RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF: 			DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2017-00474 

						COUNSEL:  NONE

						HEARING DESIRED:  NO

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Seventeen days of Special Leave Accrual (SLA) leave be restored to his leave account.

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was able to reduce his use or lose leave balance by 11 days in FY16, but was unable to take the remainder of his 17 days due to Air Surveillance Officer (ASO) training, pre-deployment preparation and a deployment.   While in training at the 552nd Training squadron from Oct-Apr, he was not authorized to take leave, in accordance with (IAW) student policy.  After training he had deployment spin-up and then was deployed for the remaining 81 days of FY16.

He provides copies of his deployment orders to Al Dhafra for 123 days, a travel voucher to Al Dhafra Air Base for the period of 8 Jul 16 to 17 Nov 16 and a Special Leave Accrual memorandum from the Vice Wing Commander approving his request to restore 17 days of SLA leave.
	
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 Major (Maj), O-4, with an approved retirement date of 1 Aug 18. 

On 2 May 16, the applicant was issued an AF Form 2096, Classification/on-the-job Training Action, indicating a Permanent Change of Assignment (PCA), effective 2 May 16.

Military personnel records confirm the applicant’s formal training indicating a graduation date of 29 Mar 16 and deployment for inclusive period, 8 Jul 16 to 17 Nov 16.

AFI 36-3003, Military Leave Program, states it part that SLA allows members in qualifying duties to accumulate leave in excess of 60 days.  Furthermore, it should be a result of the members’ inability to take leave or to reduce their leave balance to 60 days before the end of the fiscal year while being assigned to said activities. SLA shall not be used as a means to authorize the accumulation of leave in excess of 60 days that is a result of members’ failure to properly manage their leave balance.

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/DP2SSM recommends denial indicating there is no evidence of an error or an injustice.  AFI 36-3003, Military Leave Program, states in part that members are eligible for SLA when serving on active duty while entitled to hostile fire/imminent danger pay (HFP/IDP) for a continuous period of at least 120 days and assigned to a non-HFP and/or non-IDP area in support of a contingency operation who are on CED orders.

The applicant attended training prior to deployment which renders him ineligible for SLA.  His requests requires a BCMR submission to restore the leave.  Furthermore, the applicant did not provide the syllabus for the 552nd Training Squadron to authenticate students are prohibited from taking leave during training.

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

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant refutes virtually every point made by the OPR and argues that he was in training status or deployed all of FY16 and that during the holidays and weekends in FY16, prior to his deployment, he was able to spend time with family and friends in the local area and leave was not required or warranted.  

In further support of his request, the applicant provides a timeline of his training and deployment.  He also provides a memorandum from his commander indicating there is no written leave policy and explains that students are discouraged from taking leave.  He goes on to state that students are expected to be present on all duty days to accommodate training schedule changes.  Student's leave will only be approved outside of the local Tinker AFB area for extenuating circumstances (ie. Family emergencies, etc.). Otherwise leave is not permitted, granted, nor required for weekend and min-manning holiday periods if traveling in the local Tinker AFB area as defined by the wing commander.

The applicant’s complete response, with attachments, is at Exhibit E.

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 note AFPC/DP2SSM recommends denial because the applicant did not provide the syllabus to authenticate students were prohibited from taking leave during training.  However, we believe a preponderance of the evidence substantiates that partial relief is warranted.  Although the wing commander recommends SLA be approved, as noted by the OPR, the applicant does not meet the criteria for SLA.  Nonetheless, we do find the letter from his commander explaining the leave policy coupled with the wing commander’s memorandum supporting his request sufficient to warrant restoring 17 days of ordinary leave to his leave account.  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 17 days of leave were restored to his leave balance.

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2017-00474 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-2017-00474 was considered:

	Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 17 Jan 17, w/atchs.
	Exhibit B.  Excerpts from the Master Personnel Records
	Exhibit C.  Memorandum, AFPC/DP2SSM, dated 25 May 17.
Exhibit D.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 24 Oct 17.
	Exhibit E.  Applicant Rebuttal, dated 16 Nov 17.

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.