RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-02097 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: YES _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: Her reentry (RE) code of 2C which denotes “Involuntarily separated with an honorable discharge; or entry level separation without characterization of service” and separation program designator (SPD) codes be changed so that she can serve again in the military. _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: She was never an “Unsatisfactory Performer.” She was unable to pass several tests at technical training school, and without the option to retrain into another career field, she was discharged. She wrote her Congressman and was then offered an opportunity to reclassify into another career field. However, after four months of waiting for orders, she was sent home. In support of her request, the applicant provides copies of her DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, documents relating to her Congressional Inquiry, and various discharge documents. The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. _________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: On 28 Jun 10, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force for a period of six years. On 23 Mar 11, the applicant was notified by her squadron commander that he was recommending her discharge from the Air Force for not making satisfactory progress in the Aerospace Medical Service Apprentice (Phase 1) course. Specifically, she failed the National Registry Emergency Medical Technician written exam four times. As a result of multiple failures, she was disenrolled from technical training school on 14 Dec 10. Prior to disenrollment, she was washed back, received 30.5 hours of additional instruction and counseling, and attended classes at the Wing Learning and Development Center. On 23 Mar 11, after receiving the notification of discharge, the applicant refused to sign the notification. She initialed that she received copies of the documents to be forwarded to the separation authority in support of the recommendation for her discharge, and waived her right to consult with legal counsel, and submitted a statement in her own behalf. The base legal office found the case legally sufficient to support the separation, and on 5 Apr 11, the discharge authority approved the discharge. On 8 Apr 11, the applicant was honorably discharged, by reason of unsatisfactory performance, and was issued an RE code of 2C. She served on active duty for a period of 9 months and 11 days. _________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSOS recommends denial. DPSOS states they found no errors or injustices in the processing of her discharge, nor did the applicant submit any such evidence. DPSOS states, based on the documentation on file in the master personnel records, the discharge to include the narrative reason for separation was consistent with the procedural and substantive requirements of the discharge instruction and was appropriately administered and within the discretion of the discharge authority. The complete DPSOS evaluation is at Exhibit C. AFPC/DPSOA recommends denial. DPSOA states the applicant does not provide any evidence of an error or injustice in reference to her RE code. The RE code “2C” is the correct code based on her involuntary discharge with an honorable characterization of service. The complete DPSOA evaluation is at Exhibit D. _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: On 16 Sep 11, copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the applicant for review and comment within 30 days. To date, a response has not been received (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 error or injustice. After careful consideration of the available records, the RE code assigned at the time of the applicant’s separation appears to be technically correct and in accordance with the governing instruction. Nevertheless, we believe some relief is appropriate in this case. While the applicant may have had problems progressing in the required technical training course, we find no evidence of misconduct, and based on her aptitude scores, believe she could be successful serving in another specialty. Although we found no error in this case, we believe it is in the interest of equity and justice to change her RE and SPD codes to provide the applicant the opportunity to seek reentry into military service. Therefore, we recommend her RE and SPD codes be changed to 3K and KFF, respectively. While we believe she should be given another opportunity to serve in the military, this recommendation in no way guarantees that she will be accepted into any branch of service, rather that she will be given the opportunity to apply based on her own merit and the needs of the service. In view of the above, we recommend her records be corrected to the extent indicated below. 4. The applicant's case is adequately documented and it has not been shown that a personal appearance with or without counsel will materially add to our understanding of the issue involved. Therefore, the request for a hearing is not favorably considered. _________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that on 8 April 2011 she was separated under the provisions of AFI 36-3208, paragraph 1.2 (Secretarial Authority) with a reenlistment eligibility (RE) code of 3K and a separation designator code (SPD) of KFF. _________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2011-02097 in Executive Session on 26 Jan 12, 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 BC-2011-02097 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 12 May 11, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSOS, dated 1 Aug 11. Exhibit D. Letter, AFPC/DPSOA, dated 1 Sep 11. Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 16 Sep 11. Panel Chair