IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 6 July 2020 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170002329 APPLICANT REQUESTS: Correction of his record to show reversal of the denial of his second Retention Bonus (RB). APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Announcement of approved exception to Department of Defense Instructions (DODI) 1205.21 (Reserve Component Incentives Program Procedures) * Changes to MEDSOM Policy Number 12-001, Fiscal Year (FY) 2012-2013 Army National Guard (ARNG) Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Officer Incentives Policy (MEDSOM Policy Number 12-005) * Exception to Policy (ETP) not authorized list September 2013 * ETP lists FY 2013 * Email correspondence * Inspector General (IG) Investigation * Chain of command notification * 2014 Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) letter * 2015 bonus contract FACTS: 1. The applicant states: a. He was discharged from active duty military service after four years of service as a physician assistant with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC, and he was commissioned into service with the ARNG as a physician assistant on 10 March 2010. He signed a three-year contract with the ARNG and received a RB of $60,000.00. As of February 2013 he contacted the AMEDD recruiting office with the Texas Army National Guard (TXARNG) requesting an additional contract. At the time there was a new policy for repeat incentives for physician assistants to sign for another three years and receive a $45,000.00 RB. He was advised by the AMEDD recruiting officer in charge of the National Guard Bureau (NGB) he now had to request an ETP for any repeat incentive. He was informed he was added to the FY 2013 ETP list as of March 2013 since he qualified as a physician assistant in good standing with 14 years of service. On 7 October 2013 he was notified he was on the "non-authorized" list, thus denied a new contract and RB. He knew this was incorrect as his colleagues with similar years of service were approved. b. The TXARNG AMEDD recruiting office looked into the matter of his denial and noticed his years of service were incorrectly input into the ETP list as 19 years of service, and all AMEDD officers with greater than 17 years of service were denied. The TXARNG AMEDD recruiters contacted the NGB Officer Incentives Program Manager, who advised this issue, could not be corrected and he needed to be added to the FY 2014 ETP which started 1 October 2013. The FY 2014 ETP was not approved for any AMEDD officer. In May 2014 he requested an IG investigation and he contacted his chain of command up to the Adjutant General of the TXARNG through a Memorandum of Record. The IG investigation found a mistake was made by the TXARNG AMEDD technician by inputting the wrong years of service, resulting in the denial of a RB. His chain of command referred the issue back to the TXARNG AMEDD recruiting office as no other administrative actions were available. He was subsequently added to the FY 2015 ETP list and as of the end of FY 2015 he was approved for a one- year contract with a $15,000.00 RB. The mistake by the AMEDD technician in 2013 by incorrectly inputting his years of service resulted in a financial loss of $30,000.00. It is with respect to the Board he asks for a correction of record and be approved for a $30,000.00 RB for FY 2013 – 2014. 2. A review of the applicant's official records shows the following: a. On 22 December 2005, the Master of Medical Science Physician Assistant degree was conferred upon the applicant. b. On 22 March 2006, Orders Number A-03-606999, issued by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, St. Louis, MO, ordered the applicant to active duty to fulfill his active Army requirement. c. On 19 January 2010, Orders Number 019-0260, issued by Headquarters, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Bragg, NC, discharged the applicant from active duty. d. On 6 March 2010, the applicant was appointed as a Reserve commissioned officer in the North Carolina ARNG (NCARNG) and executed an oath of office. e. On 26 August 2012, the applicant completed a DA Form 4187 (Personnel Action) requesting an interstate transfer from the NCARNG to the TXARNG, which was recommended for approval by his immediate commander. f. On 30 June 2020, an open source search revealed the applicant has been board certified as a physician assistant by the National Commission on Certification of physician assistants since 12 January 2006. g. The applicant's records are void of any documents pertaining to any RBs. 3. The applicant provides: a. Announcement of approved exception to DODI 1205.21 showing AMEDD officers were authorized ETPs for special pay bonuses more than once. b. Changes to MEDSOM Policy Number 12-001, FY 2012-2013 ARNG AMEDD Officer Incentives Policy (MEDSOM Policy Number 12-005) showing the change in incentive obligations as it pertains to mandatory removal dates or retirement eligibility dates. c. ETP not authorized list September 2013 showing the applicant's name and he had 19 years of service at the time. d. ETP lists FY 2013 showing the NGB requested an ETP to DODI 1205.21 to offer ARNG officers repeat special pay for medical professionals who had previously completed special pay contracts. e. Email correspondence showing the applicant made inquiries with the TXARNG pertaining to his denial of the RB being he was not 60 