PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:     

	BOARD DATE:           9 July 2002                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001059220

	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. Edmund P. Mercanti		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Joann H. Langston		Chairperson	
	Mr. Thomas B. Redfern		Member	
	Mr. Roger W. Able		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 that he be granted equivalent service credit for his Masters Degree in biomedical engineering.

3.  The applicant states that prior to entering medical school, he earned a Masters Degree in biomedical engineering.  The emphasis in his Masters program was the study of pulmonary mechanics and physiologic systems in general.  That education, he contends, makes him a more rounded physician.  He cites the publication of a research article he wrote in a peer-reviewed journal, and the acceptance of an article he wrote, concerning a cost study of the benefits of administering a rapid bedside test for detection of pre-term labor, for publication.  He contends that without the knowledge he acquired in his Masters program, writing these articles would have been much more difficult.  He adds that he is currently leading two research projects on the properties of two commonly used medications in obstetrics, and that the advanced math and science he learned in his Masters program was necessary for the conception and design of these research protocols.  He concludes that his experience in his Masters program is a clinical tool that he uses daily to the benefit of himself and, by extension, the Army.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that on 25 September 1995, he was conferred a degree of Master of Science in biomedical engineering.

5.  On 23 May 1999, he was conferred a degree of Doctor of Medicine.

6.  He was commissioned as a captain in the USAR on 23 May 1999 with a concurrent call to active duty.  He has remained on active duty as a captain, and is currently serving as a resident in obstetrics and gynecology.

7.  Army Regulation 135-101 (Appointment of Reserve Commissioned Officers for Assignment to Army Medical Department Branches) prescribes policy, procedures and eligibility criteria for appointment in the Reserve Components of the Army in the six branches of the Army Medical Department (AMEDD).  Table 3-1 of this regulation, paragraph 4, states that “Credit [may be granted] for additional advanced degrees.  Degree must add adjunctive skills to primary specialty and must contribute directly to performance in anticipated duty position.  Credit is awarded based on full-time equivalent education up to 24 months for a master’s degree or up to 36 months for a doctorate.”

8.  In the processing of this case an advisory opinion was obtained from the Office of The Surgeon General (OTSG).  The OTSG recommended that the applicant be awarded six years constructive service credit for his Masters degree in biomedical engineering, which would be two years more than the four years he has already been awarded.  The applicant was provided a copy of the advisory opinion.  He concurred with the OTSG’s recommendation and requested assistance in being considered for promotion to major by an imminent promotion board, a board he would only be eligible to be considered by for promotion if the Board grants his request.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board accepts the OTSG’s assessment that the applicant should be awarded constructive service credit for his biomedical engineering degree.  

2.  Based on the additional constructive service credit, it will be necessary for the applicant’s date of rank to be corrected and, if necessary, to give the applicant retroactive promotion consideration for any promotion board the applicant would have been eligible to have been considered with his additional constructive service credit.

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:

a.  showing that the individual concerned was granted an additional two-years constructive service credit for his Masters degree in biomedical engineering; and

b.  giving him retroactive promotion consideration to major, if appropriate.

BOARD VOTE:  

___jhl___  ___tbr___  ___rwa__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_________Joann H. Langston_______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001059220	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20020709	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	102.08	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.