RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBERS:  01-02209
            INDEX CODE 128.08
            COUNSEL:  None

            HEARING DESIRED:  Yes

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His  records  reflect  that  he  was  retired  with  Reserve   Special
Separation Pay (RSSP)  as  authorized  under  the  Reserve  Transition
Assistance Program (RTAP).

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He elected retirement from the Reserves  under  the  RTAP.  He  signed
retirement acceptance papers on 9 Jul 99. On 28 Jul 99,  the  Reserves
changed his retirement to volunteer with no special  payments  without
ever notifying him of his rights or options. After he  was  placed  in
overage, both his unit and he actively sought other  positions  to  no
avail. The Air Force should honor its agreement with him by  providing
five annual Reserve payments upon his retirement after  20  years.  He
would have continued his Reserve service  if  he  was  not  offered  a
severance package  and  other  opportunities  became  available.   The
notification process failed in its attempt  to  reach  the  retirement
recipient. That is an internal breakdown that  should  not  under  any
circumstances have negative bearings on his 20 honorable years in  the
Air Force.

The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The relevant facts pertaining to this application are contained in the
official documents provided in the applicant’s submission (Exhibit  A)
and in the letter prepared by the appropriate office of the Air  Force
(Exhibit C).

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFRC/DPM reviewed the appeal and indicates that  the  applicant  is
not eligible for retirement with RSSP because placement  opportunities
to retain him were not fully  explored  in  compliance  with  HQ  AFRC
procedures. The military personnel flight (MPF)  erred  and  processed
the applicant for retirement with RSSP  in  clear  violation  of  AFRC
policies and procedures. Prior to his retirement, HQ  AFRC  discovered
this error, advised the MPF of the required placement  and  validation
procedures  and  that  if  the  applicant  elected  to  proceed   with
retirement prior to completing the placement and validation, he  would
retire without RSSP. Denial is recommended.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant advises that he successfully completed his last 8  years
of Reserve duty at Dover AFB, DE, while residing in  Atlanta,  GA.  He
traveled at his own expense to  fulfill  his  obligation  to  the  Air
Force. He received the RTAP proposal/contract to retire  at  least  16
months before his retirement, which provided ample opportunity for the
Air  Force  to  officially  inform  him  of  any  program  changes  or
additional requirements. He asserts that, contrary to their  advisory,
HQ AFRC/DPM did not advise his  MPF  of  the  required  placement  and
validation procedures and that he would  retire  without  RSSP  if  he
elected to retire prior to completing  the  placement  and  validation
process until after his retirement was official. Neither  HQ  AFRC/DPM
nor his MPF ever notified him of any change to  his  RTAP  eligibility
and allowed him to retire with the understanding that he was  eligible
for RTAP benefits.  Such notification prior to retirement  would  have
resulted in a different retirement decision. The MPF states procedures
were followed as evidenced in a letter to HQ AFRC/DPM.  The Air  Force
should honor its contractual obligations.

The applicant's complete response, with attachments, is at 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 probable error or injustice.  Based on the  available
evidence, it appears the applicant was notified that his position  was
no longer available and that he was eligible for benefits under  RTAP.
The MPF was apparently unable to relocate him and  the  applicant,  in
good faith, applied and was approved for RSSP under RTAP.  The  record
is unclear whether the error lies in the MPF  not  complying  with  HQ
AFRC's revised procedures or with HQ AFRC not identifying a problem in
the applicant's eligibility until the eleventh hour, or both. What  is
very clear, according to HQ AFRC's message,  is  that  erroneous  RTAP
processing procedures were commonplace. Regardless,  this  Board  does
not feel it was the applicant's responsibility to find himself another
position or to resolve whatever irregularities were surfacing in  RTAP
retirement processing, especially when he was never  notified  of  any
problem. We find it reasonable to believe that, had the applicant been
advised of his alleged ineligibility for RSSP in a timely  manner,  he
would not have gone ahead and retired without resolving the issue.  He
signed a contract and made decisions based on benefits  he  had  every
reason to believe he was going to receive.   We  do  not  believe  the
applicant  should  be  penalized  for  an  administrative  error,  and
recommend his records reflect that he was, in fact, eligible  for  and
entitled to RSSP under the provisions of RTAP.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the  Department  of  the  Air  Force
relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that, on 9 July  1999,  he
applied for  and  competent  authority  approved  his  entitlement  to
Reserve  Special  Separation  Pay  as  authorized  under  the  Reserve
Transition Assistance Program, and that effective 18 July 1999, he was
transferred to the Retired Reserve with  entitlement  to  retired  pay
under Title 10, USC, Section 1331, upon attainment of age 60.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the  Board  considered  this  application  in
Executive Session on 23 January 2002 under the provisions of  AFI  36-
2603:

                 Mr. Thomas S. Markiewicz, Vice Chair
                 Mr. Jay H. Jordan, Member
                 Ms. Brenda L. Romine, Member

All  members  voted  to  correct  the  records,  as  recommended.  The
following documentary evidence was considered:

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 16 May 01, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFRC/DPM, dated 24 Sep 01.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 26 Oct 01.
   Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, undated, received
                    7 Dec 01, w/atchs.




                                   THOMAS S. MARKIEWICZ
                                   Vice Chair





AFBCMR 01-02209




MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF OF STAFF

      Having received and considered the recommendation of the Air
Force Board for Correction of Military Records and under the authority
of Section 1552, Title 10, United States Code (70A Stat 116), it is
directed that:

      The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air
Force relating to            , be corrected to show that, on 9 July
1999, he applied for and competent authority approved his entitlement
to Reserve Special Separation Pay as authorized under the Reserve
Transition Assistance Program, and that effective 18 July 1999, he was
transferred to the Retired Reserve with entitlement to retired pay
under Title 10, USC, Section 1331, upon attainment of age 60.





   JOE G. LINEBERGER

   Director

   Air Force Review Boards Agency