RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF: 			DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2016-02488 

						COUNSEL:  NONE

 						HEARING DESIRED:  NO

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Nine (9) days of lost leave be restored.  

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

On 1 October 2015, while deployed in support of Operation INHERENT RESOLVE, he lost 9 days of leave due to the fact that he had 69 days of leave at the end of the FY.  

On 12 August 2015, he deployed on short notice to conduct combat operations in support of Operation INHERENT RESOLVE.  He had only 48 hours advance notice prior to his deployment and was forced to cancel two planned vacations (12 days of leave).  Since the deployment lasted until November 2015, he was unable to take leave as planned prior to the end of the FY and lost 9 days of leave.

In October 2015, he submitted a request for Special Leave Accrual (SLA) but was informed by his Military Personnel Flight (MPF) he was ineligible for SLA since he was deployed for less than 120 days.  

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

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant is in the Regular Air Force currently serving in the grade of captain (O-3).  

According to Special Order TE-0450 dated 10 August 2015, the applicant was tasked to deploy from Spangdahlem AB, Germany to Incirlik AB, Turkey with a proceed on or about date of 9 August 2015 for 67 days.  

The applicant provides a copy of his letter dated 6 October 2015 in which he requested 9 days of SLA.  In a first endorsement, his squadron commander recommended approval of the request.  

AFI 36-3003, Military Leave Program, paragraph 6.1.9, states Members not eligible for SLA can request recovery of days lost by submitting a DD Form 149, Application for Correction of Military Records, Under the Provisions of Title 10, U.S. Code Section 1552.  Member’s applications should clearly establish an error or injustice by the Air Force caused the member’s lost leave.  If the Board restores leave to the current leave account, members use must these days before the end of the current fiscal year.  

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

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DP2SSM recommends denial.  The applicant failed to provide proof of his scheduled vacation, deployment notification and an SLA memorandum with the approval authority’s signature.

The applicant did not meet the eligibility requirement for SLA.  In accordance with AFI 36-3003, paragraph 10.2.2, members assigned to a hostile fire pay/imminent danger pay (HFP/IDP) area for a continuous period of at least 120 days are authorized to retain such leave up to 120 days but not to exceed the total number of continuous days assigned to the unit or qualifying duty until the end of the second fiscal year in which the duty assignment is terminated.  Paragraph, 10.6, also states the SLA approval authority is the wing or vice commander, or the senior officer representative or equivalent (colonel or above) at directorate level or senior Air Force officer representative at joint organizations.  Additionally, the application must clearly establish that an error or injustice by the Air Force caused the member’s lost leave per paragraph 10.9.   

A complete copy of the AFPC/DP2SSM evaluation is at Exhibit C.

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 6 February 2017 for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibit D).  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.  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, we agree with the opinion and recommendation of the Air Force office of primary responsibility and adopt its rationale as the basis for our conclusion the applicant has not sustained his burden of proof that he has been the victim of an error or injustice.  However, should the applicant provide additional evidence, such as confirmation of his short-notice deployment notification and planned vacation which he had to cancel because of his deployment, the Board would be willing to reconsider his request.  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-2016-02488 in Executive Session on 7 September 2017 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

	, Panel Chair
, Member
	, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

	Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 7 June 2016, w/atchs.
	Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
	Exhibit C.  Memorandum, AFPC/DP2SSM, dated 18 August 2016.
	Exhibit D.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 6 February 2017.