RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  02-04043
            INDEX CODE:  128.10
            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His indebtedness to the government in the amount of $926.12, be waived.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

After his permanent change of station (PCS) move from Kadena  AB  Japan,  to
Offutt AFB NE, in May 2001 an unexplained  debt  of  $750  appeared  on  his
leave and earnings statement (LES).  He was told that it was a  PCS  related
debt and that it would  be  further  explained  to  him  and  his  debt  was
suspended.   The  debt  remained  on  his  LES  and  his  requests  for   an
explanation as to how he incurred the debt went unanswered for  months.   In
February 2002, he applied for retirement and again inquired about  the  debt
and his question did not  get  answered.   In  March  2002,  he  entered  an
extension and entered into a no-pay  due  status  because  of  problem  with
MilMod.  He had to complete a voucher each payday until his  terminal  leave
departure date to get paid.  In  May  2002,  a  deduction  of  $29  a  month
started coming out of his pay.  He inquired again about the  debt  and  this
time he was told  it  was  invalid  and  that  the  accounting  and  finance
representative would notify  the  Defense  Accounting  and  Finance  Service
(DFAS).  When he received his final pay it was approximately $600 more  than
he expected.  He reported the overpayment to  the  finance  office  but  was
told that the payment was correct.   In  addition  to  being  in  a  no  pay
status, he was not charged for any leave he  took  for  the  last  10  -  11
months while he was on active duty.  He had to estimate his remaining  leave
balance and calculate the amount of terminal leave he would be taking.   His
balance was verified by the finance office.   On  23  Nov  02,  he  received
notification that he had a debt of over $900.  It  was  explained  that  the
debt was due to excess leave.  Personnel at the  finance  office  at  Offutt
AFB told him that the debt was a result  of  the  overpayment  on  his  last
paycheck.  He inquired about applying for a waiver of the debt but was  told
that it would take up to 6 months to process.  He feels that the debts  were
not his fault and that the debt was accrued without his knowledge.

In support of his  request,  applicant  provided  a  personal  statement,  a
letter from an accounting and finance technician, his Statement of  Military
Pay Account, his Statement of Military Leave Account, and  his  notification
of indebtedness.  His complete submission, with attachments, is  at  Exhibit
A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant retired from the Air Force on  31  Aug  02  in  the  grade  of
master sergeant.  On 20 Nov 02, applicant was notified  of  an  indebtedness
to the government in the amount of $962.12 for 3.5 days of excess leave  and
pay and allowances that he received while he was in an excess leave  status.


_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

DFAS-POCC/DE  recommends  denial.   DFAS  states  that   the   Waivers   and
Remissions Branch states that the applicant's request for a waiver would  be
denied based on guidelines set forth by the Office of the Secretary  of  the
Air  Force.   The  Waivers  and  Remissions  Branch  states  that  when  the
applicant received his final pay and  believed  it  was  more  than  he  was
authorized, he should have  pursued  the  matter  further  and  should  have
retained the erroneous funds for eventual  refund  to  the  government.   In
addition, the applicant had a  responsibility  to  be  aware  of  his  leave
balance.  When he started terminal leave on 1 Jul 02, he did not  take  into
consideration July 31 and August 31.  He was charged for  those  2  days  of
leave.  His leave balance was based on his expiration  of  term  of  service
(ETS) date of 15 Sep 02.  Therefore, when he elected to separate on 31  Aug,
he should have deducted 1.5 days of leave from his balance  to  ETS  on  his
LES.  The DFAS evaluation is at Exhibit B.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant states that he applied for a waiver on 6 Jan 03 and it was  denied
on 9 Jan 03.  He does not  feel  that  DFAS  has  carefully  considered  his
request since it took them 3 days to deny his request when he  was  told  it
would take 6 months.  He feels that he meets the requirements set  forth  by
the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force for a waiver.  The debt was  an
administrative error caused by  MilMod  and  the  local  finance  office  as
explained by a memo from the finance office.  To say that  he  intentionally
frauded or misrepresented  the  government  is  not  true  and  clearly  not
proven.  The finance office verified his  leave  days  before  his  terminal
leave started.  He took exactly what they said  he  could,  if  they  cannot
figure out how many days of leave he has, applicant wonders how could he  be
expected to.  When he received his final pay it appeared to be high  and  he
contacted finance and was told that it was correct.  He  had  never  retired
before and did not know what to expect.  DFAS never  addressed  the  lengthy
time he spent with an erroneous debt on his LES that DFAS would  not  remove
even though  the  local  finance  office  sent  numerous  requests  for  its
removal.  His complete submission is at Exhibit D.

_________________________________________________________________

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 error or injustice that would warrant  corrective  action.   It
is our opinion that the errors in the applicant’s pay records, which led  to
his overpayment of leave and pay and allowances, was not  a  result  of  any
act or misrepresentation on his part, but was perpetuated by errors  in  the
military pay system.  The applicant promptly reported the  discrepancies  in
his pay records to accounting and finance personnel and we believe  that  he
made every reasonable effort to ensure his pay records were  accurate.   The
Board does not believe that it would be appropriate to  hold  the  applicant
accountable for  the  disparity  in  his  leave  balance  when  finance  and
accounting  technicians  were  unable  to  determine  his  correct  balance.
Accordingly, it is our opinion that relief is  warranted  and  we  recommend
that his records be corrected to the extent indicated below.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air  Force  relating
to APPLICANT be corrected to show that on 6 January 2003, he applied  for  a
waiver of his indebtedness incurred as a result of overpayment of his  final
separation pay and his application was approved by competent authority.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered Docket Number BC-2002-4043  in
Executive Session on 9 Apr 03, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Michael K. Gallogly, Panel Chair
      Mr. Billy C. Baxter, Member
      Ms. Martha Maust, Member



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

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 18 Dec 02, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Letter, DFAS-POCC/DE, dated 9 Jan 03, w/atchs.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 17 Jan 03.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, Applicant, dated 22 Jan 03




                             MICHAEL K. GALLOGLY
                                             Panel Chair

AFBCMR BC-2002-04043




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 APPLICANT, be corrected to show that on 6 January 2003, he
applied for a waiver of his indebtedness incurred as a result of
overpayment of his final separation pay and his application was approved by
competent authority.








  JOE G. LINEBERGER

  Director

  Air Force Review Boards Agency