RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER: 98-01473
                 INDEX CODE 121.02
                 COUNSEL:  None

                 HEARING DESIRED:  No
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He be  compensated  for  54  days  of  accrued  leave  forfeited  upon
retirement and that his DD Form 214 be corrected accordingly.
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was erroneously advised during his pre-retirement briefing that  he
was authorized to sell back 60 days of leave. He  set  his  retirement
date accordingly to coincide with the selling of  60  days  of  leave.
After his retirement, he was informed he could not  sell  60  days  of
leave because he had sold 54 days in 1978/1979 as an enlisted  member.
Had he been appropriately briefed he would have taken the 54  days  as
terminal leave and adjusted his retirement date accordingly.

In support, he provides a letter from his Financial Services Flight at
Maxwell AFB which states he was incorrectly briefed. The Flight  Chief
explains   that   officers   can   only   sell    their    leave    at
separation/retirement. The pay technician overlooked the fact that the
applicant had previously sold back 53.5 leave  days  when  he  was  an
enlisted member. This fact was reflected on the  Master  Military  Pay
Account (MMPA) but was not reviewed.

A copy of applicant's complete submission is attached at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Relevant facts pertaining to  this  application,  extracted  from  the
applicant's military records, are contained in the letter prepared  by
the appropriate office of the Air Force.
Accordingly, there is no need to recite these facts in this Record  of
Proceedings.

_________________________________________________________________

DFAS & AIR FORCE EVALUATIONS:

The Chief,  Claims  Branch,  DFAS-DE/FYCC,  advised  that  applicant’s
military pay records indicate he was paid 40  days  of  Lump-Sum-Leave
(LSL) on 17 December 1978, 13.5 days of LSL on 11 September 1979,  and
6.5 days LSL on 30 Apr 1998. In accordance with Department of  Defense
Financial Management Regulation, a member may be paid no more than  60
days LSL during his military career effective 10 February 1976.

A copy of the complete evaluation is at Exhibit B.

The Chief, Commanders’ Programs Branch, HQ AFPC/DPSFC,  also  reviewed
the case and indicates the applicant had 60 days as of 1 October 1997,
earned 17.5 days as of 30 April 1998, and  used  17  days  during  the
fiscal year. The advisory from DFAS shows how much leave he  was  paid
for. He forfeited 54 days because under Title 37, USC, Section  501(f)
payment for accrued leave cannot exceed 60 days.   The  applicant  had
received payment for 53.5 days when he  was  an  enlisted  member  and
could only receive payment for 6.6 days on 30 April 1998. The  finance
services office incorrectly briefed the applicant and he forfeited  54
days he was unable to use as terminal  leave.  Denial  is  recommended
based on Title 37.

A copy of the complete evaluation is at Exhibit C.

The Retirements Branch,  HQ  AFPC/DPPRR,  advises  that  there  is  no
provision in AFI 36-3203 to extend an approved retirement for the sole
purpose to be paid for accrued leave or to  take  terminal  leave.   A
member may not change a retirement date solely to allow  for  terminal
leave and the applicant acknowledged this fact  by  signing  the  pre-
application checklist on 8 May 1997 [when  he  applied  for  voluntary
retirement the first time].  To grant the applicant additional  active
duty time to use 54 days of leave, his retirement date would  have  to
be extended by two full months of unserved active service.  Denial  is
recommended.

A copy of the complete evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit D.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Complete copies of the evaluations were forwarded to the applicant  on
7 September 1998 for review and comment within 30 days.   As  of  this
date, no response has been received by this office.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.    The applicant has exhausted all remedies  provided  by  existing
law or regulations.

2.    The application was timely filed.

3.    Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate
the existence of probable error or injustice. After a thorough  review
of the evidence of record  and  applicant’s  submission,  we  are  not
persuaded he should be compensated for 54 days of forfeited leave. His
contentions are duly noted,  as  was  the  Financial  Services  Flight
letter advising that the pay technician had apparently overlooked  the
fact that the applicant was prior enlisted  and  had  previously  sold
back 53.5 days of leave. However, the applicant knew that he was prior
enlisted and had  sold  53.5  days  of  leave.  We  find  it  somewhat
implausible for the applicant, with all his years of service, to  have
been unaware of the well-known fact that a member may be paid no  more
than 60 days LSL during  one’s  military  career.  The  applicant  has
provided insufficient evidence to sustain his burden that he  was  the
victim of an injustice  to  warrant  his  being  compensated  for  the
forfeited leave by extending his retirement date. In view of the above
and absent persuasive evidence to the contrary, we find no  compelling
basis to recommend granting the relief sought.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The  applicant  be  notified  that  the  evidence  presented  did  not
demonstrate the existence of probable  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  this  application  in
Executive Session on 16 March 1999, under the provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

                  Mrs. Barbara A. Westgate, Panel Chair
                  Mr. Lawrence R. Leehy, Member
                  Ms. Melinda J. Loftin, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 18 May 98, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Letter, DFAS-DE/FYCC, dated 15 Jul 98.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPSFC, dated 28 Jul 98.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPRR, dated 21 Aug 98, w/atchs.
   Exhibit E.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 7 Sep 98.




                                   BARBARA A. WESTGATE
                                   Panel Chair