The short answer is no, your HPSP time does not count towards your eight year obligation. Attached is the relevant Army HPSP policy for 2004. Hope it is helpful.
2-1. PROGRAM OBLIGATION. Participants must complete the contractual military service obligation, unless relieved of the requirement. Participants must serve the greater of the active duty service obligation (ADSO) or minimum term of service (MTS). The HPSP obligation is in addition to any obligations incurred from other military programs (e.g. ROTC, USMA). The HPSP obligation and other military obligations are served consecutively, unless otherwise prescribed by law or policy.
a. CONTRACTURAL MILITARY SERVICE OBLIGATION (MSO). HPSP participants incur a contractual 8-year MSO, regardless of the length of their scholarship. The obligation is usually served
in two parts, which include the active duty and reserve service obligations. The total of these two obligations comprise the 8-year contractual MSO.
(1) Active duty service obligation (ADSO). The minimum ADSO is two years, regardless of health care discipline, for any portion of participation up to two years. Participation in excess of two years results in an additional obligation of six months for any portion of a six-month period of participation. The obligation begins with the stipend start date and ends with the date of stipend ineligibility. This ADSO provision is also applied when an alternative service obligation as a civilian employee is imposed under paragraph 2-5b below.
(2) Reserve service obligation (RSO). Any remaining obligation that is not served on active duty is served in the ready reserves, unless otherwise agreed upon by the participant and the Secretary of the Army.
(3) Credit toward ADSO. Participants cannot receive credit toward fulfilling the contractual obligation for: prior active duty or reserve service; participation in civilian or military graduate professional education (GPE) (first year of graduate medical education (FYGME), Advanced General Dentistry Program 1 (AGDP-1), internship, residency, fellowship); or the time spent in HPSP and on active duty or active duty for training as an HPSP participant.
(4) Credit toward RSO. Participants cannot receive credit toward fulfilling the contractual obligation for: reserve service as a participant in a civilian GPE program; prior active duty or reserve service; or the time spent in HPSP and on active duty or active duty for training as an HPSP participant. Time spent on active duty during participation in graduate professional education (GPE) (first year of graduate medical education (FYGME), ADGP-1, internship, residency, fellowship) and time spent on active duty beyond the required ADSO does count as credit toward fulfilling RSO.
(5) An assertion of community essentiality is not grounds for relief from or for delay in fulfilling the ADSO or RSO.
b. MINIMUM TERMS OF SERVICE (MTS). Participants must serve a minimum term of service (MTS) on active duty of three years for non-physicians and two years for physicians. If the active duty obligation is less than the MTS, the MTS period must be fulfilled.
(1) Time spent on active duty after completion of the basic professional degree, including that spent in graduate professional education, fulfills the MTS requirement.
(2) Prior service and time spent in HPSP (including active duty for training) does not fulfill the MTS requirement.
(3) The MTS rule does not apply when an alternative service obligation as a civilian employee is imposed under paragraph 2-5b below.
2-3. SUMMARY OF HPSP OBLIGATION. The First Year of Graduate Medical Education (FYGME), Clinical Psychology Internship Program (CPIP) and Advanced General Dentistry Program 1 (AGDP 1) are performed on active duty (AD). The period of time that is
spent on active duty in FYGME and AGDP-1 does not repay the ADSO, but does count toward repayment of the RSO.
a. Physicians. When reviewing the ?AD FYGME? column, the ?TOTAL AD? column is increased by 1 year because the AD FYGME is performed on active duty after graduation. One year of the RSO is repaid during active duty FYGME (internship) participation.
AD FYGME CIV FYGME
YRS TOTAL IRR TOTAL IRR
SPON AD AD
1 3 5 2 6
2 3 5 2 6
AD FYGME CIV FYGME
YRS TOTAL IRR TOTAL IRR
SPON AD AD
3 4 4 3 5
4 5 3 4 4
