RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-03445 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: He be returned to active duty for 11 days to attain a “regular” retirement rather than his early retirement under the Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA). _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: He took a TERA retirement with the understanding that he could change his retirement to a regular retirement if he later worked in non-profit agencies and churches. At the time, no one mentioned that he would have to be in one of those jobs by the time his enlistment expired. In his case, he retired under TERA on 30 November 1993 and his 20-year retirement date was 11 December 1993. He would not have taken this program had he known the requirements. He was stationed in Misawa Japan; however, at that time he was not allowed to retire overseas, except under the TERA program. He is willing to come back on active duty for 11 days if necessary. He worked three jobs that met the requirements of the program. In support of his request, the applicant provides a personal letter, copies of his DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty; his retirement orders, letters from his congressional representative, DD Form 2656, Data for Payment of Retired Air Force Personnel; and extracts from his tax information. . The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. _________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: On 11 December 1973, the applicant contracted his initial enlistment in the Regular Air Force. He was progressively promoted to the grade of master sergeant having assumed the grade effective and with a date of rank of 1 March 1989. On 14 July 1993, the applicant applied to retire under the TERA program effective 1 December 1993. He was credited with 19 years, 11 months and 20 days of active duty service. The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application is contained in the letter prepared by the appropriate office of the Air Force, which are attached at Exhibits C. _________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSOR recommends denial. DPSOR states the application was not timely filed`. The applicant clearly elected to have his Date Eligible for Return from Overseas (DEROS) waived under the TERA program so he could pursue educational opportunities for a career change. Although his later employment may have qualified him for recomputation of his retired pay at age 62, he did not enter that employment until well after his enhanced retirement qualification period and he did not report this employment by 11 December 1994. The Air Force TERA policy allowed a waiver of a member’s DEROS. The applicant’s Date Arrived Station (DAS) at Misawa Japan was 24 October 1991 and his tour length was 36 months, making his DEROS 24 October 1994. The applicant could have pursued a DERSO curtailment and retired with 20 or more years Total Active Federal Military Service (TAFMS) but there is no evidence he attempted to request a DERSO curtailment other than the automatic waiver provisions of the TERA program. In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1992 (FY92 NDAA), Public Law (PL) 102-484, 23 October 1992, Congress enacted the TERA, which permitted selected military members to retire early and accrue additional military retirement credits if they gained employment with qualifying public or community service organizations. In order to be eligible for a TERA retirement, PL 102-484, section 534 required members who elected to request a TERA retirement to register for public or community service and receive counseling regarding public and community service job opportunities from the Secretary of Defense or another source approved by the Secretary. The complete DPSOR evaluation is at Exhibit C. _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: On 12 November 2010, a copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant for review and comment within 30 days. As of this date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit E). _________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations. 2. The application was not timely filed; however, it is in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file. 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 the recommendation of the Air Force office of primary responsibility and adopt its rationale as the basis for our conclusion that the applicant has failed to sustain his burden of proof of the existence of an error or injustice. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no basis to recommend granting the relief sought in this application. _________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: The applicant be notified that the evidence presented did not demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; that the application was denied without a personal appearance; and that 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-2010-03445 in Executive Session on 21 June 2011 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: The following documentary evidence was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 16 Sep 10, w/atch. Exhibit B. Applicant’s Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, HQ AFPC/DPSOR, dated 7 Oct 10. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 12 Nov 10.