IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 6 May 2014 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140003135 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, in effect, Non-Physician Board Certification Pay (NPBCP) for the period 1 September 2011 through 30 September 2012. 2. The applicant states she is a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner who was receiving NPBCP that stopped sometime in 2011. She believes her pay may have been stopped because she had not sent in proof of her recertification. She was stationed overseas and did not realize the payment had stopped; however, she has proof of her recertification. 3. The applicant provides a copy of her Official Notice of Certification Renewal. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Having prior enlisted service, the applicant was commissioned as a U.S. Army Reserve second lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps in area of concentration 66H (Medical - Surgical Nurse) on 12 August 1997. 2. She submitted an Official Notice of Certification Renewal, dated 26 August 2011, from the American Nurses Credentialing Center that certified she completed the professional and other requirements prescribed by law as a Family Nurse Practitioner. The certification notice indicates her certification is valid for five years from 1 September 2011 through 31 August 2016. 3. In the processing of this case, on 4 April 2014, a staff advisory opinion was obtained from the Office of The Surgeon General (OTSG), Chief, Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Special Pay Branch who stated: a. Requests for NPBCP are initiated by the officer through their supporting Human Resource/Personnel/S1 office. A review of the supporting documentation, and available special pay and finance data indicates the applicant's NPBCP was paid for the period 1 September 2006 through 31 August 2011. It was restarted by their office effective 1 October 2012, with a current expiration date of 31 August 2016. This period is the maximum authority their office has for BCP payments in arrears. There is no previous record of submission, authorization, or payment of BCP for the period 1 September 2011 through 30 September 2012. b. The applicant was eligible to receive NPBCP for the 13 month period of 1 September 2011 through 30 September 2012. The period of arrears exceeds their office’s authority to authorize payment. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service – Indianapolis (DFAS-IN) would need to pay the retroactive period utilizing a Health Professions Pay Entry Date or finance MS-Pay-Date of 20 July 2006 for the correct monthly pay rate level. The retroactive payment for this total period is approximately $2,166 prior to withholding; exact payment to be determined by DFAS-IN. 4. On 8 April 2014, a copy of the advisory opinion was forwarded to the applicant, for information and to allow her the opportunity to submit comments or a rebuttal. On 10 April 2014, the applicant concurred with the advisory opinion. 5. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 1996 (FY96) amended Title 37, U.S. Code, section 302c(d)(1), by adding nurse officers to those health professionals eligible for NPBCP. That Act remedied an inequity in the original legislation which inadvertently excluded nurse officers. The earliest effective date of eligibility is 10 February 1996, the date the FY96 NDAA became law. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The evidence shows the applicant is board certified for the period 1 September 2011 through 31 August 2016. The Chief, AMEDD Special Pay Branch, has opined that the applicant was eligible to receive NPBCP for the period 1 September 2011 to 30 September 2012. 2. Based on equity considerations in this case, the applicant is entitled to NPBCP for the period 1 September 2011 to 30 September 2012. 3. In view of the foregoing, her record should be corrected as recommended below. BOARD VOTE: ___x____ ____x___ ____x___ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined that the evidence presented was 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: a. showing the appropriate office timely received and processed the applicant's certification renewal through the AMEDD Special Pay Branch, OTSG and approved a request for NPBCP; and b. paying her any monies due as a result of these corrections. _______ _ _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) AR20140003135 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140003135 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1