RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2002-03589
                       INDEX CODE:  137.00

                 (Deceased)  COUNSEL:  None

                 HEARING DESIRED:  No

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her late husband’s record be corrected to reflect  he  elected  spouse
coverage under the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP)  so
that she may receive the annuity.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

She believes she should receive monthly monetary benefits through  her
late husband’s retirement.  She did not know or was aware of the  fact
that she may have been eligible for any benefits.

Applicant's complete submission,  with  attachments,  is  attached  at
Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The servicemember was notified in November 1978 that he  was  eligible
to participate in the RCSBP.  An election package was  mailed  to  the
servicemember’s  home  address.   There  is  no  evidence   that   the
servicemember made an election prior to the required 90-day  suspense.
The servicemember was automatically enrolled  in  Option  A,  Deferred
 Election  Until  Age  60 on 26 February 1979.

The member died on 12 June 1995, prior to reaching age 60.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

ARPC/DPS  states  it  is  required  by  Title  10,   U.S.C.,   Section
1448(a)(2)(B) that members wanting to participate in RCSBP must submit
their election within 90 days of receipt of the package.  ARPC has  no
record of receiving an election request from the servicemember.   They
further  state  that  unmarried   spouses   of   retirement   eligible
servicemembers may be entitled to other benefits such as access to the
Commissary, Base Exchange and  other  base  services.   The  applicant
should  contact  the  Entitlements  Branch,   Tricare   and   Veterans
Administration (VA) for  information  regarding  her  eligibility  for
benefits.   In  view  of  the  above,  they  recommend   denying   the
applicant’s request.

A complete copy of the evaluation is attached at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A complete copy of the Air  Force  evaluation  was  forwarded  to  the
applicant on 2 January 2003, for review  and  response.   As  of  this
date, no response has been received by this office.

_________________________________________________________________

ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ USAF/JAA has reviewed the case, recommended  denial  on  the  basis
that the servicemember’s participation  in  RCSBP  was  voluntary  and
there was no statutory requirement for spousal notification.

A complete copy of the evaluation is attached at Exhibit E.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant’s daughter, in a letter dated 19 August  2003,  informed
this office the applicant died on 26 January 2003.  She also  provided
a copy of her father’s last will and testament showing her father left
everything to her mother and that this should  show  that  her  father
wanted her mother to receive all entitlements to which he  would  have
been entitled.

The daughter further states that based on the advisory  opinions,  and
realizing that  others  in  similar  circumstances  have  been  denied
benefits, this is a issue that should be reviewed  at  the  state  and
federal government level (Exhibit G).

_________________________________________________________________

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. After  thoroughly  reviewing  the
evidence of record, we are not persuaded to change the servicemember's
records to reflect that he elected  coverage  under  the  RCSBP.   The
servicemember was notified of his eligibility to  participate  in  the
RCSBP and failed to make an election.   Furthermore,  the  information
contained in the initial election package clearly indicated  that  the
servicemember had 90 days from the date of  receipt  of  the  election
package to return the completed election form to ARPC,  in  accordance
with  the  governing  statute.   It  is  the  responsibility  of   the
servicemember to submit the election form within the time  constraints
allowed.  At the time the servicemember was eligible to elect coverage
there was no requirement, either by policy  or  statute  to  notify  a
spouse if the servicemember made no election for coverage.  Therefore,
we agree with the recommendation  of  the  Air  Force  and  adopt  the
rational expressed as the basis for our conclusion that the  applicant
failed to sustain her burden of establishing the existence  of  either
an error or an injustice warranting favorable action on her request.
_________________________________________________________________

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 AFBCMR Docket Number BC-
2002-03589 in Executive  Session  on  30  September  2003,  under  the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                       Mr. David C. Van Gasbeck, Panel Chair
                       Mr. Roscoe Hinton, Jr., Member
                 Mr. Mike Novel, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

      Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 5 Nov 02, w/atchs.
      Exhibit B. Master Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C. Letter, HQ ARPC/DPS, dated 2 Jan 03.
      Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 10 Jan 03.
      Exhibit E. Letter, HQ USAF/JAA, dated 17 Jul 03.
      Exhibit F. Letter, AFBCMR, dated 8 Aug 03.
      Exhibit G. Letter, Applicant’s Daughter’s Response,
                       dated 19 Aug 03.




                             DAVID C. VAN GASBECK
                             Panel Chair