RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF: 			DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-03816

					COUNSEL:  NONE
(SERVICE MEMBER)

					HEARING DESIRED:  NO 
(APPLICANT)



APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her former spouse’s records be corrected to reflect he made a 
timely election for former spouse coverage under the Reserve 
Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP).


APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The court ordered her former spouse to designate her as the former 
spouse SBP beneficiary.

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


STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 25 Sep 07, the service member was released from his reserve 
assignment and transferred to the retired reserve to await retired 
pay at age 60.

On 23 Sep 14, SAF/MRBR notified the applicant and the service 
member that they needed to complete, sign and have notarized a 
marital status affidavit (Exhibit C).  In response, the applicant 
provided the signed notarized marital status affidavit noting that 
neither she nor the service member has remarried (Exhibit D).  As 
of this date, no response has been received from the service 
member.

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are 
contained in the memorandum prepared by the Air Force office of 
primary responsibility (OPR), which is attached at Exhibit E.    


AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

ARPC/DPTT recommends denial indicating there is no evidence of an 
error or an injustice.  Under the provisions of 10 USC 1448, a 
written election must be submitted within one year after 
eligibility.  There is no evidence the applicant or the service 
members submitted an election within the required timeframe.

A complete copy of the ARPC/DPTT evaluation is at Exhibit E.


APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

She thought her former spouse had taken care of the election since 
her Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) stated he was to 
fill out the form and elect her as the beneficiary.

She contacted DFAS and inquired what forms needed to be completed 
and was told to complete a DD Form 2293, Application for Former 
Spouse Payments, not the DD Form 2656-10, Survivor Benefit Plan 
(SBP)/Reserve Component (RC) SBP Request for Deemed Election.  She 
was also told she had properly submitted all forms within the 
required timeframe.

The court ordered her former spouse to complete the necessary 
paperwork to elect her as the RCSBP beneficiary and she should not 
be penalized due his noncompliance.

The applicant’s complete response, with attachment, is at Exhibit 
G.


THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

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

2.  The application was timely filed.

3.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to 
demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice.  We took 
notice of the applicant’s complete submission, to include the 
rebuttal response, in judging the merits of the case.  While we do 
not take issue with the applicant’s assertion that her divorce 
decree ordered her former husband to designate her as the former 
spouse RCSBP beneficiary, there is no evidence showing the former 
service member or the applicant submitted a valid election within 
one year of their divorce as required by law or that an error on 
the part of the Air Force caused her or her former spouse to be 
unable to submit an election in a timely manner.  Even if we 
assumed for the sake of argument that there was some basis to 
recommend granting relief in this case, we are unable to 
conclusively determine if there is a competing beneficiary for the 
RCSBP benefits, and this Board has been long advised by legal 
counsel that it would be inappropriate to recommend correcting the 
record when doing so would serve to deprive another party of a 
benefit or entitlement to which they were legally entitled.  
Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no 
basis to recommend granting the requested relief.


THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified the evidence presented did not 
demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; the 
application was denied without a personal appearance; and the 
application will only be reconsidered upon the submission of newly 
discovered relevant evidence not considered with this application.


The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number 
BC-2014-03816 in Executive Session on 6 May 15 under the 
provisions of AFI 36-2603:

		, Vice Chair
		, Member
	 	, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

	Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 10 Sep 14, w/atchs.
	Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
	Exhibit C.  Letters, SAF/MRBR, dated 23 Sep 14, w/atchs.
      	Exhibit D.  Survivor Benefit Program – Marital Status
        Affidavit, Applicant, dated 27 Sep 14.
      	Exhibit E.  Memorandum, ARPC/DPTT, dated 20 Oct 14, w/atch.
      	Exhibit F.  Letters, SAF/MRBR, dated 17 Nov 14.
      	Exhibit G.  Letter, Applicant, dated 12 Dec 14, w/atchs