RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2020-02193

XXXXXXXXXX	COUNSEL: NONE

	HEARING REQUESTED: NO

APPLICANT’S REQUEST

Five (5) days of leave be restored to his current leave account.

APPLICANT’S CONTENTIONS

He received a short notice deployment from 7 January 2019 to 14 June 2019.  Post deployment, he had one week of in-processing and one and a half weeks of out-processing for his Permanent Change of Station (PCS) departure.  He had 19 days of use or lose at the time.  He was able to take all but five days while enroute to his PCS.  Due to his change of command scheduled on 9 August 2020, he was unable to take the remaining leave because of mission requirements.  He had another temporary duty (TDY) assignment in September and was unable to use the five days of leave by the end of the fiscal year.

The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant is a currently serving Air Force lieutenant colonel (O-5).

For more information, see the advisory at Exhibit B.

APPLICABLE AUTHORITY

Title 10, United States Code, Section 701: Entitlement and accumulation; Title 10, U.S.C. 1552:  Correction of military records: Claims incident there; AFI 36-3003, Military Leave Program; AFI 36-2603, Air Force Boar for Correction of Military Records; Total Force Military Leave Program Personnel Services delivery Guide.

SLA allows members in qualifying duties to accumulate leave in excess of 60 days.  Furthermore, it should be a result of the member’s inability to take leave or to reduce their leave balance to 60 days before the end of the fiscal year while being assigned to said activities.  SLA shall not be used as a means to authorize the accumulation of leave in excess of 60 days that is a result of members’ failure to properly manage their leave balance.

Members not eligible for SLA can request recovery of days lost by submitting a DD Form 149, Application for Correction of Military Records.  Requests for recovery of lost leave must include the following: 

(1) Memorandum endorsed by the unit commander denying leave due to military necessity or when in the best interests of the Air Force.  This memorandum must provide full justification, including documentation showing how the Airmen managed their leave during the year, to clearly establish an error or injustice by the Air Force that caused the Airman’s lost leave.

(2) Recommendation from the appropriate approval authority (O-6 equivalent).  The wing commander or wing vice commander has the final authority and may be delegated no lower than the first O-6 in chain of command.

AIR FORCE EVALUATION

AFPC/DP2SSM recommends denying the application.  Based on the documentation provided by the applicant and analysis of the facts, there is no evidence of an error or injustice.  The applicant did not provide sufficient documentation to prove that he went TDY for a second time in September 2019, leaving him with two months to take five days of leave or provide a PCS travel voucher to verify the date he proceeded to his new duty location.  The SLA memorandum that was submitted did not endorse the fact that the applicant was unable to take leave due to manning shortages and mission needs but instead was endorsed due to deployment which ended 15 June 2020.

The complete advisory opinion is at Exhibit B.

APPLICANT’S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION

The Board sent a copy of the advisory opinion to the applicant on 28 September 2020 for comment (Exhibit C), 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 evidence indicates the applicant did not qualify for SLA.  However, as noted above, members not eligible for SLA may request restoration of lost days by submitting an application to the Board.  However, the applicant’s submission did not include the required documentation for the Board to make a proper recommendation.  Therefore, the Board concurs with the recommendation of AFPC/DP2SSM and finds a preponderance of the evidence does not substantiate the applicant’s contentions.  Accordingly, the Board recommends against correcting the applicant’s records.

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-2020-02193 in Executive Session on 28 January 2021:

, 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 12 August 2020.
Exhibit B:	Advisory opinion, AFPC/DP2SSM, dated 25 September 2020.
Exhibit C:	Notification of advisory, SAF/MRBC to applicant, dated 28 September 2020.

Taken together with all Exhibits, this document constitutes the true and complete Record of Proceedings, as required by AFI 36-2603, paragraph 4.11.9.