RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:  02-02022
		INDEX CODE:  115.03

		COUNSEL:  NONE

		HEARING DESIRED:  NO

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

By amendment, his records be corrected to reflect 132 months of gate time by changing his Aviation Service Date (ASD) to 30 Aug 91; or, as an alternative, his ASD be changed to the original date of 4 Aug 80, with no break in his ASD between Upgrade Pilot Training (UPT) and Upgrade Navigator Training (UNT).

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He needs one month to qualify for his third gate under the Aviation Career Incentive Act (ACIA) of 1974.  When he stopped flying in 17 Jul 91, the pilot training gate months were not counted for navigators.  He needed 11 months gate time to qualify for his third gate under the ACIA of 1974.  Unable to meet the 132 gate month requirement under the ACIA of 1974 by 1 Oct 91, he fell under the Aviation Career Improvement Act (ACIA) of 1989 which required 144 months.  As a result, he was short by 22 months.  A 1995 letter from the Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC) to the “majority” of navigators stated that the Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) gate months were erroneously excluded.  He corrected his records and fell one month short of the third gate under the ACIA of 1974.  Had he known in 1991, he could have easily delayed his departure by 31 days, never flown another flight, and received his 132 gate months and third gate credit.

In support of his appeal, the applicant provided documentation pertaining to his Operational Flying Data Accumulator (OFDA) records, to include a personal statement with a statement of support, his request for a OFDA waiver and the disapproval, and excerpts from AFI 11-401, Flying Operations Flight Management.  

Applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Information extracted from the Personnel Data System (PDS) indicates that the applicant is currently serving on active duty in the grade of lieutenant colonel, having been promoted to that grade on 1 Jul 97.  His Total Active Federal Military Service Date (TAFMSD) is 28 May 80.

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are contained in the letter prepared by the appropriate office of the Air Force.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ USAF/XOOT indicated that they have reviewed the applicant’s records and find that he does not meet the requirements for award of additional months of OFDA.  They stated that in 1994, the Air Force changed its policy to allow graduates of Undergraduate Navigator Training (UNT), who also attended, but failed to complete UPT, to request an Aviation Service Date (ASD) adjustment for award of OFDA for the UPT period.  Prior to 1994, months of OFDA for undergraduate training would only count if the member completed and obtained a rating from that course.  UNT graduates were not allowed to credit OFDA for UPT periods if they did not complete UPT.  Once the policy changed, officers could apply for an adjustment of their ASD through HQ AFPC/DP.  If the member did not apply, no action was taken to adjust the ASD.  In 1995, AFPC/DP sent out a memorandum to remind officers of the policy change of 1994.  This in no way meant they made an error in not updating an officer’s previous months of OFDA.  HQ AFPC could only makes changes on applications received.

HQ USAF/XOOT indicated that although the additional months of OFDA awarded as a result of the policy change were not enough to help the applicant meet his 18-year gate requirement to receive Aviation Career Incentive Pay (ACIP) past 22 years of Aviation Service, this does not constitute a basis to award an additional month when requirements were not met.

A complete copy of the HQ USAF/XOOT evaluation is at Exhibit B.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant indicated that the first and only notification he received regarding adding UPT gate months was AFPC’s Jul 95 letter.  The letter made no mention of a policy change, referring only to an error in his gate months.  AFPC’s letter further stated that the majority of the navigators were missing gate months accrued at UPT, implying his was not an isolated or unusual case.  The letter arrived too late to make a difference.  Even if there were cockpits available when he received the letter, he was already locked into a controlled three-year joint tour at USEUCOM.

Applicant indicated that based on what he knows of the Air Force rated shortfall over the past 10 years, the policy change was most likely prompted because AFPC had difficulty getting navigators their second gate, a milestone required by law, as it used navigators for rated staff jobs to solve the pilot  shortage.

The applicant maintains that when the Air Force changed its policy to include UPT gate months in navigator totals and began referring to both UPT and UNT as Undergraduate Flying Training (UFT), it should have also altered its policy on how the transition between UPT and UNT is viewed.  According to the applicant, both should be administered as a single UFT program regarding ASD.

Applicant’s complete response is at Exhibit D.

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THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.  The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations.

2.  The application was timely filed.

3.  Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an injustice.  After a thorough review of the facts and circumstances of this case, we are persuaded that corrective action is warranted.  We note that an Air Force policy change in 1994 allowed graduates of UNT, who also attended UPT but failed to complete UPT, to request an adjustment to their ASD by awarding them additional months of gate credit for the period of UPT.  As a result of the policy change, the applicant had his records adjusted and fell one month short of his third gate under the ACIA of 1974.  Prior to the policy change, the applicant fell 11 months short of his third gate credit.  The applicant indicated that had he known earlier he would be one month short of his third gate, he would have taken appropriate measures to obtain the additional month.  We believe it is reasonable to assume that the applicant’s aviation assignment history would have been different had he been aware that he would have been so close to obtaining his third gate, as opposed to the 11 months he was short prior to the policy change.  Furthermore, we also took note of the statement of support provided by the Principal Deputy, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition) who indicated that the applicant’s assignments best suited the Air Force’s need to mitigate the pilot shortage and prevented him from obtaining 132 or 144 months of OFDA.  In view of the foregoing, and to remove the possibility of an injustice, we recommend that the applicant’s records be corrected to reflect that he was awarded an additional one (1) month of gate credit for a total of 132 months under the provisions of the Aviation Career Incentive Act (ACIA) of 1974, and that he is entitled to receive continuous Aviation Career Incentive Pay (ACIP) until his 25th year of aviation service.

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THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that he was awarded an additional one (1) month of gate credit for a total of 132 months under the provisions of the Aviation Career Incentive Act (ACIA) of 1974, and that he is entitled to receive continuous Aviation Career Incentive Pay (ACIP) until his 25th year of aviation service.

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The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number 02-02022 in Executive Session on 15 Oct 02, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

All members voted to correct the records, as recommended.  The following documentary evidence was considered:

     Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 8 Jun 02, w/atchs.
     Exhibit B.  Letter, HQ USAF/XOOT, dated 29 Jul 02.
     Exhibit C.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 2 Aug 02.
     Exhibit D.  Letter, applicant, dated 29 Aug 02.

                                   Panel Chair

AFBCMR 02-02022

MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF OF STAFF

	Having received and considered the recommendation of the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records and under the authority of Section 1552, Title 10, United States Code (70A Stat 116), it is directed that:

	The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to , be corrected to show that he was awarded an additional one (1) month of gate credit for a total of 132 months under the provisions of the Aviation Career Incentive Act (ACIA) of 1974, and that he is entitled to receive continuous Aviation Career Incentive Pay (ACIP) until his 25th year of aviation service.

                                                                           Director
                                                                           Air Force Review Boards Agency