RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-00843 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His Operational Flying Duty Accumulator (OFDA) or “gate” be corrected. _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: His records were improperly coded from August 1996 through January 1999. Due to the lack of C-5 training allocations, he was unable to qualify in the aircraft. He was improperly coded as “unqualified.” He has 143 OFDA months and 144 months are required to receive Aviation Career Incentive Pay (ACIP) through 25 years of service. Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command sent a waiver request to the Air Staff; however, it was returned without action. Had his records been properly coded, he would not need a waiver. In support of his appeal, the applicant provides a copy of the waiver request package. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachment, is at Exhibit A. _________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant is currently serving in the Regular Air Force in the grade of lieutenant colonel (O-5) with a date of rank of 1 October 2007. He has a Total Active Federal Military Service Date of 28 December 1997 and a Total Federal Commissioned Service Date of 4 February 2006. The remaining relevant facts extracted from the applicant service records are contained in the evaluation by the Air Force office of primary responsibility at Exhibit B. _________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: USAF/A30-AT recommends denial. A30-AT states that the applicant’s record should have been coded with a Flying Status Code (FSC) “K” during the time period he was assigned to the C-5 unit as a C-130 pilot. However, he is not entitled to OFDA months in this FSC, as it was (and still is) coded as an inactive FSC. The applicant’s OFDA waiver request was denied in accordance with Air Force Instruction (AFI) 11-401, paragraph 2.8.1, which indicates “By direction of the SECAF, third gate waivers, for individuals to receive ACIP or CEFIP through 25 years of aviation service when OFDA requirements have not been met, will not be considered.” A30-AT states the applicant’s aviation service history has been corrected to reflect the FSC “K” rather than “S” for the period from 2 August 1996 to 10 January 1999. This does not entitle him to any additional OFDA, because FSC “K” reflects an inactive period of service. The complete A30-AT evaluation is at Exhibit B. ___________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: He respectfully disagrees with the Air Force advisory opinion. The Air Force advisory author only quotes part of the AFI paragraph which supported the original “Return without Action” on his waiver request. The entire AFI 11-401, paragraph 2.8.4 reads “Months lost due to time under flying status code K (inactive- lack of support) do not meet OFDA waiver criteria unless the officer or CEA was assigned to a unit undergoing draw down or conversion to an aircraft in which the individual’s specialty was not required (i.e., an F-4 navigator assigned to a unit converting to single-place fighters), or when the unit aircraft was operationally grounded (paragraph 1.3.2). Individuals must meet both K code and draw down, conversion, or grounding criteria to be considered for a waiver. EXCEPTION: Members in active flying status assignments assigned flying status code K while deployed TDY to non-flying assignments IAW Table 2.6, are eligible for waiver consideration.” The advisory author did not refer to the statement “when the unit aircraft was operationally grounded.” While his unit’s C-5s were not grounded, the Flying Training Units (FTU) aircraft at Altus, Air Force Base (AFB), Oklahoma, were grounded by 19th Air Force for a time due to safety issues relating to the maintenance conversion from military “blue suit” to a civilian contractor. Even after 19th Air Force cleared Altus AFB to fly, maintenance issues remained. As noted in his appeals package, due to Altus’ inability to provide C-5 training slots, his unit requested a waiver to accomplish his aircraft qualification “in-house.” This request was denied by Headquarters Air Education and Training Command. By correcting his time to the proper “K” status, it confirms the grounding and subsequent maintenance issues at Altus AFB which prevented him from qualifying in the aircraft his unit operated. According to the “full” paragraph 2.8.4, gate months should have been accrued. AFI 11-401, paragraph 2.8.1, that A30-AT quotes was a change to the AFI with the March 2007 revision. What did not change was when one could apply for a waiver. While he waited for the waiver window to open, the AFI was revised and the rules changed. He was simply caught in the transition. AF/A30-ATF made a point that his request came in well after the AFI had changed and therefore, his waiver would not be considered. His waiver should have been considered under the AFI in effect when the error occurred. Had he not been required to wait, a waiver request would have been filed when he discovered the gate month error in 2003. There was a documented failure to support and it meets the requirements of AFI 11-401 for gate month credit. The applicant’s complete rebuttal, with attachments, is at Exhibit D. _________________________________________________________________ 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 in 2002, prior to him departing the 68th Airlift Squadron, the applicant was assured he had obtained the required 144 OFDA months. The applicant states and we believe had he known he only had 143 months OFDA he would have delayed his reassignment to allow him to obtain the additional month. Furthermore, based on the strong support he received from the Commander, Air Force Reserve Command and in the absence of a basis to question the integrity of this individual, we recommend that any doubt be resolved in favor of the applicant. Therefore, we recommend the applicant’s records be corrected as indicated below. ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that competent authority awarded him an additional one (1) month of Operational Flying Duty Accumulator (OFDA) credit, for a total of one hundred forty-four (144), with entitlement to Aviation Career Incentive Pay (ACIP) until his 25thyear of aviation service. The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2010-00843 in Executive Session on 2 November 2010, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: All members voted to correct the record as recommended. The following documentary evidence was considered in connection with AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2010-00843: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 23 Feb 10, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Letter, AF/A30-AT, not dated. Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 16 Apr10. Exhibit D. Letter, Applicant, dated28 Apr 10, w/atchs.