RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  02-00309
            INDEX NUMBER:  128.14

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His records be corrected to permit his participation in the College
Loan  Repayment  Program  (CLRP)  and  remain  eligible   for   the
Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) during this enlistment.

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

Upon his enlistment, his Air Force Recruiter informed him  that  he
would receive both the MGIB and the CLRP, the latter being  in  the
form of $10,000 in student loan repayments, to be paid by the USAF,
to his student loan creditors.

The applicant’s statement and  documentary  evidence  submitted  in
support of his application are included as Exhibit A.
___________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant enlisted into the Regular Air Force on 19 September  2000
with the understanding he could participate in both  the  CLRP  and
MGIB during his current enlistment.  He accepted the automatic MGIB
enrollment on 17 October 2000.  Subsequently, he was told he  could
participate in both at the same time, then later  that  he  had  to
choose between the programs and, finally, that eligibility for both
programs could only be established  in  separate  enlistments.   He
currently has over $10,000 in college loans.
___________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ USAF/DPDE recommends approval.  That  office  states  that  they
were not aware when it activated CLRP that Section 3033 of 38  USC,
Chapter 30, prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs from using
the same enlistment to qualify an individual for both CLRP and MGIB
benefits.  They learned of  this  several  months  later  and  took
action to notify Recruiting Service  and  Basic  Military  Training
personnel that trainees could have one of the two  programs.   This
problem was eased on 1 November 2000,  when  the  President  signed
Public Law 106-419 amending 38 USC, Chapter 30.  This change allows
an individual to qualify and participate in the CLRP during his  or
her first enlistment and use a subsequent enlistment to qualify for
the MGIB.  They then took action to again correct what is  told  to
recruits and trainees.

An individual desiring the MGIB must, within 14  days  of  entering
active duty, make an irrevocable election to participate  and  have
his or her pay reduced by $1200  during  the  first  year  of  such
service although the  service  required  for  eligibility  must  be
established in a subsequent enlistment.   This  creates  a  problem
where an individual at Basic Military Training must elect  and  pay
for the MGIB while not knowing if he or she will ever reenlist.

HQ USAF/DPDE further states that the CLRP changes, coupled with the
short time in which  they  had  to  begin  accepting  applications,
created serious information dissemination and procedures  problems.
Many individuals, including the applicant,  were  told  they  could
enlist for  the  program  but  problems  resulted  in  the  program
eligibility  statement  not  being  included  on   the   enlistment
contract.  Although the applicant can participate in  the  CLRP  at
this time and later establish eligibility  for  the  MGIB,  he  was
misled into thinking he could qualify for both programs during this
enlistment.  The applicant is one of approximately 476  individuals
who were given the erroneous information.  Of these, 296  have  yet
to have a CLRP payment made on their behalf.

Since payment of college loans would negate applicant’s eligibility
for the MGIB, the only way to provide relief without violating  the
applicable law is to direct compensation to the applicant  (Exhibit
C).

HQ USAF/JAG states, among other things, that  obviously  the  Board
does not have the authority to give applicant a lump  sum  payment.
However, given the injustice of the situation, that office  has  no
objection to the Board fashioning an appropriate form of  equitable
relief (Exhibit D).
___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Copies  of  the  advisory  opinions  were  made  available  to  the
applicant for review and comment  in  accordance  with  established
policy.
___________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

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

2.  The application was timely filed.



3.  Having carefully reviewed this application, we agree  with  the
recommendation of the Air Force and adopt the  rationale  expressed
as the basis for our decision  that  the  applicant  has  been  the
victim of either an error or  an  injustice.   Since  we  lack  the
authority to direct an outright payment, we are compelled  to  come
up with a creative correction that will compensate the applicant as
though he had remained eligible  to  participate  in  the  CLRP  as
promised.  Accordingly, we direct that the applicant’s  records  be
corrected to the extent set forth below.

___________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DIRECTS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the  Air  Force
relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that:

      a.  He was authorized by competent authority and performed 36
days of temporary duty (TDY) during the period 26 July 2002 through
31 August 2002 at Port Hope, Alaska.

      b.  He did not enroll into the College Loan Repayment Program
(CLRP).

___________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered this  application  in
Executive Session on 13 September 2002 under the provisions of  AFI
36-2603:

      Mr. Roscoe Hinton Jr., Panel Chair
      Mr. John E. B. Smith, Member
      Ms. Brenda Romine, Member
      Mr. Mack M. Burton, Executive Director (non-voting)

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

     Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 22 Jan 02, w/atchs.
     Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
     Exhibit C.  Letter, AF/DPDE, dated 4 Jun 02.
     Exhibit D.  Letter, AF/JAG, dated 20 Aug 02.
     Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 21 Jun 02.




                                   ROSCOE HINTON JR.
                                   Panel Chair



AFBCMR 02-00309




MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF OF STAFF

      Under the authority of Section 1552, Title 10, United States
Code, and Air Force Instruction 36-2603, and having assured
compliance with the provisions of the above regulation, the
decision of the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records
is announced, and it is directed that:

      The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air
Force relating to [applicant], be corrected to show that:

             a.  He  was  authorized  by  competent  authority  and
performed 36 days of temporary duty (TDY) during the period 26 July
2002 through 31 August 2002 at Port Hope, Alaska.

            b.  He did not enroll into the College  Loan  Repayment
Program (CLRP).




                 MACK M. BURTON
                 Executive Director
                  Air Force Board for Correction
                  of Military Records