RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2015-00674 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, be corrected as follows: a. Block 11, Primary Specialty, should reflect “1325R, RF- 4C, PILOT, 5 YEARS; 1355B, T37B INSTRUCTOR PILOT, 3 YEARS AND 5 MONTHS; 011F3G, F-15E PILOT, 3 YEARS AND 5 MONTHS.” b. Block 13, Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized, should reflect “Air Force Longevity Service Award, with four Oak Leaf Clusters”. (Administratively Corrected) c. Block 15a, Commissioned Through Service Academy, should reflect “YES.” d. He receive a “Command Pilot” rating. APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: His DD Form 214 has a couple of errors that need to be corrected. Specifically, Block 11 reflects he was an F-15E pilot for 12 years and 10 months; which is impossible as the aircraft is not that old. That section should more appropriately list all of his Air Force Specialty Codes. Block 13, fails to reflect the appropriate number of Air Force Longevity Service Awards he earned over his 20 year career. Block 15a should reflect he received his commission from the Air Force Academy by checking the box labeled “YES.” Finally, when he left the Air Force, he was rated as a Senior Pilot with an Operational Flying Duty Accumulator (OFDA) of 154 months. He lacked the 15 year milestone by two years and two months to be rated as a Command Pilot. Now that he is retired, he has the years needed, he requests the Command Pilot rating. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. STATEMENT OF FACTS: On 2 Jun 82, the applicant entered the Regular Air Force. On 4 Oct 10, the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records (AFBCMR) considered and approved the applicant’s request to meet a supplemental promotion board to the grade of Major; he was promoted to Major with a date of rank of 1 Jul 94. On 27 Dec 12, the AFBCMR considered and approved the applicant’s request he was not voluntarily separated on 30 Apr 95 in the grade of captain (O-3), but date continued on active duty. The AFBCMR also directed he be retired in the grade of major (O-4) for length of service. On 30 Jun 02, the applicant relieved and retired, effective 1 Jul 02, and was credited with 20 years and 29 days of active service. The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are described in the memoranda prepared by the Air Force offices of primary responsibility (OPR), which are included at Exhibits C, D, E, and F. AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSIC recommends denial, indicating there is no evidence of an error or injustice; however, they do support modifying the applicant’s DD Form 214, Block 11, to conform to Air Force Instructions. The contention that individual AFSCs represent specific aircraft through the use of the AFSC suffix is incorrect. Individual suffix specific AFSC and titles are not authorized on the DD Form 214; just the non-prefixed/suffix identified. Therefore, all Fighter Pilot service is attributed to the final Fighter Pilot AFSC without respect to suffix (11F3). After a thorough review of the applicant’s records, they note his original DD Form 214 failed to include his duty as a Flight Training Instructor. It is also noted the applicant’s performance reports only identify periods of service in specific AFSCs; therefore, their recommended years and months of service may vary slightly from what was provided on his DD Form 149. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSIC evaluation is at Exhibit C. USAF/A3OM recommends denial, indicating there is no evidence of an error or injustice. While the applicant met the 132 months of OFDA time, after reviewing the documentation provided and noting the applicant’s own admission that he did not have the required 15 years of Aviation service at the time of his retirement, validates he does not meet the criteria for a Command Pilot rating. A complete copy of the USAF/A3OM evaluation is at Exhibit D. AFPC/DPSID determined the below Air Force Medal and/or Ribbon should have been awarded during the applicant’s service: - Air Force Longevity Service Award, with four Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters Upon final Board decision, the applicant’s record will be administratively corrected. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSID evaluation is at Exhibit E. AFPC/DPSOR recommends approval to change Block 15a as the applicant was commissioned from the United States Air Force Academy. The DD Form 214 is currently in error. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSOR evaluation is at Exhibit F. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: He reviewed and agrees with the analysis and recommendations of AFPC/DPSIC, AFPC/DPSID, and AFPC/DPSOR. In regards to his Command Pilot rating, he points out that he only needed 15 years of aviation service as a pilot. The only reason he fell short of that requirement was based on the fact he was forced to leave the Air Force. Since his record was subsequently corrected to credit him with 20 years of service, had he been allowed to remain in the Air Force, he certainly would have remained a pilot, thus earning the required extra two years needed. A complete copy of the applicant’s evaluation is at Exhibit H. 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 to warrant partial relief of the applicant’s primary specialty. After a thorough review of the evidence of record and the applicant’s complete submission, to include his rebuttal comments, we agree with the opinion and recommendation of AFPC/DPSIC, which indicate they support a modified correction to the applicant’s record. Based on a review of Block 11, Primary Specialty, the applicant’s time as an Instructor Pilot is missing; therefore, we agree correcting the DD Form 214 will eliminate this error. Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice to warrant correcting Block 15a, to “Yes.” We agree with the opinion and recommendation of AFPC/DPSOR and adopt their rationale as the basis for our conclusion as he was commissioned through the United States Air Force Academy. Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice to warrant correcting to his “Command Pilot” aeronautical rating. While we note the comments of USAF/A3OM which indicate that relief should be denied because the applicant’s records contain no documentation to validate the required 15 years of Aviation service at the time of his retirement, we believe a preponderance of the evidence substantiates that corrective action is warranted. In this respect, since the applicant was given constructive credit to retirement, it is reasonable to assume he would have met the 15-year aviation service requirement. The only plausible reason for not making the 15-year requirement is health. However, since he flew commercially for FEDEX starting in 1996, he was medically qualified for aviation service. Therefore, we recommend, in addition to the relief already granted administratively, his 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 on 30 June 2002, the DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, should amended so that: a. Block 11, Primary Specialty, reflect “11F3 FIGHTER PILOT, 7 YEARS AND 7 MONTHS” and “1355 PILOT, FLIGHT TRAINING INSTRUCTOR, 3 YEARS AND 4 MONTHS.” b. Block 13, Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized, include the “Command Pilot Aeronautical Badge.” c. Block 15a, Commissioned Through Service Academy, reflect “Yes.” The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2015-00674 in Executive Session on 7 Jan 16 and 27 Jan 16 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: All members voted to correct the records as recommended. The following documentary evidence was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 11 Feb 15, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Memorandum, AFPC/DPSIC, dated 24 Apr 15. Exhibit D. Memorandum, USAF/A3OM, dated 17 May 15. Exhibit E. Memorandum, AFPC/DPSID, dated 10 Aug 15. Exhibit F. Memorandum, AFPC/DPSOR, dated 1 Sep 15. Exhibit G. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 19 Oct 15. Exhibit H. Letter, Applicant, dated 18 Nov 15.