IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 9 March 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160009866 BOARD VOTE: ____x____ ___x___ ____x___ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 9 March 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160009866 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is 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 showing he is authorized to receive Board Certification Pay for the period 1 June through 31 October 2013 and paying him Board Certification Pay for this period at the applicable rate. _____________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. IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 9 March 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160009866 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 Board Certification Pay (BCP) for the period 1 June through 30 September 2013. 2. The applicant states he did not receive his BCP for 1 June through 30 September 2013. He earned his board certification on 1 June 2013, but he did not receive his BCP until the following year in 2014. His S-1 at that time was able to orchestrate a limited period of retroactive pay that compensated him for being board certified on 1 October 2013. However, there are 4 months that were not retroactively paid, June through September 2013. The amount of money owed is 4 months of BCP at the monthly rate of $208.33, which equals $833.32 of unpaid BCP. 3. The applicant provides: * Finance Office printout for October 2013 * Letter from the American Board of Otolaryngology, dated 25 April 2014 * Leave and Earning Statements (LES) for October and November 2014 * Email correspondence CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing. 2. On 28 March 2003, the applicant was appointed as a Reserve commissioned officer in the rank of second lieutenant. 3. On 7 June 2007, he was ordered to active duty in the Regular Army in the Medical Corps Branch. 4. On 6 January 2009, he received his license to practice Medicine and Surgery in the Commonwealth of Virginia with an expiration date of 30 September 2014. 5. He was promoted to major/O-4 on 7 June 2013. 6. Letter, dated 2 April 2013, from the American Board of Otolaryngology, indicates he was board certified as an otolaryngologist for the period 1 June 2013 through 1 June 2023. 7. A review of his personnel record reveals he submitted the following contracts for medical special pay: SPECIAL PAY START DATE AMOUNT Medical Additional Special Pay (MASP) 1 July 2012 $15,000 Incentive Special Pay (ISP) 1 October 2012 $30,000 MASP 1 July 2013 $15,000 ISP 1 October 2013 $30,000 MASP 1 July 2014 $15,000 ISP 1 October 2014 $30,000 8. He provided two LESs that reflect his receipt of BCP for October 2014 ($2,499.96) and November 2014 ($416.66). 9. On 22 September 2015, he tendered his unqualified resignation from active duty under the provisions of Army Regulation 600-8-24 (Officers Transfers and Discharges), chapter 3, section II to be effective 1 July 2016. The U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Fort Knox, KY approved his unqualified resignation. 10. Orders Number 092-0205 published on 1 April 2016 discharged him from active duty on 1 July 2016 under the provisions of Army Regulation 600-8-24, paragraph 3-5, by reason of miscellaneous/general reasons. 11. On 27 July 2016, the Chief, Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Special Pay Branch, Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG) provided an advisory opinion and stated: a. Requests for entitlement category of BCP (Title 37, U.S. Code, section 302(a)(5)) Special pay: medical officers of the armed forces) are initiated by the officer through their command's supporting Human Resource/Personnel/S-1 office. If board certification renewals are issued, the officer must also submit renewal documentation to ensure BCP continues uninterrupted. Receipt of monthly BCP can be verified by the officer by reviewing their monthly LES. b. A review of supporting documentation and available special pay and finance data indicates the applicant's initial board certification being effective 1 June 2013 through 1 June 2023, and this office authorized retroactive payments for BCP commencing 1 November 2013. The missing period of BCP is verified as 1 June through 31 October 2013. c. With submission, renewals, and monitoring, the applicant would have been eligible to receive BCP for the missing 5-months of 1 June 2013 through 31 October 2013, totaling approximately $1,041 prior to any withholding. The exact payment would be determined by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS)-Indiana (IN) utilizing a Health Professions Pay Entry Date (HPPED) or Finance MS-Pay-Date of 7 June 2007 for the correct pay rates. (Note: the applicant separated from active duty on 1 July 2016; therefore, this may be an out of service payment.) d. In accordance with Army Regulation 37-104-4 (Military Pay and Allowances Policy), Chapter 20 - Settlement Actions Resulting from Correction of Records by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records, dated 8 June 2005, only the Director, DFAS-IN may make settlement actions affecting the military pay accounts of Soldiers as a result of correction of records by the ABCMR per provisions of Army Regulation 15-185 (ABCMR). Therefore, any ABCMR relief granted should be addressed for action to the Corrections-Claims Section, DFAS-IN. 12. The Army Review Boards Agency provided the applicant a copy of the advisory opinion to allow him to provide comments; however, he did not respond within the allotted timeframe. REFERENCES: Title 37, U.S. Code, sections 301d, 302, 302f, and 303a, provides for multi-year retention bonuses and special pays for medical officers and health professionals of the Armed Forces. For Army Medical Corps officers (physicians), these special pays include BCP which is paid monthly to all board-certified Medical Corps officers based upon their date of board certification and their creditable service used to establish the Health Professional Pay Entry Date. DISCUSSION: 1. The evidence of record shows the applicant was certified in Otolaryngology on 1 June 2013. 2. His service record does not indicate he submitted a request for BCP for June, August, or September 2013. 3. Based on the OTSG advisory opinion, the Chief of the AMEDD Special Pay Branch verified the missing period of BCP as 1 June through 31 October 2013 and supported retroactive BCP in the amount of approximately $1,041 for the 5-month period from 1 June through 31 October 2013. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160009866 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160009866 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2