applicant states that the briefing did not address the issue of constructive service credit or the fact that DOPMA had rescinded it.  However, each prospective student was given a copy of the Bulletin of The School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences 1983-1984 which affirmed that students would receive 4 years’ constructive service credit for longevity pay purposes for their successful completion of medical school at the USUHS.

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.  There is no record of the applicant having made a previous request to this Board.  It appears that she submitted an identical application to one submitted by a fellow classmate from the USUHS Class of 1987.  In so doing, she did not take the time to change the facts presented to show that her case was not a reconsideration.

2.  Pertinent records reflect that the applicant was briefed at the USUHS, Bethesda, Maryland, on 28 October 1982 by the Dean of Admissions/Register and not "a representative."  The Dean of Admissions/Registrar has stated for the record that he understood the ramifications of DOMPA upon constructive service credit for USUHS students and properly briefed this to all prospective students.

3.  Although the applicant was given a copy of the USUHS School of Medicine Bulletin for 1983-1984 which incorrectly stated that students would receive longevity credit for pay purposes, she was verbally briefed that such was not the 

case.  It would have been desirable if the USUHS had published a new Bulletin, or at least published an errata sheet for the existing Bulletin, but this was not done.

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 this 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

__jh____  __dph___  __jtm ____  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000044269	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20010313	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	DIRECTOR	
ISSUES         1.	102.08	
2.	128.00	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.