PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           20 May 2003                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002076099

	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. W. W. Osborn, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		Chairperson	
	Ms. Deborah S. Jacobs		Member	
	Mr. Jose A. Martinez		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 May 1997 to 31 January 2001. 

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he stopped receiving BCP in May 1997 but did not notice it for quite some time.  He has received reimbursement for 1 year of back pay but has also been advised that he must apply to the Board for the remainder.  He submits a copy of his Board of Anesthesiology certification certificate to substantiate his case. 

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he was appointed a Regular Army, Medical Corps captain on 16 May 1987.  He has remained on active duty as a Regular Army officer and is currently serving as a lieutenant colonel.  He became a board certified anesthesiologist on 10 April 1992.  His academic evaluation report for the period ending 30 June 1992 notes that he had completed a 1-year fellowship in pediatric anesthesiology and his officer evaluation report for the period ending 7 July 1993 noted that he was board certified in anesthesiology. 

5.  Title  37 United States Code § 302 ( Pay And Allowances Of The Uniformed Services) provides special pay for  medical officers of the armed forces, including variable, additional pay  and board certification pay. 
    (1) An officer who is an officer of the Medical Corps of the Army or the Navy or an officer of the Air Force designated as a medical officer and who is on active duty under a call or order to active duty for a period of not less than one year is entitled to special pay in accordance with this subsection.
    (2) An officer described in paragraph (1) who is serving in a pay grade below pay grade O-7 is entitled to variable special pay at the following rates:…
    (3) An officer described in paragraph (1) who is serving in a pay grade above pay grade O-6 is entitled to variable special pay at the rate of $7,000 per year.
    (4) Subject to subsection (c), an officer entitled to variable special pay under paragraph (2) or (3) is entitled to additional special pay of $15,000 for any twelve-month period during which the officer is not undergoing medical internship or initial residency training.
    (5) An officer who is entitled to variable special pay under paragraph (2) or (3) and who is board certified is entitled to additional special pay at the following rates:…  

6.  In the processing of this case a staff advisory opinion was obtained from the Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG), which stated, in effect, that the applicant had not received BCP for the period in question although he was entitled.  There is no indication why it was stopped.  The Chief, Army Medical Department, Special Pay Branch authorized the restarting of his BCP effective 1 February 2001 and recommended that this Board authorize retroactive BCP for the period 1 May 1997 through 31 January 2001 utilizing a Health Professionals Pay Entry Date (HPPED) or finance MS-Pay-Date of 16 May 1987 for the correct pay rate level.  A copy of the advisory opinion was furnished to the applicant for comment. He did not respond.  In a subsequent telephone call, he confirmed that an expiration date appears on the board certificates for those medical specialties that require renewal and noted that the applicant's certification was permanent.  He also speculated that a stop order had been inadvertently generated at the five-year point because many medical specialties require five-year renewal. 

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant is a board certified physician on active duty and is entitled to BCP.  

2.  The foregoing is supported by the advisory opinion, which also indicates that an administrative error resulted in the termination of his BCP without cause during the period of 1 May 1997 to 31 January 2001.  The Chief, Army Medical Department, Special Pay Branch recommended that this Board authorize retroactive BCP for the period 1 May 1997 through 31 January 2001 utilizing a Health Professionals Pay Entry Date (HPPED) or finance MS-Pay-Date of 16 May 1987 for the correct pay rate level.  

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

4.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, correcting the applicant’s records as recommended below would correct an error.

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 May 1997 to 31 January 2001 with entitlement to all back pay and allowances that result from this retroactive authorization, utilizing a HPPED or finance MS-Pay-Date of 16 May 1987 for the correct pay rate.

BOARD VOTE:  

__MHM__  __DSJ__  __JAM___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_    _Melvin H. Meyer____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002076099	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20030520	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT 	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	128.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.