PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            22 March 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000048281

	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	
	Mr. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Shirley L. Powell		Chairperson	
	Mr. John P. Infante		Member	
	Ms. Regan K. Smith		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, in effect, retroactive Board Certification Pay (BCP) and allowances for the period of 1 January 1998 to 31 October 1999. 

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that she received BCP since her original board certification in 1984; however, the payments stopped without notice in December 1997.  She further states that she did not notice the error because she was deploying and did not receive a leave and earning statement (LES) for several months.  She also states that she did not notice the error until she read a Total Army Personnel Command (PERSCOM) message dated 18 September 2000 regarding medical specialty pays and realized that she had not been receiving it. She goes on to state that she has been board certified without interruption since 1984 and provides a letter from the American Board of Family Practice indicating her re-certification in 1996.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that she was commissioned as a United States Army Reserve (USAR) Medical Corps captain on 19 June 1984 and was ordered to active duty on 15 July 1984.  She has remained on active duty as a Regular Army officer and was promoted to the rank of colonel on 1 October 1999.

5.  In the processing of this case a staff advisory opinion was obtained from the Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG) which opined, in effect, that the applicant has drawn BCP uninterrupted until 31 December 1997 and it was restarted on 1 October 1999.  She did not receive BCP during the period of 1 January 1998 to 30 September 1999.  The OTSG officials opined that the OTSG did not have the authority to authorize pay retroactively for the period in question and recommended that the Board exercise its authority in granting the applicant BCP in arrears for the period of 1 January 1998 to 30 September 1999, utilizing a Health Professions Pay Entry Date (HPPED) or finance MS-Pay-Date of 12 July 1981 for the correct pay rate level.  The advisory opinion was provided to the applicant for comment and she concurred with the opinion.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  It appears, based on the available evidence and advisory opinion provided in this case, that an administrative error resulted in the termination of her BCP without cause during the period of 1 January 1998 to 30 September 1999.

2.  Therefore, the Board finds that it would be in the interest of justice to show that she was entitled to BCP during the period in question.

3.  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 by showing that the individual concerned was authorized BCP for the period of 1 January 1998 to 30 September 1999 with entitlement to all back pay and allowances that result from this retroactive authorization, utilizing a HHPED or finance MS-Date of 12 July 1981 for the correct pay rate. 

BOARD VOTE:  

___slp___  __jpi____  __rks ___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		____Shirley L. Powell_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000048281	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2001/03/22	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  297	128.1400/bcp	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.