RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2015-00228 XXXXXXXXXXX COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: Her records be corrected to reflect the correct leave balance. APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: She attempted to correct her leave balance after she returned from her deployment and prior to her retirement. On more than one occasion, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) attempted to charge her for more leave than she used. Therefore, she is requesting a full audit of her records. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. STATEMENT OF FACTS: Via Special Order Number AA-0791 dated 29 June 2013, the applicant was relieved from assignment on 31 March 2014, and retired effective 1 April 2014. She was credited with 20 years, 1 month, and 14 days of active service for retirement. AFI 36-2603, Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records, paragraph 4.7.3, requires that if an applicant has not exhausted all available effective administrative remedies, the application will be denied by the Board on that basis. AIR FORCE EVALUATION: NGB/FMF recommends denial indicating there is no evidence of an error or an injustice. When the applicant’s active duty tour ended on 31 March 2014, she had 33 days of accrued leave on the leave master record (LMR). The applicant then submitted a leave request and was granted 42 days of leave. Since the applicant only had 33 days of available leave, the leave request caused the applicant to have an excess leave balance of nine days. Based on the foregoing, the applicant’s LMR is correct. If the applicant did not take 42 days of leave as indicated in the LMR, she should submit an approved corrected AF Form 988, Leave Request/Authorization, to her service finance office. A complete copy of the NGB/FMF evaluation is at Exhibit C. DFAS-IN recommends denial indicating the applicant has not exhausted her administrative remedies. While the applicant submitted several DA Forms 481, Military Leave Record, the forms did not include a valid signature. A complete copy of the DFAS-IN evaluation is at Exhibit D. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: On 2 March 2016, copies of the Air Force and DFAS evaluations were forwarded to the applicant for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibit E). As of this date, no response has been received by this office. THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 1. The applicant has not 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 error or injustice. In this respect, we note this Board is the highest administrative level of appeal within the Air Force. As such, an applicant must first exhaust all available avenues of administrative relief provided by existing law or regulations prior to seeking relief before this Board, as required by the governing Air Force Instruction. DFAS-IN has reviewed this application and indicated that there is an available avenue of administrative relief the applicant has not first pursued. In view of this, we find the applicant’s request is not ready for adjudication at this level, as there is a subordinate level of appeal that has not first been pursued. Therefore, in view of the above, we find no basis to recommend granting the relief sought in this application. THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: The applicant be notified that all available avenues of administrative relief have not been exhausted; and the application will only be reconsidered upon submission of documentary evidence indicating that said avenues of administrative relief have been exhausted. The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2015-00228 in Executive Session on 12 May 2016, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member Due to the unavailability of ------, ------- will sign as Acting Panel Chair. The following documentary evidence was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 13 January 2015, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Memorandum, NGB/FMF, dated 6 November 2015. Exhibit D. Memorandum, DFAS-IN, digitally signed 22 February 2016. Exhibit E. Letter, AFBCMR, dated 2 March 2016.