IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 29 November 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160009544 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 IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 29 November 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160009544 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 2015 through 12 May 2015 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. IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 29 November 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160009544 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 payment of Board Certification Pay (BCP) from 1 January 2015 through 12 May 2015. 2. He states he was board certified continuously since 2007 in Pediatric Critical Care and he is not due to retest until 2020. He adds he submitted all required certification and medical state licensing documentation to the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Special Pay Officer annually. He states he never received a notice that his BCP had stopped. 3. He provides an American Board of Pediatrics letter of certification, dated 16 May 2016. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant is currently serving as a lieutenant colonel in the Regular Army as a Medical Corps officer. 2. He provided a letter of certification from the American Board of Pediatrics, dated 16 May 2016 verifying he satisfied the requirements of the board. There are no expiration dates for his certifications in General Pediatrics and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. 3. In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Chief, AMEDD Special Pay Branch, Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG), dated 11 July 2016, who states: a. BCP requests are initiated by the officer through his/her supporting Human Resource/Personnel/S-1 office. A review of supporting documentation and available finance data indicates the applicant's BCP expired on 31 December 2014, based on board certification expiration and renewal or secondary certification not received. Upon notification that the BCP was not being paid, the office authorized retroactive BCP commencing on 13 May 2015. The missing period of BCP is verified as 1 January 2015 through 12 May 2015. b. With submission of renewals and monitoring, the officer would have been eligible to receive BCP for the missing 132 days of 1 January 2015 through 12 May 2015, totaling approximately $1,283 prior to any withholding. The exact payment would be determined by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service utilizing a Health Professions Pay Entry Date (HPPED) or finance Medical Special Pay (MSP) date of 15 May 2004 for the correct pay rates. 4. The advisory opinion was furnished to the applicant on 15 July 2016 for comment. 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. On 31 December 2014, the applicant’s BCP stopped based on board certification expiration and renewal or secondary certification not received by AMEDD personnel. Upon notification that the BCP was not being paid, the office authorized retroactive BCP commencing on 13 May 2015. However, AMEDD staff could not initiate arrears BCP for the period in question. 2. The OTSG database shows the applicant was board certified and eligible to receive discretionary BCP from 1 January 2015 through 12 May 2015. The OTSG official opined the applicant met the criteria, and recommended he receive BCP in arrears for the period 1 January 2015 through 12 May 2015. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160009544 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160009544 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2