RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF: 			DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2015-01092

   						COUNSEL:  NONE

						HEARING DESIRED:  NO 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

1.  His Fitness Assessment (FA), completed 1 May 14, be deemed valid.    

2.  His referral Officer Performance Report (OPR) covering the period 2 May 13 through 8 Aug 14 be declared void and removed from his record.  

3.  His official orders involuntarily assigning him to the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) be rescinded. 

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

1.  Because of his physical location in Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), he should have been exempt from taking the FA.  In accordance with the HAF/A1P guidance memorandum, Fitness Assessment Composite Exemption Authority, his Air Force Element Commander (AFELM/CC) was authorized to exempt individuals due to the inability to travel to a testing facility.  Thuwal is over 625 miles from the nearest Air Force testing facility. 

2.  He passed the FA twice, but both instances were unjustly determined to be invalid on mere technicalities.  On 1 May 14, he traveled to Jeddah, KSA and successfully completed the FA, which was administered by a Certified Marine Corps test monitor.  The Reserves declared this test invalid because it was not administered by a certified AF test monitor.  Then, on 20 Sep 14, he drove the 625 miles to the closest Air Force installation at Eskan Village, KSA, and passed the FA with a certified AF test monitor.  The Reserve also declared that test invalid because he was exempted from the run/walk portion of the test even though the same HAF/A1P policy letter provides an exemption for the aerobic portion of the AF to all members assigned in Saudi Arabia during May-Sep.  

Penalizing him with an FA failure, a referral OPR, and involuntary transfer to the IRR after his herculean effort to take and pass the FA twice is an injustice.  

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

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant served in the AF Reserve in the grade of captain (O-3) during the period of time in question.  

On 27 Feb 14, the applicant’s Reserve Detachment e-mailed him to notify him his qualified fitness status had been expired for three months, and they were required to initiate action to involuntarily reassign him to the IRR.  The e-mail stated “the reassignment effective date will not be until 1 Oct 14.  This means I can pull the package if you become current on your fitness test between now and then.”  

On 4 Mar 14, the applicant’s Detachment Program Manager notified him he was involuntarily reassigning him to the IRR, effective 2 Oct 14, for failure to meet Air Force Standards.  The reason for taking this action was that his fitness expired on 30 Nov 13.  

On 22 Apr 14, the applicant’s Detachment Program Manager recommended to the applicant’s commander that he be involuntarily reassigned to the IRR.  

According to the documentation submitted by the applicant:

	a.  On 1 May 14, he completed the Air Force FA with a score of “Excellent.”  The FA was administered by a Marine Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) who was certified to administer Marine Corp FAs.  The test results were not accepted by the Air Force Reserve because test was not administered by a certified Air Force test administrator.  

	b.  On 20 Sep 14, he passed the FA with a score of “Satisfactory,” having first been exempted from the run/walk portion of the test.  The test results were also not accepted by the Air Force Reserve.

Under Reserve Order A-623, dated 21 May 14, the applicant was reassigned to the IRR for failure to meet AF standards, effective 2 Oct 14.   

On 19 Dec 14, the applicant received a referral Officer Performance Report (OPR) covering the period 2 May 13 through 8 Aug 14, on which he was marked as “Does not meet standards” in Section III, Performance Factors, which stated the applicant “did not complete a valid AF Fitness Assessment with someone trained and certified to administer it.”  

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are contained in the memoranda prepared by the Air Force offices of primary responsibility (OPRs), which are attached at Exhibits C and D.    

AIR FORCE EVALUATIONS:

AFPC/DPSIMC does not make a recommendation, suggesting the applicant contact his Unit Reserve Coordinator for assistance.  

A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSIMC evaluation is at Exhibit C.

AFRC/A1K recommends denial indicating there is no evidence of an error or an injustice.  It is a member’s responsibility to ensure they remain current in their readiness requirements while serving as an active reservist.  On 13 Jun 13, the member was assigned to the AFELM, Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Kaiserslautern City, Germany.  The applicant allowed his FA status to become non-current on 30 Nov 13.  Although the member states he took measures to become current, he was not authorized to accomplish the FA without being in military duty status, and he did not submit any documentation, such as an AF IMT 40a, Record Of Individual Inactive Duty Training, to reflect he was in duty status and authorized to perform his FA.  

