RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-05215 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: Thirteen (13) days of leave lost be restored. APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: The lost leave is unjust since he was advised by the finance office at RAF Mildenhall, U.K. that he would not lose any accrued leave in excess of 75 days due to his final out- processing. He had 98 days of accrued leave and 30 days of Permissive Temporary Duty (PTDY). His PTDY for the period of 26 September 2014 to 25 October 2014 and terminal leave for the period of 26 October 2014 to 31 January 2015 were approved by the finance office and the Military Personnel Flight (MPF). His Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) reflects that he lost 13 days of leave. He would have used or sold his leave had he been properly advised. In support of his request, the applicant provides an e-mail from the Comptroller Squadron dated 15 August 2014, stating “your permissive and terminal leave will be approved before 30 September, so you should not lose any leave.” The applicant’s complete submission, with attachment, is at Exhibit A. STATEMENT OF FACTS: On 1 February 2015, the applicant retired in the grade of Chief Master Sergeant (CMSgt, E-9). He was credited with 30 years and 27 days of active service. AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSIM recommends denial of the applicant’s request. The applicant contends he was advised he would not lose any leave and provides an e-mail from his local finance office that states, “your permissive and terminal leave will be approved before 30 September, so you should not lose any leave.” AFI 36- 3003, Military Leave Program, paragraph 10.1, Special Leave Accrual (SLA) allows members who are faced with circumstances that prohibit them from taking leave to accumulate leave in excess of 60 days (75 days until 30 September 2015). The situation preventing members from using leave must have been caused by a catastrophe, national emergency and/or crisis or operations in defense of national security. Furthermore, it should be a result of the member’s inability to take leave or to reduce their leave balance to 60 days (75 days from 1 October 2008 through 30 September 2015) that is not the result of the member’s failure to properly manage their leave balance. IAW AFI 36-3003, both management and members share responsibility in managing leave balances throughout the fiscal year. Although there was an error made by his finance office, DPSIM recommends denial as the applicant does not qualify for SLA IAW AFI 36- 3003. Per AFI 36-3003, members not eligible for SLA can request recovery of days by submitting an application to the Board under the provisions of 10 U.S.C. § 1552. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSIM evaluation is at Exhibit C. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: He actively managed his leave to maximize his transition time to retiree status. He worked in good faith with his finance office and the MPF to interpret AFI 36-3003. He worked with the appropriate offices to determine the intent of the instruction. This appears to be a situation where decisions were made by individuals who were confident with their understanding of the AFI but had limited experience with application of the information. He was an aircraft mechanic and he took the counsel of local experts. The Air Force erred and he ended up paying for it through forfeiture of his final pay check. This is clearly an institutional injustice. He also qualified for SLA based on his assignment to Incirlik AB, Turkey from May 2010 to August 2011. The applicant’s complete submission, 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 the Air Force office of primary responsibility acknowledges the error made by the finance office yet recommends denial because the applicant does not qualify for SLA IAW AFI 36-3003. However, we are persuaded the applicant made every effort to ensure he would be allowed to carry over his leave and used the erroneous information provided to him by his finance office in requesting his retirement date to his financial detriment. Furthermore, we do not find it reasonable that the applicant would not have used his leave entitlement before the end of the fiscal year had he been properly made aware. We also note the applicant believed he was eligible for SLA based on his assignment to Incirlik AB, Turkey from May 2010 to August 2011 and had no reason to question the erroneous information provided to him by his finance office. In view of the aforementioned, we believe he has suffered an injustice and recommend that 13 days of leave be restored to his leave account. Therefore, we recommend his records be corrected as indicated below. THE BOARD RECOMMEDS THAT: The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to the APPLICANT be corrected to show that thirteen (13) days of leave were restored to his leave account commencing 2 October 2014. The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-05215 in Executive Session on 3 and 8 September 2015 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member All members voted to correct the records as recommended. The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-05215 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 23 December 2014, w/atch. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Memorandum, AFPC/DPSIM, dated 11 February 2015. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 3 June 2015. Exhibit E. Letter, Applicant, dated 21 June 2015, w/atchs.