My Service School OSR Update
I’m in zone for O6 in February, and I’ve attended a number of service schools recently, necessitating an update to my Officer Service Record (OSR). It took months and as the guy who wrote the Promo Prep, it was interesting to actually experience. Here’s how it went down…
This is what the service schools section of my OSR looked like at the start:
“NWC OFFCAMP SE” was added automatically (how nice is that!) in June when I completed JPME I via the Fleet Seminar Program, but the rest are quite old from 2011, 2002, and 2001.
This year I attended the MHS Capstone, Interagency Institute for Federal Healthcare Executives, and Navy Senior Legal Course, all of which are service schools but were not automatically added to my OSR.
How does the guy who wrote the Promo Prep update his service schools? Realizing that nothing is perfect, it might not work the first time, it’ll probably take quite a while, and wanting to get it over with, I used the e-mail, fax, and mailing option discussed in the Promo Prep all at the same time. Once and done! If it didn’t work, I was just going to send a letter to the board.
So, on one day after completing the courses I e-mailed, faxed, and snail mailed the required information.
First I got this:
I’m not sure if the address I have is wrong or the USPS just didn’t like my abbreviations, but the snail mail attempt clearly didn’t work.
Next, I started getting strange e-mails reminiscent of the ones you get when you put in a trouble ticket on your computer. I’m not sure if this was from the e-mail submission, the fax submission, or both. Here’s what one of them looked like:
From: ITSM Do Not Reply [mailto:DoNotReply@navy.mil]
To: Schofer, Joel M CDR USN NAVHOSP PORS VA (US)
Subject: Incident INC000002230401 with a Priority of Low has been logged for your issue
Importance: High
Incident INC000002230401 with a Priority of Low has been logged for your issue. This number should be retained for reference purposes.
Customer Site:
Product Type: Software
Nomenclature:
Common Name: CDM
Product Categorization Tier 2: ODC
Product Categorization Tier 3: SERVICE SCHOOL
Product Name:
Model/Version:
System Model Number:
Urgency: 4-Low
Status: Assigned
Summary: SERVICE SCHOOL (ODC BLK 52)
Notes: Request to add service school to Officer Data Card (ODC) to reflect course number 595, SEP 2017, 1 WK
We look forward to providing you continued support.
I particularly like the part where they say my request is low priority.
They then told me I already had too many service schools and needed to pick which ones I wanted:
From: ITSM Do Not Reply [mailto:DoNotReply@navy.mil]
To: Schofer, Joel M CDR USN NAVHOSP PORS VA (US)
Subject: INC000002211696
CDR Schofer,
A maximum of seven service schools can be assigned and you currently have seven. Please indicate which service schools 04D and 059 will replace on your ODC.
Send information to Xxxx.Xxxx.ctr@navy.mil. Reference incident number 2211696 in the subject line.
Wow! A person who is going to help me resolve this problem. My faith in the system has been restored.
I told them to just remove the oldest service schools and replace them with the new ones. I then got this message:
From: ITSM Do Not Reply <DoNotReply@navy.mil>
To: CDR Joel Schofer
Subject: Incident INC000002230401 reported by you has been resolved. SERVICE SCHOOL (ODC BLK 52)
ReplyTo: ITSM Do Not Reply <DoNotReply@navy.mil>
Dear JOEL SCHOFER,
We are pleased to inform you that your reported Incident has been resolved.
Reference No.: INC000002230401
Summary: SERVICE SCHOOL (ODC BLK 52)
Your reported Incident has been resolved with the following resolution: CDR Schofer,
Your online record has been updated to include service school code 595. Allow at least two weeks for changes to reflect on your ODC after online systems update.
Please do not hesitate to contact the Service Desk should there be any further questions or inquiries regarding your Incident. Please quote your assigned Reference Number.
Yours sincerely, Service Desk
This is what the final product looked like:
As you can see, my three new service schools are all there, and my record is ready for my O6 board. It took about 3 months in total, and involved a returned envelope and some strange e-mails, but thanks to whoever at NSIPS addressed this issue for me.
Director, Defense Veterans Brain Injury Center – O6 Only
This position is narrowly tailored for an 06 Medical Corps officer with experience in traumatic brain injury (TBI). The report date is March 2018. The position description is here:
Position Description – Director, Defense Veterans Brain Injury Center
Interested parties should send a CV/BIO to BUMED via their Specialty Leader by 21 Nov.
Consolidated Special Pay Profile – New Board Eligible Attending
Let’s assume this is a board-eligible (not certified yet) new Emergency Medicine attending at NMC San Diego who had no prior service, did a 2 year GMO tour, 4 years of residency, just graduated from that residency in July 2017, and has dependents. This is what that new attending should see on their LES:
BASE PAY - $6,092.40 (O4 over 6 pay grade from the 2017 Basic Pay Table)
BAS - $253.63 (all officers get the same rate)
BAH - $3,339.00 (O4 with dependents rate in zip code 92134 based on this calculator)
SAVE PAY -$4083.33 (IP only 1 year rate paid monthly – $49K paid as $4083.33/month for Emergency Medicine – which is from Table 2 of the Final Navy FY17 Pay Plan)
TOTAL – $13,768.36/month
ANNUAL TOTAL – $165,220.32
Consolidated Special Pay Profile – General Medical Officer
The new consolidated special pay plan is confusing. To try and alleviate that confusion, I’m going to publish what I’ll call special pay profiles. Next up…General Medical Officer (GMO).
