ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 15 September 2020 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20190004034 APPLICANT REQUESTS: * correction of her records to reflect she was eligible for Board Certification Pay (BCP) since 2009 (except 2011 and 2012) * personal appearance before the Board APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Request for Retention Bonus (RB) 2007 * Request for Health Professional Officer (HPO) Incentive Pay (IP) and RB 2012 * document entitled Agreement Tracking Days * Request for HPO RB 1 October 2015 * memorandum regarding HPO IP * email from the Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG) * email to Army Review Board Agency (ARBA) * automatic email reply from ARBA * email to Medical Command (MEDCOM) * Inspector General (IG) Action Request * Verification of License Letter * email from MEDCOM * email from ARBA * Pay Inquiry with an index of attachments * Verification of Licensure * email from OTSG * self-authored BCP shortfalls FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three year time frame provided in Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552 (b); however, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. 2. The applicant states: a. She requests her records be corrected to reflect she was eligible for BCP as a clinical psychologist since 2009 (except 2011 and 2012 when she was not under contract for continued service). b. She first realized there might be a problem with her special pay in July 2018. Since that time she contacted OTSG Special Pay Branch, ARBA, Regional Health Command Europe IG, and finance. Documentation of her previous attempts to rectify the situation is provided for the Board's consideration, as is the documentation of her eligibility for BCP. c. The requirements for BCP are that she is a board certified clinical psychologist and she signed a contract for more than one year of continued service. Except for the years 2011 and 2012, she met both of the requirements. She did not receive board certification pay for 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. d. She received other special pay by way of Incentive Pay that was erroneously discontinued. She thought it was BCP but her Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) was not clear. When she inquired, she was informed she never received BCP. 3. The applicant's available service records contain the following documents for the Board's consideration: a. Two DA Forms 71 (Oath of Office Military Personnel), which show the applicant took her oath of office as a Reserve Commissioned Officer in the rank of First Lieutenant on 7 June 1995 and she again took the oath of office in the Regular Army's Medical Service Corps in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on 31 January 2005. b. A Specialty Board Certification in Clinical Health Psychology, dated 23 September 2005. c. A memorandum for the OTSG, Subject: Request for Critical Skills RB for Army Licensed Clinical Psychologists in the Active Component, which shows: * she was licensed as a Clinical Psychologist * she was signing for 3 years of continuous active duty service effective 1 November 2007 * she would receive $25,000 in a lump sum each year of the agreement * she and the approving authority signed the form on 24 September 2007 d. A memorandum for the OTSG Subject: Request for HPO IP, which shows: * the applicant's Area of Concentration (AOC) was Clinical Psychology * she was signing for three years of continuous active duty effective 1 October 2012 * she would receive $5,000 per year * she and the approving authority signed the document on 20 December 2012 e. A memorandum for the OTSG, Subject: Request for HPO Combined IP and RB, which shows: * the applicant's AOC Clinical Psychology * she was signing for three years of continuous active duty service effective 1 October 2012 * she would receive IP and RB in the amount of $15,000 per year * she and the approving authority signed the document on 20 December 2012 f. A document entitled Agreement Tracking Dates, which shows the new agreement effective 1 October 2012 was received on 1 January 2013 and sent to branch on 16 January 2013. The new agreement amount was $20,000. The new obligation start date was 1 October 2012 and end date was 30 September 2015. g. A memorandum for the OTSG, Subject: Request for HPO RB which shows: * the applicant's AOC was a Clinical Psychology * she was signing for 4 years of continuous active duty service effective 1 October 2015 * she would receive RB in the amount of $20,000 a year * she and the approving authority signed the document on 1 September 2015 h. A document from the Alabama Board of Examiners in Psychology, which is a verification of Licensure for the applicant dated 18 September 2018. i. A verification letter for the applicant verifying her Board Certification in Clinical Health Psychology, dated 15 November 2018. j. A DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), which shows the applicant was transferred to the US Army Reserve Control Group (Retired) effective 30 September 2019. 