RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-04070 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: He be promoted to the grade of senior airman (SrA, E-4) in accordance with AF Form 3008, Supplement to Enlistment Agreement - United States Air Force, paragraph b. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: He signed an AF Form 3008 on 20 Sep 08 for a four year enlistment. Section b of the form reflects he would be promoted to SrA after he completed his 3-skill level and 24 months Time in Service (TIS). He left for Basic Military Training (BMT) on 6 Jan 09 with a guaranteed Air Force Specialty (AFS) 1C231, Combat Control Apprentice. Half-way though BMT, after he met the requirements associated with the AFS, he was required to sign an amended AF Form 3008 with an enlistment agreement for six years; however, the promotion statement was lined out. He spoke to the individual in charge of enlistment contracts and was informed that the contract he signed would be amended and the Air Force would honor the promotion statement from his original contract, which read, “I further understand that I am guaranteed promotion to SrA (E-4) once I have been awarded the three skill level in my AFS and have completed 24 months time in service.” However, after meeting all the requirements, he was told he would not be promoted to SrA until he met the 28 months TIS requirement. In support of his request, the applicant provides copies of his AF Form 3008, AF Form 3007, Guaranteed Training Enlistment Agreement Non-Prior Service – United States Air Force, BMT Graduation Certificate, and Combat Control Graduation Certificate. The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: On 20 Sep 08, the applicant signed an AF Form 3008 during final processing at the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS). The applicant and the Air Force representative (MEPS AF Liaison) initialed and signed the AF FM 3008 in the appropriate areas, including the statement containing accelerated promotion to SrA. On 6 Jan 09, the applicant entered the Regular Air Force. He initialed and signed a revised AF Form 3008, which changed the applicant's enlistment from four to six years and eliminated the accelerated promotion provision. The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are contained in the letters prepared by the appropriate offices of the Air Force at Exhibits C and D. ________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSIT recommends denial. DPSIT states the applicant acknowledged understanding and acceptance of the change to the promotion statement by initialing and signing the corrected copy of AF Form 3008 and therefore, should not receive accelerated promotion to SrA. In October 2006, the Air Force changed the accelerated promotion to SrA policy for six year enlistees in the Combat Control and Pararescue Air Force Specialty Codes. Under the old policy, Airmen were eligible for promotion to SrA after 24 months TIS. Under the new policy, airmen are not eligible for promotion to SrA until they have 36 months TIS or 28 months time in grade (TIG). Although the revision to AFI 36-2502, Airman Promotion/Demotion Programs, was not published incorporating this policy until after the applicant signed the AF Form 3008, a message was sent out from AF/A1 on 20 June 06 that directed the policy change. Air Force Recruiting Services (AFRS) also published procedural guidance on 5 Oct 07 directing Recruiting Services to “Line out” the last sentence in Section 8, which reads: I further understand that I am guaranteed promotion to SrA (E-4) once I have been awarded the three skill level in my AFS and have completed 24 months time in service. In this case it seems the MEPS liaison failed to ensure this was accomplished. Currently, the AF FM 3008 is under revision. In the interim, the erroneous statement is now automatically lined through when the form is printed, which should prevent this from happening in the future. In this case, his AF FM 3008 was corrected during basic training so he was aware of the change in policy/contract prior to entering technical training. The complete DPSIT evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit C. AFPC/JA recommends denial. The new policy was not implemented in a cohesive and timely fashion. Implementation has occurred over a number of years and revision of the AF Form 3008 is still pending. Because of this, JA, DPSOE, and DPSIP have determined that when airmen enter the service with a contract for accelerated promotion under the old policy, they are required to honor that contact and apply the old policy. Therefore, airmen with a contract for accelerated promotion to SrA under the old policy will be promoted to SrA based on the old policy. However, in the applicant’s case he initiated a change to his AF Form 3008. With the change, the AF Form 3008 no longer includes the provision for accelerated promotion under the old policy. There was an error in the applicant’s case; inclusion of the accelerated promotion term in his original AF Form 3008. However, it appears this error was corrected by mutual consent when the AF Form 3008 was revised. The DPSIP advisory indicates the revision or change was made during BMT. The applicant did not provide any information or evidence to dispute the validity of the change; his application does not even address it. Based on the available evidence, the AF Form 3008 was properly changed and eliminated the accelerated promotion provision. Even though there is no error in the applicant’s case, there remains the potential issue of injustice. The United States Court of Federal Claims (which was called the United States Claims Court before 1992) has held that “injustice” refers to “treatment by the military authorities that shocks the sense of justice.” Absent evidence to show the change to applicant’s AF Form 3008 was improper or invalid, there is no injustice in this case. The complete JA evaluation is at Exhibit D. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: On 13 Jan 12, copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the applicant for review and comment within 30 days. As of this date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit E). ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations. 2. The application was not timely filed; however, it is in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file. 3. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of error or injustice. We took notice of the applicant's complete submission in judging the merits of the case; however, we agree with the opinions and recommendations of the Air Force offices of primary responsibility and adopt their rationale as the basis for our conclusion the applicant has not been the victim of an injustice. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no basis to recommend granting the relief sought in this application. ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: The applicant be notified that the evidence presented did not demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; that the application was denied without a personal appearance; and that the application will only be reconsidered upon the submission of newly discovered relevant evidence not considered with this application. ________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered Docket Number BC- 2011-04070 in Executive Session on 19 Apr 12, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member The following documentary evidence was considered in AFBCMR BC- 2011-04070: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 27 Mar 12, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, HQ AFPC/DPSIP, dated 15 Dec 11, w/atchs. Exhibit D. Letter, HQ AFPC/JA, dated 9 Jan 12. Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 13 Jan 12. Panel Chair