Monthly Pay of a GMO
Let’s assume this is a GMO with the Marines at Camp Lejeune who had no prior service, did internship, and has been a GMO for 1 year with dependents. This is what that GMO should see on their LES:
BASE PAY - $4,587.00 (O3 over 2 pay grade from the 2017 Basic Pay Table)
BAS - $253.63 (all officers get the same rate)
BAH - $1425.00 (O3 with dependents rate in zip code 28542 based on this calculator)
SAVE PAY - $1,666.66 ($20K paid monthly, which is from Table 2 of the Final Navy FY17 Pay Plan)
TOTAL – $7932.29/month
ANNUAL TOTAL – $95,187.48
Consolidated Special Pay Profile – Residents
The new consolidated special pay plan is confusing. To try and alleviate that confusion, I’m going to publish what I’ll call special pay profiles. Next up…residents.
Monthly Pay of a Resident
Let’s assume this is a resident at NMC Portsmouth who had no prior service, did internship, a 2 year GMO tour, and now is a PGY-2 with dependents. This is what that resident should see on their LES:
BASE PAY - $4,950.90 (O3 over 3 pay grade from the 2017 Basic Pay Table)
BAS - $253.63 (all officers get the same rate)
BAH - $1872.00 (O3 with dependents rate in zip code 23708 based on this calculator)
SAVE PAY - $666.66 ($8K paid monthly, which is from Table 2 of the Final Navy FY17 Pay Plan)
TOTAL – $7743.19/month
ANNUAL TOTAL – $92,918.28
Consolidated Special Pay Profile – Interns
The new consolidated special pay plan is confusing. To try and alleviate that confusion, I’m going to publish what I’ll call special pay profiles. Let’s start with interns…
Monthly Pay of an Intern
Let’s assume this is an intern at NMC Portsmouth who is a brand new LT with no prior service and no dependents. This is what that intern should see on their LES:
BASE PAY - $4,046.70 (O3 2 or Less pay grade from the 2017 Basic Pay Table)
BAS - $253.63 (all officers get the same rate)
BAH - $1659.00 (O3 without dependents rate in zip code 23708 based on this calculator)
SAVE PAY - $100 (which is from Table 2 of the Final Navy FY17 Pay Plan)
TOTAL – $6059.33/month
ANNUAL TOTAL – $72,711.96
Updated Medical Corps Career Progression Slide
Here is the updated BUMED Medical Corps Career Progression slide, which nicely summarizes the typical career path as well as spells out the educational opportunities you should try to obtain:
FY18 Navy Medicine Leadership Course Offerings
Here is the course catalog:
NAVY MEDICINE LEADERSHIP COURSES FY18
Here is the BUMED suggested list of which courses to target at which ranks:
LT:
Field/Ship Medical Training
Combat Casualty Care Course
CBRNE
BMDOC
LCDR:
AMDOC
Clinic Managers Course
Joint Medical Operations Course
Senior Officer Legal Course
Intermediate Leadership Course
JPME Phase I
USMC Command and Staff College
CDR:
Healthcare Management Course
MedXellence
Joint Senior Medical Leader Course
Naval War College
Tricare Financial Management Course
CAPT:
Navy Senior Leader Seminar
MHS Capstone
Interagency Institute for Healthcare Executives Medical Senior Leadership
Program
BRS and HPSP Students & New End-of-the Month Personal Finance Summary
We’re all starting to get pinged about the mandatory Blended Retirement System (BRS) training. While I’ve created a BRS resource center on the other blog I write for, the specific case of how BRS works for medical students was recently run to ground by Dr. Jami Peterson, the Head of Student Programs at BUMED. Straight from her, the BLUF is:
Any HPSP student who signed their contract BEFORE 01 JAN 2018 will have thirty days after signing into their FIRST active duty station to declare if they want to do the legacy retirement system OR the blended retirement system. For any students who start AFTER 01 JAN 2018 will automatically be placed in the blended retirement.
I’m also going to start providing an end-of-the-month summary of the personal finance articles I’ve written. Here they are:
2018 Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Contribution Limits Announced
Invest in Stock and Bond Index Funds or ETFs
Make an Intelligent Rent vs Buy Real Estate Decision
Saving and Investing for Military Personnel by the SEC
Three Things Every Young Medical Student and Physician Needs to Know – Part 1
Three Things Every Young Medical Student and Physician Needs to Know – Part 2
Confusion with New Special Pays
- Read the Final Navy FY17 Pay Plan while looking at your LES. If you cannot figure out your pay, move to #2…
- Start with your command pay POC with questions. Insist that they explain it to you and make you 100% comfortable with your pay. You are a physician and should be able to understand your own pay. If they can’t explain it to your satisfaction…
- Contact BUMED Special Pay. Their contact info can be found on this page.
I realize that there is MUCH frustration and confusion out there right now, and one of my officers who used to be a pay officer is working on some Excel spreadsheets for you to use when trying to figure out your pay. I’ll post those when they are ready.
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 