RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2013-01524 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 1. Her 1 Oct 11 Mandatory Separation Date (MSD) be waived. 2. Her 1 Oct 11 discharge be revoked or reversed. 3. She be placed in an active reserve status and assigned to the 81st Security Forces Squadron, Kessler AFB, MS, as an individual mobilization augmentee (IMA). 4. She receive satisfactory service credit, pay, and points from 1 Oct 11 through Nov 14. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: Because she was retained on the Inactive Status List Reserve Section (ISLRS) six years too long, her promotion to lieutenant colonel (O-5) in 2011 generated a retroactive MSD in 2008. While her MSD was extended for three years because she qualified for retention under Reserve Sanctuary, she was discharged with just 19 years and 7 months of satisfactory reserve service, just months before reaching eligibility for retirement. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. _________________ ______________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: On 16 Sep 80, the applicant entered the Air Force as a second lieutenant. On 26 Jun 89, the applicant resigned and, on 26 Dec 89, she was appointed in the Air Force Reserve as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA). On 18 Oct 91, the applicant was re-assigned to the Non-Obligated Non-participating Ready Reserve. On 18 Oct 93, she was re- assigned to the ISLRS where she remained for over nine years until her accession into the IMA program with the 81st Security Forces Squadron (SFS) on 19 Nov 02. In accordance with AFI 36-3209, Separation and Retirement Procedures for Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Members, officers are generally retained in ISLRS for three years, at which time they are screened for discharge. On 1 Oct 11, the applicant was selected for promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel (O-5), which generated a mandatory separation date (MSD) of 28 years of commissioned service. Unfortunately, this generated a retroactive MSD of 1 Oct 08, based on her initial appointment as an officer in 1980. However, since the applicant had attained 18, but less than 20, years of satisfactory reserve service, she was eligible for retention for three years beyond her MSD under the provisions of Reserve Sanctuary. As such, the applicant’s MSD was adjusted to 1 Oct 11. On 1 Oct 11, the applicant was furnished an honorable discharge upon reaching her MSD and was credited with 19 years, 7 months, and 18 days of satisfactory service for retirement. By virtue of a DD Form 149, Application for Correction of Military Records, dated 30 Nov 11, the applicant requested her military records be corrected to reflect she was discharged from ISLRS upon completion of the three-year requirement, instead of being retained in ISLRS for nine years. Relying on an affirmative recommendation from the Air Reserve Personnel Center (ARPC), the Board recommended the applicant’s request be granted and, on 28 Sep 12, SAF/MRB issued an instrument directing the applicant’s record be corrected to reflect that she was not retained in ISLRS for over nine years, but discharged on 19 Oct 96. However, said directive was not affected as doing so would have been adverse to the applicant as it would have created a break in service. The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are contained in the letter prepared by the appropriate office of the Air Force, which is attached at Exhibit C. ________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: ARPC/DPA recommends that partial relief be granted indicating that it would be in the interest of justice to correct the applicant’s records to reflect her 1 Oct 11 MSD was waived and that she was retained in the Reserve until 1 Apr 12, when she would have qualified for a reserve retirement. The applicant’s prolonged retention in ISLRS was no fault of her own and caused her service to continue to toll. As a result, a retroactive MSD was established when she was selected for promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel (O-5). Per DOD policy, neither the SecAF nor the AFBCMR has the authority to reappoint reserve officers to the RASL, but may continue them on the RASL under the provisions of 10 USC 12701 [sic] under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. In accordance with DoDI 1320.08, the Secretary of Defense has delegated authority to the service Secretaries to defer removal under 10 USC 12701 [sic]. As such, the Board should correct her records to reflect that she was not discharged on 31 Oct 11, but continued to serve until 31 Mar 12 and retired, effective 1 Apr 12, with 20 years of satisfactory reserve service in the grade of lieutenant colonel (O-5). A complete copy of the ARPC/DPA 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 5 Jul 13 for review and comment within 30 days. As of this date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit D). ________________________________________________________________ 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. The applicant contends her erroneous retention on the Inactive Status List Reserve (ISLRS) for more than nine years resulted in her being unable to attain sufficient satisfactory service to qualify for retirement before her mandatory separation date (MSD). We note this Board previously determined that corrective action was warranted and, relying on advice from the Air Reserve Personnel Center (ARPC), recommended her records be corrected to reflect that she was not retained on the ISLRS for nine years, but was discharged after three years, effective 19 Oct 96. However, while correcting the record in this manner was intended to suspend the tolling of the applicant’s commissioned service so she would not be confronted with an MSD before attaining the requisite service for retirement, said correction would prove to be adverse to the applicant. In this respect, we note that subsequent to our original recommendation, ARPC discovered the noted correction would cause a break in service and such a break would require the applicant’s records to be further corrected to reflect that she was appointed a reserve officer on 19 Nov 02 to coincide with the date she was accessed into the individual mobilization augmentee (IMA) program. However, because officers are appointed by virtue of the authority of the Secretary of Defense, neither ARPC, nor this Board acting on behalf of the Secretary of the Air Force, has authority to do so. As such, the Board’s original recommendation was never effected and the applicant’s records remain unchanged. Irrespective of these difficulties, we remain convinced the applicant is the victim of an error or injustice and that corrective action is warranted. Therefore, in view of the fact that the Secretary of the Air Force has the authority to defer the removal of an officer from the RASL, we believe that it would be appropriate to correcting the applicant’s records to reflect that she was retained beyond her 1 Oct 11 MSD until 31 Mar 12, when she would have attained sufficient service to qualify for a reserve retirement. While we note the applicant is requesting that her records be corrected to reflect she be reinstated and that her MSD be extended to Nov 14, we are not convinced by the evidence presented the applicant would have been retained beyond retirement eligibility were it not for the events under review. In our view, correcting the applicant’s records to credit her with sufficient service for retirement represents proper and fitting relief. Therefore, we recommend the applicant’s records be corrected to the extent 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: a. On 1 October 2011, competent authority approved the deferral of the applicant’s removal from the Reserve Active Status List (RASL) until 31 March 2012 under the provisions of Title 10, United States Code (USC), Section 14701. b. She was awarded an additional 13 non-paid inactive duty training points for retirement/retention year 19 November 2011 through 31 March 2012, resulting in 19 total points, resulting in the period 19 November 2011 through 31 March 2012 being credited as a partial year of satisfactory reserve service. c. On 31 March 2012, she was released from her current assignment and assigned to the Retired Reserve List, effective 1 April 2012, and eligible for retried pay at age 60 under the provisions of Title 10, USC, Section 12731. ________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2013-01524 in Executive Session on 22 Jul 14, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member All members voted to correct the records as recommended. The following documentary evidence was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 19 Mar 13, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, ARPC/DPA, dated 17 Jun 13, w/atch. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 5 Jul 13. 1 2