RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-04600 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: He be awarded three years Aviator Continuation Pay (ACP) for his orders dated 1 October 2011 through 30 September 2014. APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: He has been on Title 10 orders in support of OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM. Due to the nature of his orders and the uncertainty of the amount of time he would be activated, he never received ACP. He would contact the ACP coordinator every 30 days for published guidance. According to the National Guard Bureau, he would have had to be on two-year long over-arching set of orders for ACP. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12) ACP Programs were delayed and he was told that the delay made him ineligible. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant is a member of the Air National Guard (ANG) in the grade of lieutenant colonel. 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 B. AIR FORCE EVALUATION: NGB/A1PF recommends denial. Aviation Continuation Pay is retention program based on enduring requirements. Generally, Military Personnel Appropriation (MPA) and Active Duty for Operational Support (ADOS) orders reflect requirements that are not enduring by nature (the reason that most are funded from year to year). Often these requirements are not ANG requirements at all; frequently they are Regular Air Force requirements which do not permit the ANG control of retaining ANG members beyond the duration of the order. Each year the ANG has to validate and justify the ACP program to Congress based on current manning (authorized requirements vs personnel assigned). For the authorizations, the ANG uses validated requirements from the Manpower Programming and Execution System (MPES) which pulls from the Unit Manpower Documents. These numbers determine the targeted population for the retention bonus, thus temporary (ADOS/MPA) requirements are not considered in these numbers. The ANG FY12 ACP Implementation Policy para 2.2 ACP Service Commitment addresses this issue by stating, “Because of the inconsistent funding schedule for members who are on AGR Occasional Tours, AGR Deployment Backfills, Military Personnel Appropriation (MPA) days, Air Sovereignty Alert (ASA) or Active Duty for Operational Support (ADOS) days the member must have an order(s) in hand that cover the minimum agreement period of 2 years prior to agreement approval. The applicant provided four sets of orders which were either MPA or Partial Mobilization orders, none of which covered entirely the length of ACP agreement he wished to execute, nor the minimum of two years required. In accordance with the FY12 policy, para 2 outlines ACP Program Elements and states “No agreements will be authorized or payments made for retroactive periods due to compiling multiple orders.” In addition, para 2.1.6 ACP Entry/Initial Eligibility states “ANG rated officer must be assigned to an ANG or Title 10 Statutory Tour position, regardless of API code, and eligible for at least two continuous years of duty upon acceptance of ACP agreement. Retroactively compiling multiple orders or amendments or modifications to reach the mandatory two-year minimum period is not authorized.” Finally, the FY12 ACP program was not authorized until 24 February 2012, no applications could be requested prior to that date therefore the applicant’s requested start date of 1 October 2011 should also be denied. A complete copy of the NGB/A1PF evaluation is at Exhibit B. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 5 October 2015 for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibits C). As of this date, no response has been received by this office. ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION: The applicant was provided copies of documents describing a recent decision by the Secretary of the Air Force (SecAF) pertaining to Aviator Continuation Pay (now Aviator Retention Pay) on 13 November 2015, for review and comment within 30 days. To date, a response has not been received. The complete AFBCMR memorandum, 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.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice. We took notice of the applicant's complete submission in judging the merits of the case; however, sufficient evidence has not been presented to conclude he is the victim of an error or injustice that would warrant corrective action. In this respect, as noted by NGB/A1F, the applicant did not submit sufficient documentation to demonstrate his entitlement to ARP through provision of appropriate orders and a commander’s memo demonstrating service during the mobilization period plus the intent to keep him on continuous active duty through February 2014, the two year period following the date when he should have submitted and had approved the ARP Agreement. Additionally, the Board notes that ARP is an incentive program, not an entitlement and true incentives influence decisions about the future. Therefore, correcting the applicant’s records to reflect a backdated ARP agreement essentially offers an incentive to an officer for a decision he has already made and provides a retention bonus for a period of service already served. 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-2014-04600 in Executive Session on 12 November 2015 and 26 April 2016 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: Panel Chair Member Member The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-04600 was considered: Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 30 September 2014, w/atchs. Exhibit B.  Memorandum, NGB/A1PF, dated 22 September 2015. Exhibit C.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 5 October 2015. Exhibit D.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 13 November 2015, w/atchs.