On 27 Feb 14, prior to mailing the applicant the official Notification of Initiation of Involuntary Reassignment to the IRR, the applicant’s Reserve Integration Office (RIO), Detachment sent him a courtesy notification email of overdue fitness and reassignment action.  The applicant did not provide any documentation which verifies when he received the notification letter or if he returned the acknowledgement within the required timeframe based on his overseas location and continental P.O. mailing address on file.  The applicant did acknowledge the official action and opted not to provide comments at the time of notification.  In addition, although the applicant completed his fitness requirement nine days prior to the deadline of 1 Oct 14, and claims his detachment failed to update his records in a timely manner, he did not provide documentation which shows when he notified his detachment.  The applicant’s detachment completed the proper actions to transfer the member to the IRR for failure to meet Air Force standards.  

A complete copy of the AFRC/A1K evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit D.

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATIONS:

Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the applicant on 29 Dec 15 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 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 error or injustice.  After a thorough review of the evidence of record and the applicant’s complete submission, we believe the applicant is the victim of an error or injustice.  While we acknowledge AFRC/A1K’s recommendation to deny because the applicant’s FA became overdue, we believe a preponderance of the evidence substantiates that corrective action is warranted.  In this respect, based on the supporting evidence provided, we find the applicant’s geographically remote location had a direct impact on his ability to pass the fitness assessment in a timely manner.  The Board believes that in this individual case greater deference should be given to the exigencies of living in his geographically remote location in Saudi Arabia.  Additionally, the Board notes that because of such remote locations, the Air Force Element Commander (AFELM/CC) has even been authorized to totally exempt individuals from the FA due to the inability to travel to a testing facility.  On 27 Feb 14, the applicant’s unit Career Management NCOIC notified him that if he passed his FA before 1 Oct 14, his involuntary reassignment to the IRR would be pulled.  The applicant appears to have gone to extraordinary lengths to twice take and pass his FA before his unit’s established suspense date.  We note the applicant scored “excellent” on the 1 May 14 FA administered by a certified Marine Corps Fitness Test Monitor rather than an Air Force Test Monitor, and on 20 Sep 14 achieved a “satisfactory” score after driving 625 miles to the closest Air Force installation and having the FA administered by a certified Air Force Test Monitor.  Both tests were subsequently declared “invalid.”  These tests clearly establish the applicant’s overall fitness was more than acceptable in fulfillment of the Commander’s Intent for Air Force Fitness Program, as presented in AFI 36-2905.  Therefore, we are persuaded the applicant should be credited with passing his FA on 1 May 14, and his record should reflect his satisfactory fitness qualification during the reporting period in question.  Since we have favorably considered the correction to the applicant’s FA, the applicant’s contested Officer Performance Report (OPR) should be removed and the involuntary assignment to the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) should be rescinded.  Accordingly, 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 the APPLICANT be corrected to show that 

1.  The Air Force Fitness Management System (AFFMS) be updated to reflect on 1 May 2014, he passed his annual Fitness Assessment with an abdominal circumference of 37 inches, 35 pushups, 45 sit-ups, and a 1.5 mile run time of 10:50, for an score of 92.4.  

2.  His referral Officer Performance Report (OPR) covering the period 2 May 2014 through 8 Aug 2014 be declared void and removed from his record.  

3.  Reserve Order A-623, dated 21 May 14, assigning him to the Air Reserve Personnel Center in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) be declared void and rescinded. 

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2015-01092 in Executive Session on 24 Feb 16 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

	Panel Chair
	Member
	Member

All members voted to correct the records as recommended.  Because ---------- was unavailable, --------- signed the Record of Proceedings as the Acting Panel Chair.  The following documentary evidence was considered:

	Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 1 Feb 15, w/atchs.
	Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
	Exhibit C.  Memorandum, AFPC/DPSIMC, dated 8 Jul 15.
	Exhibit D.  Memorandum, AFRC/A1K, dated 17 Dec 15, w/atchs.
	Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 29 Dec 15.