RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2020-01055

XXXXXXXX	COUNSEL: NONE
	
	HEARING REQUESTED: NO

APPLICANT’S REQUEST

His date or rank (DOR) to lieutenant colonel (Lt Col/O-5) be corrected, and his retirement pay be recalculated.

APPLICANT’S CONTENTIONS

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) is calculating his retirement pay based on a DOR of 27 Feb 17.  His DOR to Lt Col should be corrected to 1 Oct 08.  He separated from active duty and entered the Air Force Reserve (AFR) in Sep 98.  He was promoted to Lt Col on 1 Oct 08.  He performed sufficient active duty as a Reservist and elected to retire with an active duty retirement.  He deployed Dec 16 through Feb 17 as a Reservist, went back on active duty and retired 1 Jan 18.  His DOR to Lt Col is showing as 27 Feb 17, the date he returned to active service.

The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant is a retired AFR lieutenant colonel (O-5).

On 27 Feb 17, he was ordered to extended active duty (EAD) for the period 27 Feb 17 to 31 Mar 18.  On 14 Jun 17, the EAD order was amended to reflect the period 23 Feb 17 to 31 Dec 17.

DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, Item 12.i., Effective Date of Pay Grade, reflects 1 Oct 08.

On 29 Dec 20, AFPC/DP2SSR prepared DD Form 215, Correction to DD Form 214, to correct DD Form 214, Item 12.i., to read 23 Feb 17.

For more information, see the excerpt of the applicant’s record at Exhibit B and the advisories at Exhibits C, D and E.

AIR FORCE EVALUATION

ARPC/PB provided an informational opinion.  The applicant was promoted in the AFR to Lt Col on 1 Oct 08, with an effective date of 1 Oct 08.  He transferred from the AFR to active duty on 23 Feb 17.  The applicant’s DOR in the Military Personnel Data System (MILPDS) has been verified as occurring on 1 Oct 08 with an effective date of 27 Feb 17.  The applicant’s DOR is verified as 1 Oct 08.

The complete informational advisory is at Exhibit C.

AFPC/DP2SSR provided an informational opinion.  DFAS calculates retired pay using information received from the Service and the servicing Military Personnel Flight.  The Service does not have a record of the amount of pay the applicant received while on active duty; therefore, the applicant’s retired pay cannot be validated.  DFAS was contacted to determine how the applicant’s effective date of rank would impact his retired pay.  The High 3 computation is based on basic pay rates received while on active duty.  The rates received while serving in the Reserve or Guard do not apply.  The HI-3 transaction rejected for the applicant, probably because of the back and forth between components, there was not a full 36 months to use to compute the HI-3 base.  If what is reflected currently is incorrect, DFAS will need a detailed rank history along with the corresponding component the member was in at the time.  Additionally, with regards to how the DOR affects the HI-3, when computing the HI-3 base of members that served in the Reserve or Guard, the DOR is used when manually computing the HI-3 base.  There is no record of what was received in the Reserve and Guard, only the rates received while on active duty are captured and archived.  The applicant’s statement of service shows his grade history, and while he amassed some active duty points, it appears that his official status was Reservist from 1998 to 2017.

The complete informational advisory is at Exhibit D.

AFPC/DP2LT recommends denying the applicants request to correct his DOR.  On 1 Oct 08, the applicant was promoted to Lt Col in the AFR.  On 23 Feb 17, he was ordered to extended active duty (EAD) under the sanctuary rule to retire with an active duty retirement.  His order initially ordered him to active duty on 27 Feb 17 but was later amended to 23 Feb 17.  In accordance with the guidance in effect at the time, AFI 36-2604, Service Dates and Dates of Rank, paragraph 2.1.5, and current guidance AFMAN 36-2604, Service Dates and Dates of Rank, paragraph 3.1.8, the Current Grade Date of Rank (CGDOR) of an Air Reserve Component officer ordered to EAD in the current Reserve grade held will retain their DOR with the EAD date as the CGDOR effective date if the officer was continuously assigned to the Selected Reserve (SelRes) since the most recent promotion.  The applicant’s CGDOR remained 1 Oct 08, but his CGDOR effective date was established as 27 Feb 17 (based on original order).  However, his CGDOR effective date was not corrected to reflect 23 Feb 17 when the EAD order was amended.  The CGDOR is used to determine promotion eligibility, and the CGDOR effective date is used to determine when active duty pay for an officer begins.  Therefore, the Effective Date of Pay Grade on his DD Form 214, Item 12.i. appears to be incorrect and should be corrected to reflect 23 Feb 17.

The complete advisory opinion is at Exhibit E.

APPLICANT’S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION

The Board sent a copy of the advisory opinion to the applicant on 21 Oct 20 for comment (Exhibit F), but has received no response.

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

1.  The application was timely filed.

2.  The applicant exhausted all available non-judicial relief before applying to the Board.

3.  After reviewing all Exhibits, the Board concludes the applicant is not the victim of an error or injustice.  The Board concurs with the rationale and recommendation of AFPC/DP2LT and finds a preponderance of the evidence does not substantiate the applicant’s contentions.  In this respect, the Board notes that the effective date of DOR is for active duty pay purposes, and the CGDOR is for promotion purposes.  The applicant did not lose his CGDOR of 1 Oct 08; his effective date for pay merely changed to match the EAD date.  However, the Effective Date of Pay Grade on his DD Form 214 was administratively corrected to reflect 23 Feb 17.  Therefore, the Board recommends against correcting the applicant’s records, beyond that rendered administratively.

RECOMMENDATION

The Board recommends informing the applicant the evidence did not demonstrate material error or injustice, and the Board will reconsider the application only upon receipt of relevant evidence not already presented.

CERTIFICATION

The following quorum of the Board, as defined in Air Force Instruction (AFI) 36-2603, Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records (AFBCMR), paragraph 1.5, considered Docket Number BC-2020-01055 in Executive Session on 4 Nov 20 and 29 Dec 20:

, Panel Chair 
, Panel Member
, Panel Member

All members voted against correcting the record.  The panel considered the following:

Exhibit A:	Application, DD Form 149, w/atchs, dated 19 Jan 20.
Exhibit B:	Documentary evidence, including relevant excerpts from official records.
Exhibit C:	Informational advisory, ARPC/PB, w/atchs, dated 27 Jul 20.
Exhibit D:	Informational advisory, AFPC/DP2SSR, dated 2 Aug 20.
Exhibit E:	Advisory opinion, AFPC/DP2Lt, w/atch, dated 21 Sep 20.
Exhibit F:	Notification of advisory, SAF/MRBC to applicant, dated 21 Oct 20.

Taken together with all Exhibits, this document constitutes the true and complete Record of Proceedings regarding AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2020-01055, as required by AFI 36-2603, paragraph 4.11.9.