IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 1 March 2012 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110011471 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 an Army Medical Department (AMEDD) officer retention incentive bonus for physician assistant (PA) officers. 2. The applicant states he resigned his commission as a Field Medical Assistant in 1989 in order to attend graduate school and later PA school. After completion of school and training, he applied for re-commissioning as a PA in 1994. During the time he was in school and training he was carried in a Reserve Component control group. This time is being counted as a part of his commissioned service time which has resulted in his disqualification for the retention incentive bonus. 3. The applicant provides: * self-authored statement * National Guard Bureau (NGB) Form 337 (Oaths of Office) * Maryland Army National Guard (ARNG) Orders 110-107  MD-STARC-ARPP, dated 8 June 1989 * NGB Form 23B (Army National Guard Retirement Points History Statement) * NGB Form 22 (Report of Separation and Record of Service) * NGB Special Orders Number 131 AR, dated 11 July 1989 * Tennessee ARNG memorandum, dated 4 April 2011 * Tennessee ARNG memorandum, dated 11 May 2011 CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant's record shows the applicant was serving as a member of the Tennessee ARNG in the rank/grade of lieutenant colonel (LTC)/O-5 and performing duties as a PA as of the date of his application to this Board. 2. Having prior enlisted service in the Maryland ARNG, the applicant's record shows he was appointed in the rank/grade of second lieutenant (2LT)/O-1 in the Army Medical Specialist Corps, Maryland ARNG, on 11 February 1988 with a date of rank of 11 February 1988. 3. Paragraph 5 of the applicant's appointment memorandum, dated 12 December 1988, states, "Your appointment in the ARNG of the United States will terminate on withdrawal of Federal recognition of your ARNG appointment. You will then become a member of the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) unless you are discharged from your appointment as a Reserve commissioned officer." 4. The applicant's record contains an NGB Form 22 which shows he was honorably separated from the ARNG on 27 May 1989 and transferred to the USAR Control Group (Reinforcement). 5. On 19 May 1994, the applicant was appointed in the ARNG in the rank/grade of 2LT/O-1 in the Army Medical Specialist Corps. He served in various staff and/or leadership positions and was promoted through the officer ranks to the rank/grade of LTC/O-5 on 22 March 2007. 6. The applicant's record contains an NGB Form 23A which confirms the applicant was a member of the USAR Control Group (Reinforcement) and he continued to earn points toward retirement during the period 28 May 1989 through 18 May 1994. 7. The applicant provides a self-authored statement wherein he states he was notified by the Tennessee ARNG that he was qualified for a retention bonus for PA officers. He applied for the bonus, but it was later denied due to his number of commissioned years of service. He feels it is unfair that the time period from 1989 through 1994 (when he was placed in USAR Control Group) after resigning from the ARNG specifically to complete his education and return to the ARNG is preventing him from receiving the bonus. He further states the time period from 1989 through 1994 should be removed from his record and his service time corrected to reflect this change. 8. The applicant provides a memorandum from the Commander, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, to The Adjutant General, Joint Forces Headquarters Tennessee, dated 4 April 2011, requesting the applicant's time in service be changed to reflect 15 years as opposed to 19 years. 9. He also provides a memorandum from the Deputy Chief of Staff, Personnel, Joint Forces Headquarters, Tennessee National Guard, dated 11 May 2011, which states his time in the USAR Control Group indicates military status thereby disqualifying him from receiving the retention bonus due to having over 22 years of commissioned service. 10. Army Regulation 135-91 (ARNG and USAR Service Obligations, Methods of Fulfillment, Participation Requirements, and Enforcement Procedures), which governs service obligations, states an ARNG or USAR officer who was commissioned from officer candidate school retains the original statutory obligation incurred on enlistment in the Reserve Component. Any contractual obligation incurred by appointment is added to the original statutory obligation. After appointment, the officer will normally be required to immediately participate with a troop program unit (TPU). TPU participation is 6 years. The remainder of the original obligation plus the contractual obligation not served in a unit or as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee will be served in the USAR Control Group (Reinforcement). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant's contention that his time spent in the USAR Control Group (Reinforcement) should be removed from his record in order to make him eligible to receive payment of an AMEDD officer retention incentive bonus for PA officers has been carefully considered and found to lack merit. 2. The evidence of record shows he was correctly transferred to the USAR Control Group (Reinforcement) to complete his statutory obligation upon his separation from the ARNG on 27 May 1989. The applicant was carried in a valid military status and he received retirement-point credit while in this status for each of the following 5 years. Therefore, he is not entitled to the requested relief. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ____X____ ____X____ ___X_____ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. _____________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. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110011471 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110011471 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1