4. The applicant's service record is void of a request for HPO BCP, other than what was already provided for the Board's consideration. 5. The applicant provided the following documents for the Board's consideration: a. A memorandum for OTSG requesting a Critical Skill Retention Bonus, effective 1 November 2007, which was present in the applicant's service record. b. A memorandum for OTSG requesting HPO Combined IP and RB, effective 1 October 2012, which was present in the applicant's service record. c. A document entitled Agreement Tracking Dates, which was present in the applicant's service record. d. A memorandum for OTSG requesting HPO RB, effective 1 October 2015, which was present in the applicant's service record. e. A memorandum from the Assistant Secretary of Defense, dated 29 September 2017, Subject: HPO Special and IP Plan. The applicant wanted to bring the following portions to the Board's attention: f. An email from OTSG, Special Pay, dated 18 July 2018, which states: (1) According to the special pay module, the only active special pay for the applicant was the four year HPO RB agreement of $20,000 per year effective 1 October 2015 through 30 September 2019. The last agreement bonus payment was released on 1 October 2018. (2) The applicant's HPO IP indefinite agreement of $5,000 per year stopped for no reason on 30 June 2017, which appeared to be a finance error. OTSG would notify Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) to restart the payment retroactively. Receipt of HPO IP and BCP could be verified by looking at the LES for payment of "Save Pay". (3) There was no record of HPO BCP for the applicant since inception on 1 October 2009. All HPO special pays required an agreement and the HPO BCP agreement was available in the special pay module. The earliest the OTSG office could authorize the new HPO BCP payment was within the fiscal year making 1 October 2017 the earliest effective date authorized. Any previous payment requests for HPO BCP periods would require the applicant to petition the Board to authorize payment. g. A self-authored e-mail to ARBA, dated 22 October 2018, which reiterates her not receiving BCP and what the OTSG email stated. She was ensuring ARBA was the correct agency to send her request. She received an automatic reply from ARBA on 22 October 2018. h. A self-authored e-mail to US Army MEDCOM IG, dated 23 October 2018, which states: (1) She was writing asking whether an issue she had was appropriate for the IG. She realized she had not been receiving BCP, approximately $6,000 per year, since the program started in 2009. (2) She sent her Board Certification to US Army Human Resources Command and it was in her service record. She mistakenly assumed that a different special pay she was receiving was her BCP. After an inquiry to OTSG, she was notified she had never received BCP and that she needed to address the issue with the Board since it was out of the current fiscal year. (3) She tried to contact ARBA but the website didn't work. She e-mailed ARBA to see if they were the correct agency to whom she should address her question. She received a response that it would likely be 30 days before they would answer her e-mail and possibly more than a year before her concern could be resolved. She asked the IG if there was a way to file for back pay of over $50,000 or if she needed to have her records corrected. i. A DA Form 1559 (IG Action Request), dated 25 October 2018, wherein the applicant's requests the IG's assistance in getting her BCP, stating the ARBA's website was not helpful and she would retired in 11 months and she wanted to get the issue resolved. j. A verification letter for the applicant's board certification, dated 14 November 2018, which was present in the applicant's service record. k. An e-mail from the MEDCOM IG, dated 15 November 2018 which states, they were unable to determine whether the applicant was eligible to receive monthly BCP; however written agreements had never been completed or never made it to the appropriate destination, thus it was necessary to submit a request to the Board for correction. l. An e-mail from ARBA, dated 16 November 2018, which states it was best for the applicant to proceed through DFAS as ARBA requires the applicant to exhaust all measures before applying to the Board. m. A DA Form 2142 (Pay Inquiry), dated 20 February 2019, wherein the applicant requested BCP with a list of attachments, which became the supporting documents for the applicant's request. n. An Alabama Board of Examiners in Psychology Verification of Licensure, dated 27 February 2019, which was present in the applicant's service record. o. An email from OTSG, Special Pay, dated 5 March 2019, which states the offices wanted to get the HPO BCP of $6,000 per year paid; however, the special pays were subject to audit and required timely documentation to elicit payment. The local finance could not assist on contractual special pays that were not executed. They could assist based on the details they gave, which was for the applicant to apply to the Board for correction. p. A self-authored document entitled Table of BCP shortfalls, which shows the applicant would have received $54,000 in BCP for the years 2009 through 2019 excluding 2011 and 2012. 