PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           14 August 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002082902

	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	
	Mrs. Carolyn Wade		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. James E. Anderholm		Member	
	Ms. Linda M. Barker		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 the effective date of his Medical Additional Specialty Pay (MASP) be adjusted from 11 January to 1 January and that he be paid MASP for the period 1 January 2000 – 31 December 2000.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he forwarded an application for correction of his MASP dates in July 2001; however, he is unable to determine if he received a decision in that case, which leads him to wonder if the Board ever received his request.  He states that in October 1999 he signed a request for bonus pay and also thought that he had signed a request for MASP, effective 1 January 2000.  He states that he did not notice this error right away because he was handling the financial affairs of his father and grandmother’s estates.  He states that when he returned to the states and went to sign his 1 January 2001 MASP request he was informed that there was no MASP contract for the year 2000.  He further states that his MASP contract always had an effective date of 1 January, but at some point an error occurred and his effective date was changed to 11 January.  Finally, he states that he was informed that if he executed a contract for 2001 with an effective date of 1 January it would have possibly caused a payment problem and potential rejection of the request.  In support of his application, he provides a copy of a memorandum for the Chief, Special Pay Branch, Office of the Surgeon General, in which he requested MASP.  The request was signed and approved on 23 January 01.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he is currently serving on active duty in the rank of Colonel/0-6 as the Medical Director of the Military and Veterans Health Coordinating Board.

5.  In connection with the processing of this case an advisory opinion was requested of and received from the Chief, Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Special Pay Branch, Office of The Surgeon General (OTSG).  This OTSG official stated that the applicant was not paid a MASP of $15,000 per year for the period 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2000 due to the finance system erroneously adjusting the applicant’s previous MASP contract date from 1 January to an 11 January cycle.  Therefore, the applicant was unable to execute and receive the MASP payment due to overlapping dates.  He stated that this issue had been addressed and corrected before by the Defense Finance and Accounting Office (DFAS) –Indianapolis Center in 1996; however, it appears to have repeated itself.  The OTSG official recommended that the effective MASP contract date be corrected from 11 January to 1 January and payment of the outstanding MASP contract of $15,000 for the period 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2000.  The applicant was forwarded a copy of this advisory for information and possible comment.  On 8 February 2003, the applicant concurred with the advisory opinion rendered in his case.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  In accordance with the advisory opinion, the applicant is entitled to an adjustment of the effective date of his MASP contract from 11 January to 1 January and retroactive pay in the amount of $15,000 for the period of 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2000. 

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

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the individual concerned is entitled to adjustment of the effective date of the MASP contract from 11 January to 1 January and retroactive payment of $15,000 for the MASP contract for the period 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2000.  

BOARD VOTE:  

__rvo___  __jea___  __lmb___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr.
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002082902	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20030814	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	128.1600	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.