BOARD DATE: 31 August 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160006210 BOARD VOTE: ___x______ __x_____ ___x__ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration BOARD DATE: 31 August 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160006210 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 showing he applied for and was authorized payment of Board Certification Pay for the period 1 January 2011 through 30 September 2014 and paying him at the applicable rate. ____________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. BOARD DATE: 31 August 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160006210 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 a full investigation to determine the exact date his board certification pay (BCP) stopped and full payment of all the BCP that he rightfully earned. He also requests back pay from the date of his erroneous BCP stoppage. 2. The applicant states that according to his unofficial calculations, he did not receive BCP for a minimum of 46 months or more from 1 January 2011 to October 2014. a. While examining his monthly leaving and earning statement (LES) in September 2015, the applicant discovered that he did not receive his monthly BCP. Further investigation revealed the omission of his Anesthesiology certification for all of 2015, and quite possibly back to January 2011. b. He is unable to determine if he was paid BCP in December 2010 or earlier, but would appreciate a verification of when his BCP was actually stopped. He surmises that his BCP stopped during his deployment to Iraq in support of Operations New Dawn (September 2010 to March 2011). He assumes this because his National Anesthesiology Board Certification is renewed every 10 years (his initial certification was in 2000), and therefore, his renewal date was 1 January 2011. He has been board certified continuously since 2000. 3. The applicant provides his American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA), Incorporated (Inc.) letter of certification, dated 6 October 2015. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant is currently serving in the rank of colonel in the Regular Army as a Medical Corps officer. 2. The applicant provided a letter of certification from the ABA, Inc., dated 6 October 2015, verifying his current enrollment and stating he met the requirements for the ABA’s Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology (MOCA) program. The document shows he received his certification in Anesthesiology on 14 April 2000, which ended on 31 December 2010. The applicant received his recertification in Anesthesiology on 1 January 2011 with an expiration date of 31 December 2020. 3. The Chief, Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Special Pay Branch, Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG), provided an advisory opinion, dated 10 November 2016, wherein he states: a. All BCP requests are initiated by the officer, through their command’s supporting Human Resource/Personnel/S1 Office. Upon the issuance of a board certification renewal, an officer must also submit renewal documentation to ensure BCP continues uninterrupted. The officer can verify receipt of monthly BCP by reviewing their monthly LES in the entitlements column. An officer should take immediate action if their payments stop abruptly. b. A review of supporting documentation and available special pay and finance data indicates the officer was certified from 14 April 2000 through 31 December 2010, and he received a recertification which was is valid from 1 January 2011 through 31 December 2011. The officer’s BCP stopped on 31 December 2010, and the OTSG authorized retroactive payments for BCP commencing on 1 October 2014, with a current expiration date of 31 December 2020. Payments for the restarted BCP are on the officer’s LES dated October 2015. The missing period of BCP is from 1 January 2011 through 30 September 2014. c. With timely initial submission, updating renewals, and the monitoring of their LES, officers may ensure no stoppage of their BCP occurs. The officer was eligible to receive BCP for the missing 3-years and 9-month period from 1 January 2011 through 30 September 2014, totaling approximately $20,000.00, prior to any withholding. The exact payment authorized would be determined by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service – Indiana (DFAS-IN), utilizing a Health Professions Pay Entry Date (HPPED), or the finance Medical Special Pay Date of 17 June 1995 for the correct pay rates. d. Although the applicant was missing BCP from 1 January 2011 through 30 September 2014, the AMEDD staff could not initiate payment for arrears BCP. 4. On 16 February 2017, the ABCMR provided the applicant with a copy of the advisory opinion and afforded him an opportunity to respond; however, he did not respond. REFERENCES: 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 include BCP, which is paid monthly to all board-certified Medical Corps officers based upon their dates of board certification and their creditable service used to establish the HPPED. DISCUSSION: 1. Based on the available evidence and the audit the OTSG conducted, the applicant received BCP from the date of his Anesthesiology certification on 14 April 2000 to 31 December 2010, when his BCP stopped. Although he completed his recertification on 1 January 2011, with an expiration date of 31 December 2020, it appears the OTSG never received his renewal documentation, which interrupted his BCP. 2. Upon the OTSG’s notification that the applicant renewed his Anesthesiology certification, the office authorized retroactive BCP commencing on 1 October 2014. The missing period of BCP to which the applicant is authorized retroactive payment is from 1 January 2011 through 30 September 2014. However, the AMEDD staff could not initiate arrears for the period of the missing BCP. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160006210 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160006210 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2