6. In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained on 25 June 2020, from the Chief, AMEDD Special Pay Branch, OTSG. The advisory official noted there was not HPO IP correction identified for correction or payment. The review of special pays determined the applicant was eligible for HPO BCP at $6,000 per year for the missing period of 1 October 2009 through 30 September 2018; of which there was no record of executed agreements. If authorized the HPO BCP at $6,000 per year for a 9 year period, arrears would total approximately $54,000 prior to any adjustments for withholding. A copy of the complete advisory opinion has been provided to the Board for their review and consideration. 7. The applicant was provided a copy of this advisory opinion on 6 July 2020, to provide her an opportunity to comment and/or submit a rebuttal. She did not respond. 8. Army Regulation 15-185 (ABCMR) states an applicant is not entitled to a hearing before the ABCMR. Hearings may be authorized by a panel of the ABCMR or by the Director of the ABCMR. 9. See below for applicable references. BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found relief is warranted. 2. The Board concurred with the conclusion of the advisory official that the applicant was eligible for BCP at $6,000 per year for the period 1 October 2009 through 30 September 2018. The Board determined that, as a matter of equity, the applicant's record should be corrected to show she submitted timely requests for BCP during the period in question and to show those requests were approved. The Board further determined the applicant should be paid BCP in arrears as a result of this correction. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : X :X :X 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 she submitted timely requests for BCP for the period 1 October 2009 through 30 September 2018 which were approved and paying her any BCP she is due as a result of this correction. 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, 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. 2. Army Regulation 15-185 (ABCMR) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the ABCMR. The ABCMR may, in its discretion, hold a hearing or request additional evidence or opinions. Additionally, it states in paragraph 2-11 that applicants do not have a right to a hearing before the ABCMR. The Director or the ABCMR may grant a formal hearing whenever justice requires. 3. Department of Defense (DOD) Finance Management Volume 7 Chapter 5 (Health Professions Officer (HPO) Special and Incentive Pay (IP)) states that the effective date of the IP agreement will be calculated from the date the member completes the qualifying training plus 3 months. To be eligible for IP, an HPO must be: * serving in an Active Component or Reserve Component of the Army and entitled to basic pay * serving on active duty or in an active Reserve status in a designated health professional specialty 4. The Assistant Secretary of Defense, Health Affairs, Memorandum, Subject: HPO IP, dated 29 September 2017 provides that a board certified Psychologist is entitled to IP of $6,000.00 prorated monthly 5. Title 37 U.S.C. 335 (Special Bonus Incentive Pay) states that the the Secretary of the Army may pay a health professions bonus under this section to an officer in the uniformed services, who is a graduate of an accredited school in a health profession and who accepts a commission or appointment as an officer in a regular or reserve component of a uniformed service, or affiliates with a reserve component of a uniformed service, and agrees to serve on active duty in a regular component or in an active status in a reserve component in a health profession; accepts a commission or appointment as an officer and whose health profession specialty is designated by the Secretary of Defense as a critically short wartime specialty; or agrees to remain on active duty or continue serving in an active status in a reserve component in a health profession. The Secretary of the Army may pay Health Professions Incentive Pay to an officer in a regular or reserve component of a uniformed service who is entitled to basic pay under section 204 of this title or compensation under section 206 of this title and is serving on active duty or in an active status in a designated health profession specialty or skill. Health Professions bonus paid may not exceed $100,000 for each 12-month period of obligated service //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190004034 9 1