RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF: 			DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2016-02888

						COUNSEL:  NONE

						HEARING DESIRED:  NO

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His record be corrected to show that he is eligible for the Career Status Bonus (CSB).

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He received his notification for CSB while stationed at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea (ROK) in Nov 15.  He then had a permanent change of station (PCS) and departed that same month, seven days after the notification, to Royal Air Force (RAF) Lakenheath, United Kingdom (UK).  He took leave when departing Kunsan and picked up his family from their home of record, where they stayed during his one-year remote assignment.  He arrived at RAF Lakenheath and began his in-processing mid-December.  Due to the holidays and being overseas, his supervision was on leave for an extended time, making it difficult to in-process and get proper CSB decision advice.  In February, he was informed that he would be going on a temporary duty (TDY) assignment to the United States for approximately a month and a half for training.  Finally, all of his paperwork was signed in May 16, but was not submitted until the end of the month since he was awaiting signatures from leadership.

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

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant is currently serving in the Regular Air Force, in the grade of Technical Sergeant (TSgt), E-6.

On 19 Dec 15, the applicant was to report to RAF Lakenheath as evidence by AF Form 899, Request and Authorization for Permanent Change of Station, Special Order Al-128525, dated 8 Sep 15.

In support of his request, the applicant provided a recommendation memorandum, dated 8 Jul 16, for eligibility reconsideration and outlining the reason for the delay.

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 C.  

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DP2STM recommends granting the applicant’s request, indicating there is evidence of an error or injustice.  

The applicant did sign the DD Form 2839, Career Status Bonus (CSB) Election, by his 15 year point of 23 May 2016 and it was witnessed.  Upon review of the CMS case with the applicant’s request, AFPC could’ve fixed the erroneous dates without bursting the applicant’s 15 year suspense; without the need of a BCMR.

The Personnel Service Delivery Memorandum 15-07, Career Status Bonus Program Guidance and 37 USC 354 - Special Pay: 15-year Career Status Bonus for Members Entering Service on or After August 1, 1986, allows for the payment of a $30,000 bonus be paid to members who agree to continue service to at least 20 years of TAFMS and receive retired pay under the REDUX retirement pay plan.

The applicant entered the service on 23 May 01.  The suspense for election of the CSB is the date the Airman reaches 15 years of TAFMS or six months from the date of notification, whichever is later.  In this case, the applicant acknowledged the CSB opportunity on 15 Nov 15 with a suspense date of 23 May 16 (six months from notification).  The applicant arrived to RAF Lakenheath 2 Dec 15 and went TDY from 21 Feb 16 to 19 Mar 16.  The applicant signed the notification memorandum on 15 Nov 15 and DD Form 2839 on his 23 May 16 suspense date, at which the Military Personnel Section (MPS) opened a Case Management System (CMS) case for the Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC) to process the paperwork.  On 15 Jun 16, AFPC returned the case to the MPS due to the DD Form 2839 having incorrect service in blocks 4 and 5, and the applicant signing 23 May 16, which was prior to the commander’s eligibility determination on 31 May 16.  The applicant had all dates corrected on the new DD Form 2839 signed by the commander on 31 May 16 and the applicant resigned on 1 Jun 16 based off of the AFPC response.  On 27 Jun 16, AFPC CSB section sent the case back to the MPS with the following statement: 

“Member acknowledged receipt of his CSB eligibility on 15 November 15 but did not make an election until 1 June 2016. It is the member's responsibility to contact your office within the 6 months if they wish to accept the CSB; they signed this in the memo. Due to this fact, he has been found ineligible to election CSB.  If he wishes to pursue it, member may submit a BCMR. In the future, if you have more of these that are past the member's 15 year mark and 6 month suspense, please do NOT submit a CMS case because they will ALL be returned as ineligible and asked to close the case. Please inform member about this and close this case.  Thank you!”

A complete copy of the AFPC/DP2STM 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 11 Aug 17 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.  Sufficient 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 and agree with the opinion and recommendation of the Air Force OPR and adopt its rationale as the basis for our conclusion the applicant has been the victim of an error or injustice.  Therefore, 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 on 23 May 2016, he elected to receive the Career Status Bonus (CSB) and competent authority approved his request.

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2016-02888 in Executive Session on 14 Feb 18 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603, Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records:

	, Panel Chair
	, Member
	, Member

All members voted to correct the records as recommended.  The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2016-02888 was considered:

	Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 29 Jun 16, w/atchs.
	Exhibit B.  Excerpts from Personnel Records.
	Exhibit C.  Memorandum, AFPC/DP2STM, dated 28 Sep 16, w/atch.
	Exhibit D.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 11 Aug 17, w/atch.

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.