IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 11 July 2013 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130004341 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests entitlement to Incentive Special Pay (ISP) in the amount of $26,000.00 effective 1 October 2012. 2. The applicant states: a. He was eligible for ISP for $26,000.00 effective 1 October 2012 as an emergency physician but was not given the opportunity to sign the 1-year contract before the end of the fiscal year. b. Effective 1 October 2012, there was a transition with the new and previous specialty pay managers at Tripler Army Medical Center while he was in transition between units. He was not notified to sign the 1-year contract on 1 October 2012. 3. The applicant provides: * ISP contract, dated 6 February 2013 * Officer Record Brief (ORB) * general licensee information CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant is currently serving on active duty as an emergency physician. He was promoted to the rank/grade of major/O-4 on 5 June 2013. 2. He provides a copy of his ORB and ISP contract, dated 6 February 2013. He also provides a general licensee professional and vocational licensing search on himself which shows his original licensing date as 4 May 2009 with an expiration date of 31 January 2014. 3. An advisory opinion was obtained from the Chief, Army Medical Department Special Pay Branch, Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG), dated 15 May 2012, in the processing of this application. The advisory official states: a. Current policy requires contracts to be prepared via the Medical Operational Data System special pay module. Contracts must be prepared and executed 90 days in advance or 30 days after the effective date; otherwise, the effective date must be reestablished as the date of signature. b. A review of the applicant's special pay and finance data indicates the applicant executed and received ISP contracts at $26,000.00 per year effective 1 October 2010 and 1 October 2011. There is no record of approval of a 1-year ISP contract at $26,000.00 per year effective 1 October 2012 by the command or authorized for payment. c. Although the applicant was eligible for the 1-year ISP at $26,000.00 per year effective 1 October 2012, the applicant-supplied contract indicates a 6 February 2013 signature date. Since there are no extenuating circumstances (i.e., deployment) precluding the officer from executing the contract 90 days in advance or over 120 days after the effective date, the signature date of 6 February 2013 should be the adjusted effective date of the contract. d. OTSG cannot make payments retroactive for the earlier time frame due to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service policy and procedure limitations. 4. Title 37, U.S. Code, sections 301d, 302, 302f, and 303a, provide for multi-year retention bonuses and special pays for medical officers and health professionals of the Armed Forces. For Army Medical Corps officers (physicians), these special pays are: (1) Variable Special Pay which is paid to all Medical Corps officers monthly upon entry on active duty; (2) Board Certification Pay which is paid monthly to all board-certified Medical Corps officers based upon their date of board certification and their creditable service used to establish the Health Professional Pay Entry Date; (3) Medical Additional Special Pay (MASP) which is paid to all Medical Corps officers upon completion of internship (not during initial residency) at the current rate of $15,000.00 (less taxes) for a 1-year active duty obligation that can be served concurrently with all other obligations; (4) ISP which is paid based on a variable rate to selected Medical Corps officers who hold the specialties eligible to receive this pay for a 1-year active duty obligation that may be served concurrently with all other obligations; and (5) Multiyear Special Pay which is paid based on execution of a contract for 2, 3, or 4 years of active duty to selected Medical Corps officers based on their specialty. This pay is authorized concurrently with MASP and ISP. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The advisory opinion notes that there is no record of an ISP agreement submission for the period 1 October 2012 to 30 September 2013 in the applicant's master military pay file. 2. The evidence of record shows the applicant was eligible to execute a 1-year ISP agreement for $26,000.00 per year effective 1 October 2012. However, due to the transition of local support personnel in conjunction with his own transition, he was never informed he had to sign a new contract. Furthermore, it does not seem reasonable that an eligible person would intentionally fail to submit an application for ISP knowing he would lose $26,000.00 per year. He was clearly authorized to enter into an agreement for ISP for the period 1 October 2012 through 30 September 2013. Therefore, his record should be corrected to show that he did so in a timely manner. BOARD VOTE: ___x____ ___x____ ____x___ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. showing the applicant executed an ISP contract on 1 October 2012 for the period 1 October 2012 through 30 September 2013 and b. paying him any monies due based on execution of the corrected contract. ____________x_____________ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130004341 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130004341 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1