RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2021-02717

XXXXXXXXXX	COUNSEL: NONE

	HEARING REQUESTED: NO
 
APPLICANT’S REQUEST

Restore fourteen (14) days of lost leave, and restore five (5) days of erroneously charged leave.  

APPLICANT’S CONTENTIONS

In reference to the 14 days of lost leave, he was on a 365-day Permanent Change of Station (PCS) tour and was unable to take leave while on location because he was on loan to the United Nations (UN) and subject to UN rules, policies and command.  He arrived to the assignment on 3 Aug 19 and did not begin to accrue the 2.5 days of UN leave until Sep 19.  He was unable to take leave until Oct 19 due to missions that accounted for the better part of Aug 19 and Sep 19.  He submitted a case to the Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC) for restoration of the lost leave, and it was denied stating he had sufficient time to take leave while on the 365-day assignment.

In addition, he was charged five days of leave during a PCS.  His final out-processing from XXXXXX was 3 Jul 19 and his flight departed for XXXXXX on 8 Jul 19.  However, there was an Air Force Material Command family day, a national holiday, and a weekend in between his final out-processing and departure dates.  He was informed the finance system could not process holidays and family days, so an exception to prevent him from being charged leave for the days in between his final out-processing and departure date should have been manually updated by finance at XXXXXX.  He contacted the finance office at XXXXX multiple times to remedy the matter, but he did not receive a reply to his inquiries.  He then submitted a DD Form 114, Military Pay Order,   he received from the XXXX finance section to AFPC for consideration and was denied special leave accrual (SLA) and restoration of five (5) days of leave.

The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant is a Regular Air Force major (O-4).

On 20 Aug 19, according to DD Form 1351-2, Travel Voucher or Subvoucher, provided by the applicant, he verified he traveled from XXXXX to XXXXXX between the period 8 Jul 19 and 3 Aug 19.  

On 9 Jan 20, according to AF Form 985, Report of Travel Time/Leave (JUMPS), provided by the applicant and prepared by BB, the applicant received 26 total days of allowable travel time for his PCS for the period 8 Jul 19 to 2 Aug.

According to an unsigned DD Form 114, dated 9 Jan 20 and provided by the applicant, the reason for change indicates “NO CANCELLED LEAVE, NO ORDINARY LEAVE CHARGED, NO RAP LEAVE CHARGED.”

On 10 Sep 20, Special Order XXXXXXXX was published authorizing the applicant a PCS from XXXXX to XXXXX with a report no later than date of 18 Sep 20.

For more information, see the excerpt of the applicant’s record at Exhibit B and the advisory at Exhibit C.

APPLICABLE AUTHORITY

Title 10, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section (§) 701: Entitlement and accumulation; Title 10, U.S.C, § 1552: Correction of military records: claims incident thereto; AFI 36-3003, Military Leave Program; AFI 36-2603, Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records; Total Force Military Leave Program Personnel Services Delivery Guide.

A military member may not carry forward a leave balance of more than 60 days into a new fiscal year, except when entitled to SLA.  SLA is authorized for members who have deployed in support of contingency operations for 120 continuous days or assigned to locations approved as "qualifying duty" by the Secretary of the Air Force and are faced with circumstances that prohibit them from taking leave.  The situation preventing a member from using leave must have been caused by a catastrophe, national emergency and/or crisis, or operations in defense of national security.  SLA shall not be used as a means to authorize the accumulation of leave in excess of 60 days as a result of a member’s failure to properly manage their leave balance.

SLA is not authorized when the following precludes members from using leave:

•	Normal permanent change of station moves or temporary duty assignments 
•	Base closures 
•	Hospitalizations, aeromedical evacuations, quarters, and convalescent leaves 
•	Details and special working groups 
•	Training exercises, attending schools or courses, and research requirements 
•	Pending separations and retirements 
•	Workload after return from deployment and members did not take leave before 1 Oct 
•	Post-Deployment Recovery Time 
•	Post deployment/mobilization respite absence

Members not eligible for SLA can request recovery of days lost by submitting a DD Form 149, Application for Correction of Military Record, to the Air Force Board 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.  There is no evidence of an error or injustice.  The applicant submitted a CMS case review and was advised that he did not meet the criteria to apply for SLA.  Additionally, he did not provide a reference for the UN guidelines that prevented the use of leave. 

The complete advisory opinion is at Exhibit C.

APPLICANT’S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION

The Board sent a copy of the advisory opinion to the applicant on 8 Sep 21 for comment (Exhibit D), but has received no response.

The applicant’s complete response is at Exhibit E.

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

1.  The application was timely filed.

2.  The applicant did not exhaust 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/DP2SSM and finds a preponderance of the evidence does not substantiate the applicant’s contentions.   Therefore, 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-2021-02717 in Executive Session on 10 Nov 21:

, Chair, AFBCMR
, 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 5 Aug 21.
Exhibit B:	Documentary evidence, including relevant excerpts from official records.
Exhibit C:	Advisory Opinion, AFPC/DP2SSM, dated 1 Sep 21.
Exhibit D:	Notification of Advisory, SAF/MRBC to Applicant, dated 8 Sep 21.

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.