BOARD DATE: 10 October 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170009686 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 BOARD DATE: 10 October 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170009686 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 the applicant is authorized payment of Board Certification Pay for the period 1 July 2010 through 30 September 2016, utilizing a Health Professions Pay Entry Date or finance Medical Special Pay Date of 14 June 2005 for the correct pay rates. ______________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. BOARD DATE: 10 October 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170009686 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, retroactive Board Certification Pay (BCP) for the period July 2010 through October 2016. 2. The applicant states: a. He is a board certified physical medicine and rehabilitation physician and completed his residency in July 2009. He became board certified in July 2010. He has not received BCP for 75 months. b. He was told in 2010 by the Walter Reed special pay office that his BCP had been rolled into his other bonuses and he assumed this was correct. This mistake was first caught upon his in-processing at Fort Bliss, TX. 3. The applicant provides: * Certification from the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, for the period 1 July 2010 through 31 December 2020 * Memorandum from the Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG), dated 22 September 2016, Falls Church, VA, subject: Request for Medical Corps Incentive Special Pay * Leave and Earnings Statements (LES) for each month during the period July 2010 through March 2017 CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant currently serves on active duty in the rank of major. He is assigned to the William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Fort Bliss, Texas, in the area of concentration 61P (Physiatrist). 2. The applicant provides: a. a Certification from the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation for the period 1 July 2010 through 31 December 2020 indicating he is board certified; b. a memorandum from OTSG, dated 22 September 2016, subject: Request for Medical Corps Incentive Special Pay, which shows he was authorized special pay starting 1 October 2016; and c. his monthly LESs that indicate his payment status with respect to BCP for the period in question. 3. In connection with the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained on 17 August 2017 from the Chief, Army Medical Department Special Pay Branch, OTSG, who opined, that: a. The officer is requesting retroactive payment of BCP for the period July 2010 through October 2016. He indicates that throughout the years, they had thought BCP was combined in his received special pays. He was reviewing his records during his in-processing when this discrepancy was brought to his attention. b. Requests for the entitlement category of BCP are initiated by the officer through their command's supporting hHuman Resources/Personnel/S-1 office. If board certification renewals are issued, an officer must also submit renewal documentation to ensure BCP continues uninterrupted. Receipt of monthly BCP can be verified by the officer by reviewing his or her monthly LES entitlements column. Immediate action should be taken if payments stop abruptly. c. A review of supporting documentation and available special pay and finance data indicates no BCP authorization or payments, until this office authorized payments for BCP commencing 1 October 2016. The verified missing period of BCP is 1 July 2010 through 30 September 2016. d. The officer was eligible to receive BCP for the missing 75-month period of 1 July 2010 through 30 September 2016, totaling approximately $16,616 prior to any withholding. The exact payment would be determined by the Defense Finance and Accounting Services utilizing a Health Professions Pay Entry Date or finance Medical Special Pay Date of 14 June 2005 for the correct pay rates. 4. A copy of the advisory opinion was forwarded to the applicant on 19 August 2017, for information and to allow him the opportunity to submit comments or a rebuttal. He did not respond. REFERENCES: Title 37, U.S. Code, sections 301d, 302, 302f, and 303a, provide for multi-year retention bonuses and special pay for medical officers and health professionals of the Armed Forces. For Army Medical Corps officers (physicians), this special pay 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: The OTSG advisory opinion confirms the applicant met the requirements and was eligible to receive BCP for the period 1 July 2010 through 30 September 2016; however, did not receive his entitled BCP. The OTSG official further recommended he receive BCP for the requested period. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170009686 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170009686 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2