RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-04604 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His records be corrected to reflect his date of commissioning was changed to 30 Sep 09, instead of 7 May 10. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: Several administrative errors occurred during the process of his accession which resulted in the delay of his commissioning. It took 18 months for personnel to complete the process resulting in a significant loss of financial incentives. The initial cash incentives were his main motivation to apply for commissioning in the Air National Guard as a professional healthcare provider. On 9 Jan 09, he met with personnel at the base and received documents to fill out to begin the process of becoming commissioned. Sometime in Feb 09, he returned to the base and submitted the completed documents to start the process. On 18 Feb 09, the State Air Surgeon signed off his medical records and it was his understanding that once this task was complete, his accession package should have been forwarded up the chain. In Aug 09, he learned that the incentives would be discontinued at the end of the fiscal year, 30 Sep 09. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant was appointed in the grade of major (O-4) in the Ohio Air National Guard, effective 7 May 10. On 2 Oct 11, the applicant filed an Inspector General Personal and Fraud, Waste & Abuse Complaint regarding the numerous errors and timeliness in processing his accession. On 17 Jan 12, the Inspector General provided a response to the applicant’s complaint, indicating there was no assertion or evidence that the unit violated a standard with the processing of his accession; however, they did identify and address administrative issues connected to the processing of his accession. In accordance with the Deputy Secretary of Defense (SecDEF) Memorandum, dated 2 May 05, all military officer appointments under Title 10, United States Code, Section 12203, not previously approved by 30 Jun 05, shall be submitted to the SecDEF for approval. The Office of Defense General Council determined the appointment date is the date SecDEF approves the appointment or the date the oath was administered, whichever is later. The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are described in the letter prepared by the Air Force office of primary (OPR) and is attached at Exhibit C. ________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: NGB/A1PO recommends granting the applicant’s request to change his Date of Appointment (DOA) in the Air National Guard from 7 May 10 to 30 Sep 09; however, if the BCMR approves, his Total Years Service Date (TYSD); Total Federal Commissioned Service Date (TFCSD); Date of Rank (DOR) as a major; and his Promotion Effective Date (PED) will all need to be corrected. Additionally, the applicant met the CY12 ANG Line and Nonline Lieutenant Colonel Promotion Board in April 2012 and was selected for promotion by this Board. Should the BCMR approve the correction of the applicant’s DOA to 30 Sep 09, the applicant would have met the CY11 Promotion Board which convened in April 2011. If the applicant would have met this board and been selected for promotion, his DOR to Lieutenant Colonel would have been 11 Oct 11. Therefore, if the BCMR approves the correction of his Lieutenant Colonel promotion DOR and PED to 11 Oct 11, it will avoid the need for a Special Selection Board. If not approved, the applicant will have to meet a Special Selection Board to get his PED corrected. A complete copy of the NGB/A1PO 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 Jan 13, 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 warranting corrective action. The applicant contends that delays in the appointment process that were outside of his control caused his appointment as an officer in the Air National Guard (ANG) to be delayed, thus precluding him from qualifying for certain health professions accession bonuses. While we note that NGB/A1PO is recommending relief be granted, this Board is without authority to correct the record as requested. In this respect, we note that officer appointments are carried out by virtue of the authority of the SecDEF as promulgated by the governing provisions of applicable statutes and Department of Defense (DoD) policy. As this Board can only effect the correction of a record on behalf of the Secretary of the Air Force (SecAF), and the SecAF does not have the authority to appoint commissioned officers, we cannot recommend the requested relief be granted. In view of the above, we considered correcting the applicant’s record to reflect that competent authority approved payment of the FY2008 health professions bonuses in FY2009 as an exception to policy; however, we have been advised that said bonuses are authorized and administered by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and, as such, no Department of the Air Force official has the authority to grant such an exception to policy. Accordingly, this Board is also without authority to recommend such a remedy. Therefore, while the possibility exists that the delay in the applicant’s appointment could have been caused by circumstances outside of his control, there no basis for us to recommend granting the requested relief as doing so is outside the Board’s authority. ________________________________________________________________ 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-2012-04604 in Executive Session on 23 May 13, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2012-04604 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 27 Sep 12, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, NGB/A1PO, dated 20 Nov 12. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 11 Jan 13.