RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF: 			DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2015-04561

  						COUNSEL:  NONE

						HEARING DESIRED:  NO 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

1. His Enlisted Performance Reports (EPR) rendered for the periods of 27 December 1995 through 26 August 1997, 27 August 1997 through 26 August 1998, and 27 August 1998 through 26 August 1999 be corrected to include periods, commas, and dashes throughout each contested report.

2. His date of separation (DOS) on his DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, be corrected to reflect 26 September 2003. 

3. His DD Form 214 be corrected to reflect his rank as Staff Sergeant (SSgt/E-5), rather than Senior Airman (SrA/E-4), at the time of discharge.

4. His DD Form 214 be re-accomplished to list the following decorations that are currently listed on his DD Form 215, Correction to a DD Form 214:

a. The Air Force Achievement Medal (AFAM).

b. The Air Force Longevity Service Award (AFLSA).

c. He receive 20 years credit for retirement with chargeable leave accumulated in order to request a retirement date - combine time from both DD Forms 214 and 215.

5. He be issued a Reserve DD Form 214.

6. He be issued a DD Form 256, Honorable Discharge Certificate, for his Reserve service. (Administratively corrected)

7. He receive a correction of his disability percentage from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA).

8. He be issued a service number.

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

In a statement, the applicant makes some requests that are hard to understand or interpret.  However, he believes his EPRs should be corrected to include periods, commas, and dashes throughout each contested report.  He also believes his DOS should match the DOS on Reserve Order CA-013700, which is reflected as 26 September 2003.  In addition, he believes his promotion scores met the minimum requirement for promotion to the grade of SSgt.  The creditable service states active duty regular on the DD Form 214; he notes the DD Form 4, Enlistment/ Reenlistment Document, was filed as of 1999 instructions and the grade of 4 is scratched out.  His counsel (Disabled American Veterans representative) could state these are verifiable records.  He would like to know if the service number can be issued and moved to the DD Form 215, if his creditable service makes it necessary.

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

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant initially entered in the Air Force Reserve (AFR) Delayed Enlistment Program (DEP) on 26 September 1995, was discharged, and entered the Regular Air Force on 27 December 1995.

On 26 December 1999, the applicant was furnished an honorable discharge, and was credited with 4 years of active service. 

AFPC/DPTS generated a DD Form 256 to reflect the applicant’s honorable service in the AFR, effective 26 September 2003 – administratively corrected.  When DPTS created the DD Form 256, they inadvertently annotated his rank as Master Sergeant (MSgt) – a new DD Form 256 was generated and sent to the applicant with the appropriate rank listed [SrA].

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

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DP3SP recommends denying the applicant's request to correct the contested reports.  Based on the presumed legitimacy of the original crafting of the EPR, they recommend that the report not be corrected in the member’s permanent record.  The applicant has not provided compelling evidence to show that the content of report was unjust or inaccurate as written.  In addition, the application was not submitted in a timely manner.  The applicant did not file an appeal through the Evaluation Reports Appeals Board (ERAB) due to his separation from active duty.  The governing instructions notes that the applicant can request a waiver of the 3-year time limit by citing unusual circumstances that prevented filing the appeal in a timely manner.  

By way of background, ratees are responsible for reviewing their records at least annually for accuracy and the Board should consider the due diligence of the applicant to apply for correction.  Applications that do not include a waiver will be returned without action.  Grounds for a waiver do not include: Failing to understand the appeals process; being discouraged from appealing by superiors, peers, or counselors; failing to understand how serious an impact an evaluation could have on your career in later years; not reviewing your records during the intervening years. 

The applicant contends that the EPR should be corrected to include periods, commas, and dashes throughout each contested report.  If you are requesting a report be re-accomplished, you must furnish a substitute report in your appeal case.  The substitute report must be signed by the evaluators who signed the original report (this includes the commander on EPRs). Only for extremely compelling reasons may the original evaluators be removed from the substitute.  Simple PCS or retirement are usually not sufficient reasons.  The reports currently in the record are not erroneous or unjust based on the content of the report.  Air Force policy is that an evaluation report is accurate as written when it becomes a matter of record.  Additionally, it is considered to represent the rating chain's best judgment at the time it is rendered.  To effectively challenge an evaluation, it is necessary to hear from all the members of the rating chain-not only for support, but also for clarification/explanation.  The applicant has failed to provide any substantiating documentation from any rating official on the contested EPR.  Once a report is accepted for file, only strong evidence to the contrary warrants correction or removal from an individual’s record.  The burden of proof is on the applicant.

A complete copy of the AFPC/DP3SP evaluation is at Exhibit C.

AFPC Service Dates recommends denying the applicant’s request to change his separation date on his DD Form 214 to 26 September 2003.  In this regard, the applicant enlisted in the AFR DEP on 26 September 1995 and was discharged on 26 December 1995 for the purpose of enlistment into the Regular Air Force on 27 December 1995.  After four years of active duty service, he was released from active duty on 26 December 1999 and transferred to the AFR Inactive Ready Reserves (IRR) to complete his military service obligation (MSO).  Upon completion of his eight year MSO, ARPC discharged him from the IRR on 26 September 2003. 

