PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           8 May 2003                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002081548

	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. Joseph A. Adriance		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Samuel A. Crumpler 		Chairperson	
	Mr. Mark D. Manning		Member	
	Mr. Robert L. Duecaster		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, that he be granted all constructive service credit to which he is entitled for entry grade and time in grade purposes; and that his Basic Active Service Date (BASD) be adjusted to reflect all his creditable active military service towards retirement.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that his appointment and orders to active duty in the Army do not properly reflect all the constructive service credit he was due based on his prior active military service in the United States Navy (USN).  

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in the United States Navy Reserve (USNR) on 22 February 1985.  He served on active duty in an enlisted status for 3 months and 5 days between 8 September and 12 December 1985.  

5.  On 13 February 1985, he was commissioned an ensign in the USN, and he served on active duty in a commissioned officer status for 6 years, 8 months, and 3 days, until being honorably discharged on 15 August 1992. 

6.  The applicant entered the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USUHS) on 21 August 1995, and he graduated with his medical degree on 
14 May 1999.  On 15 May 1999, he was appointed a captain (CPT) in the Regular Army (RA) Medical Corps (MC), and he has continued to serve on active duty in that commissioned office status through the present.  

7.  In connection with the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG).  It states that at the time of his appointment, the applicant was entitled to one half day of constructive service credit for each day he served as a commissioned officer in the USN in addition to the four years he received for earning his medical degree at the USUHS.  Therefore, OTSG officials recommend that the applicant receive 
3 years, 4 months, and 2 days of constructive credit for the time he served as a commissioned officer in the USN, and that his total constructive credit be adjusted to 7 years, 4 months, and 2 days instead of the 4 years he received for his grade determination.  The applicant was provided a copy of this advisory opinion and on 14 April 2003, he concurred with its contents.  

8.  Army Regulation 135-101 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).  The minimum service credit for appointment to CPT in the MC is 4 years.  Paragraph 3-3 contains guidance on determining the entry grade for officers ordered to active duty.  It states, in pertinent part, that authorized credit beyond the minimum necessary for appointment to the appropriate grade will be used to adjust the date of rank (DOR) within that grade.  

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record confirms that the applicant completed 6 years, 
11 months, and 8 days of prior active military service in the USN, 3 months and 
5 days in an enlisted status and 6 years, 8 months, and 3 days in a commissioned officer status.

2.  In the opinion of the Board, the applicant’s BASD should be adjusted to account for all his prior active military service.  Therefore, it would be appropriate to correct his record to show his BASD is 6 June 1992, based on the 6 years, 
11 months, and 8 days of prior active military service he completed in the USN.  Further, the Board finds that it would be appropriate to provide the applicant any back pay he is due as a result of this BASD adjustment.  

3.  The OTSG has determined that the applicant was entitled to a total of 7 years, 4 months, and 2 days of constructive credit upon his 15 May 1999 appointment as a CPT in the MC of the RA.  This includes 4 years of credit for his basic qualifying medical degree, and 3 years, 4 months, and 2 days for his prior active duty commissioned officer service in the USN.

4.  By regulation, appointment as a MC CPT requires a minimum of 4 years of credit, which in the applicant’s case leaves an additional 3 years, 4 months, and 2 days of constructive credit that should be used to adjust his DOR to CPT.  Thus, based on the additional constructive credit awarded by the OTSG, the Board concludes that the applicant’s CPT DOR should be adjusted to 14 January 1996.

5.  As a result of the DOR correction outlined in the preceding paragraph, the applicant would have first been eligible for promotion consideration to major (MAJ) by the Fiscal Year 2002 (FY02) Department of the Army (DA) MC MAJ Promotion Selection Board (PSB).  Therefore, the Board concludes it would be appropriate to place his records before a Special Selection Board (SSB) for promotion reconsideration under the criteria used by FY02 PSB, and any other PSB that would have considered him for promotion based on the adjusted DOR.  

6.  In addition, in the event the applicant is selected for promotion to MAJ by a SSB, the Board also concludes that his promotion effective date and DOR to MAJ should be established as the date it would have been had he been selected by the original PSB, and he should be provided any back pay and allowances due as a result.  

7.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by:

a.   adjusting the BASD of the individual concerned to 6 June 1992;

b.  showing that upon his appointment in the MC of the RA on 15 May 1999, he received 3 years, 4 months, and 2 days of constructive credit beyond that required for his entry grade of CPT, and DOR was established as 
14 January 1996 accordingly;

c.  submitting his records to a duly constituted SSB for promotion reconsideration to MAJ under the criteria followed by any PSB that would have considered him for promotion based on his adjusted DOR of 14 January 1996; and 

d.  in the event he is selected for promotion to MAJ by the SSB, by establishing his promotion effective date and DOR to MAJ as the date it would have been if he were selected by the original PSB.

2.  That the individual concerned be provided all back pay and allowances due as a result of the adjustment to his BASD, and to which he may be entitled in the event of his selection for promotion to MAJ by the SSB.  

BOARD VOTE:  

__MM_  __SAC_  _RLD_  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		Samuel A. Crumpler
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002081548	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2003/05/08	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	N/A	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	N/A	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	N/A	
DISCHARGE REASON	N/A	
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  102.0800		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.