years of age and only had 15 years of service at the time and not 19 years of service. An ARNG Officer Incentives Program Manager stated the applicant would have to be added to the 1st quarter ETP list for FY 2014. f. IG investigation report that states in pertinent part, the applicant was inadvertently left off of the ETP request, and he should seek resolution through the Board. g. Chain of command notification wherein the applicant informed his command to take actions deemed appropriate following the IG investigation. h. 2014 ABCMR letter wherein the applicant was informed his application would not be processed because he had not first sought remediation through the Adjutant General of TX. i. 2015 bonus contract showing the applicant agreed to a one-year special pay of $15,000.00 5. On 30 March 2020, the NGB reviewed the applicant's records and rendered an advisory opinion in his case. After a thorough review, the Chief, Special Actions Branch opined that: a. The applicant was initially on the "Non-authorized" list, thus denied the ability to re-sign a contract with the ARNG and receive a repeat incentive. He received an excel spreadsheet as an attachment on 7 October 2013 that documented a "reason" as "Not 60 years old." He inquired as to why he was denied when he understood that he qualified for the incentive. See attached Memorandum for Record titled "Changes to MEDSOM Number 12-001" as it pertains to the issue of being sixty years old. b. Memorandum changes to MEDSOM Number 12-001 read "Incentive obligations cannot obligate an officer past his or her mandatory removal date or retirement eligibility date." However, this does not pertain to the applicant as he had 15 years of service, was 37 years old, and was many years away from a mandatory removal date at the time. c. Upon reviewing the Department of the Army IG action request system, it states that per the TXARNG and NGB AMEDD offices, the applicant was qualified to request an ETP for the incentive. It further states that NGB AMEDD stated when it left his office the applicant was on the list. The AMEDD personnel program manager stated that the applicant was not on the list when she sent it to Department of the Army. Those two offices had some back and forth on the spreadsheet prior to it leaving NGB, and it appears the applicant was inadvertently left off the ETP request when it left NGB. d. The IG complaint further found the applicant's name was placed on the wrong ETP list by the noncommissioned officer in charge of the TXARNG medical recruiting office. e. The applicant was subsequently approved on the ETP for FY 2016 for a one-year contract and incentive bonus of $15,000.00, however not the three year repeat incentive of $45,000.00. He feels that he was subject to a financial loss of $30,000.00 for a mistake made in the TXARNG medical recruiting office during FY 2014 and FY 2015. f. It appears numerous errors were made at many levels at no fault of the applicant while attempting to process repeat incentives bonus. For these reasons their office recommends approval. The ARNG Incentives Branch concurs with this opinion. 6. On 23 April 2020, by email, the applicant responded agreeing with the advisory opinion. 7. See applicable references below. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board concurred with the advisory opinion, noting the evidence clearly shows errors were made that deprived the applicant of an incentive for which he was eligible. The Board determined by a preponderance of the evidence that the record should be corrected to show the applicant had approved ETPs to receive $15,000 retention bonuses for FY 2014 and FY 2015. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 :XXX :XXX :XXX GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION 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 exceptions to policy was approved authorizing him to receive $15,000 retention bonuses for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015. 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. ? REFERENCES: 1. Title 10, USC, 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 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. 2. Title 37 USC, section 302 states an officer entitled to board certification pay is entitled to special pay of $15,000.00 for any twelve-month period during which the officer is not undergoing medical internship or initial residency training. The amount of special pay may not exceed $75,000.00 for any 12-month period. 3. Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation, Volume 7A, section 030206 states a RB may be paid to an officer for a period of obligated service in a designated military skill. The officer must agree to serve for not less than three years in an active status in the Selective Reserves in that military skill. 4. Title 10 USC, section 1552 states the Secretary of a military department may correct any military record of the Secretary’s department when the Secretary considers it necessary to correct an error or remove an injustice. The Secretary concerned may pay, from applicable current appropriations, a claim for the loss of pay, allowances, compensation as a result of correcting a record under this section, the amount is found to be due the claimant on account of his or another’s service in the Army. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170002329 5 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1