A complete copy of the AFPC Service Dates evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit D.

AFPC Enlisted Promotions recommends denying the applicant’s request to correct his rank on the DD Form 214.  In this regard, the applicant was promoted to Airman (Amn/E-2) effective 27 June 1996, Airman First Class (A1C/E-3) effective 27 April 1997, and Senior Airman (SrA/E-4) effective 27 December 1998.  He was promoted to each rank at the appropriate Time in Service/Time in Grade (TIS/TIG) as required by the governing instructions.  Additionally, based on the applicant’s date of rank (DOR) to SrA, he was considered and non-selected for promotion to the grade of Staff Sergeant (SSgt) during cycle 99E5.  He received a total score of 248.22 and the score required for selection in his AFSC was 282.59.

A complete copy of the AFPC Enlisted Promotions evaluation is at Exhibit E.

AFPC/DP2STM-214 recommends denial.  In this regard, the applicant’s DD Form 214 was amended according to applicable directives; no evidence was provided to the contrary or that the DD Form 215 imposed an injustice.  The governing instructions states “The DD Form 215 will be used to correct errors in the DD Form 214.”  AFI 36-3202 states, “Once a DD Form 214 has been issued, do not reissue it unless the following applies”:  Directed  by an appellate authority, by Executive Order, or by the Office of the Secretary of the AF; Character of Service, Separation Authority, Separation Code, Narrative  Reason for Separation or Dates of Time Lost During This Period require correction; to correct a DD Form 214 would lead to more than two DD Form 215s, or a subsequent DD Form 215 corrects the same item as previously corrected using a DD Form 215.  The applicant was discharged on 26 December 1999 and on 29 January 2007, the applicant’s DD Form 214 was amended in a manner as directed by governing directives to add awards/medals. The use of the DD Form 215 for such a correction is accurate and equitably used by all branches of service in the same manner.

A complete copy of the AFPC/DP2STM-214 evaluation is at Exhibit F.

ARPC/DPTS recommends denial of the applicant’s requests due to him not meeting the qualifications to receive a DD Form 214 for his non-participating Reserve time.  There are no documents identifying that the applicant meets the criteria to receive a DD Form 214 for his time in the IRR, Obligated Reserve Section (ORS).  Per the governing instructions in order to receive a DD Form 214 a member must complete 90 consecutive or more active duty days or 1 day or more if in support of a contingency operation.  Furthermore, the applicant does not provide evidence to reflect an error in his military record.  The DD Form 214 certifies the military member’s Release or Discharge from Active Duty and captures item by item, by authority, the military member’s pertinent data and military service data.  With regard to the applicant’s request to be issued a DD Form 256, they administratively produced his discharge certificate and have attached his DD Form 256 as requested.  

A complete copy of the AFPC/DPTS evaluation, with attachment, is at Exhibit G.

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the applicant on 8 November 2016 for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibit H).  As of this date, no response has been received by this office.

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS OF THE BOARD:

Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice.  After a careful review of the applicant's contentions, documentation submitted in support of the request, and the available evidence of record, we are not convinced the applicant has provided sufficient evidence for us to conclude that he is the victim of an error or injustice.  We also note the applicant did not file the application within three years after the alleged error or injustice was discovered, or should have been discovered, as required by Title 10, United States Code, Section 1552 and Air Force Instruction 36-2603.  While the applicant claims a date of discovery of less than three years prior to receipt of the application, we believe a reasonable date of discovery was more than three years prior to receipt of the application.  Therefore, because we do not find it would be in the interest of justice to recommend granting relief, and the applicant has offered no plausible reason for the delay in filing the application, we cannot conclude it would be in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file the application.  In addition, we note the applicant requests to have a serial number issued and his DVA disability rating corrected; however, these requests are outside of the Board’s purview.  Therefore, other than that already administratively corrected, we find the application untimely.

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The application was not timely filed and it would not be in the interest of justice to waive the untimeliness.  It is the decision of the Board, therefore, to reject the application as untimely.

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2015-04561 in Executive Session on 6 December and 8 December 2016 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

	, Panel Chair
	, Member
	, Member

The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2015-04561 was considered:

	Exhibit A.  DD Forms 149, dated 21 Oct and 29 Nov 16, w/atchs.
	Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
	Exhibit C.  Memorandum, AFPC/DP3SP, dated 3 Jun 16.
	Exhibit D.  Memorandum, AFPC Service Dates, dated 13 Jun 16,
                 w/atchs.
	Exhibit E.  Memorandum, AFPC Enlisted Promotions,
                 dated 7 Oct 16.
	Exhibit F.  Memorandum, AFPC/DP2STM-214, dated 13 Oct 16.
	Exhibit G.  Memorandum, AFPC/DPTS, dated 18 Oct 16, w/atch.
	Exhibit H.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 8 Nov 16.

Pursuant to paragraph 1 of AFI 36-2603 (Title 32 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 865.1), it is certified that a quorum was present at the Board's review and deliberations, and that the foregoing is a true and complete record of the Board's proceedings in the above entitled matter.