RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  02-02517
            INDEX CODE:  102.01

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  YES

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His Date of Initial Entry to Uniformed Service (DIEUS) be changed from
4 November 1980 to 2 September 1980.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was awarded a  4-year  Air  Force  Reserve  Office  Training  Corps
(AFROTC) scholarship in 1980 and started college on 2 September  1980.
DIEUS for AFROTC 4-year scholarship cadets is defined as the first day
of the first year of school (the beginning of the  ROTC  commissioning
program for scholarship cadets).  Errors by AFROTC delayed the  filing
of paperwork for completion of his Enlistment Contract, thus  creating
an incorrect DIEUS.  AFROTC rightfully corrected his  scholarship  (he
received full “back-pay”) to the  beginning  of  the  school  year  to
include reimbursement for his books, tuition and monthly pay), but his
DIEUS was not corrected.  He was told at that time his DIEUS  was  not
important but  this  date  is  now  important  to  him  as  he  should
rightfully fall under the “Final Basic Pay” retirement vs.  the  “High
3” system he is now under due to this incorrect DIEUS.  The Department
of Defense changed the retirement system for  personnel  entering  the
military after 8 September 1980, well after his 1984 commissioning  in
the Air Force.

He attempted to secure additional proof  for  his  4-year  scholarship
beginning on 2 September 1980 and was told specific cadet  information
from that long ago was unavailable.  His college transcripts show  his
attendance at college and ROTC started on 2 September 1980.

In support of  his  application,  the  applicant  provided  copies  of
correspondence between  himself,  civilian  and  military  authorities
concerning  the  matter  under  review.   The   applicant’s   complete
submission is at Exhibit A.

________________________________________________________________



STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant enlisted in the Air  Force  Reserve,  Obligated  Reserve
Section (ORS) on 4 November 1980 for a period  of  eight  years.   The
purpose for the enlistment was the applicant’s  participation  in  the
AFROTC and the College Scholarship Program (CSP).  In his  application
for appointment, completed on 20 October 1983, the applicant indicated
he was a university student from 9 September  1980  to  20  May  1984.
Having been discharged from enlisted  status,  on  19  May  1984,  the
applicant was appointed a second lieutenant, Reserve of the Air Force,
and was voluntarily ordered to extended active duty on 10 August 1984.
 The applicant has continued to serve on active duty since  that  date
and has  been  progressively  promoted  to  the  grade  of  lieutenant
colonel.  Information maintained in the Personnel  Data  System  (PDS)
indicates that his Total Years Service Date (TYSD),  Paydate  and  his
Total Federal Commissioned Service Date (TFCSD) is 19 May 1984.

________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPAO  states  that  based  on  the  governing  directives,   the
applicant’s Date of Initial Entry into Uniformed Service  (DIEUS)  was
established correctly based on his entry into the  USAFR  (ORS)  on  4
November  1980.   Therefore,  they  recommend  denial  of  applicant’s
request.  However, if the decision is to grant the relief sought,  the
records should be changed to reflect a DIEUS date of 2 September 1980.


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

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant states that he agrees with AFPC’s summary of  his  basis
for request except for their final statement, “…there was a  delay  in
signing the required paperwork needed to make the  correction  to  his
DIEUS.”  He states, actually, there was  an  AFROTC-induced  delay  in
processing his four-year scholarship award delaying his signing  of  a
DD Form 4, thus creating  his  current,  inaccurate  4  November  1980
DIEUS.

Second, he does not agree with their conclusion, “Based  on  governing
directives, the applicant’s DIEUS date was established correctly.”  He
refers to AFI 36-2604 (Atch 2), Table 1, Rule 13 stating in part  that
the DIEUS is computed “from the date  of…enlistment…as  a  scholarship
cadet.”  He began and was paid for his  enlistment  as  a  scholarship
cadet when he entered the Penn State University AFROTC  program  on  2
September 1980.  Although he signed his DD Form 4  on  4  November,  2
September is his true date of enlistment, and should be  reflected  in
his official military records.

When all facts are assembled in his case, he believes a  mistake  will
be seen, which will result in an injustice that needs to be corrected.
 In 1980, AFROTC personnel advised him the date he signed the DD  Form
4 was inconsequential to any official matters.  The date, in  essence,
was meaningless to him until the DOD  established  that  all  military
personnel with a DIEUS of 8 September 1980  and  after  would  receive
“High 3” versus “Full Pay” retirement benefits.  He  rightfully  falls
under the “Full Pay” system.

A copy of applicant’s  response,  with  attachments,  is  attached  at
Exhibit E.

________________________________________________________________

ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

On 18 March 2004, applicant’s case was returned to  SAF/MRBR  and  the
appropriate OPR for further review and a determination as  to  whether
administrative relief is possible with respect to the issue raised  in
his  appeal.   The  applicant  was  informed  his   case   was   being
administratively closed and returned to the Air Force Personnel Center
for a determination as to whether administrative  relief  is  possible
(Exhibit F).

AFPC/DPPAOR states that  the  only  appropriate  document  they  would
consider and accept as proof of enrollment in the ROTC  program  would
be a copy of the DD Form 4.  The applicant did not provide a  copy  of
this document.  The documents he provided do not  reflect  entry  into
the  ROTC  program,  but  only  reflect  dates  pertaining  to  school
enrollment and class start dates.

A copy of their evaluation is at Exhibit G.

AF/JA states that DIEUS is a fixed date reflecting  service  from  the
date of initial acceptance of commission, appointment or enlistment in
any branch  of  the  Armed  Forces  (Regular  or  Reserve;  active  or
inactive).  AFI 36-2604, Service Dates and Dates  of  Rank,  Table  1,
Rule 13.  Applicant’s DIEUS is correct.  DIEUS, as it relates to  ROTC
cadets, reflects enlistment  in  the  reserves  as  part  of  an  ROTC
contract.  DIEUS is the enlistment date, not the date of attendance at
ROTC  functions  or  college  classes.   Even   if   the   applicant’s
unsubstantiated statements regarding intended earlier enlistment  were
substantiated, that  still  would  not  change  his  DIEUS  since  the
enlistment did not occur until 4 November 1980.

A copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit H.

_______________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S ADDITIONAL REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant states that AFPC/DP does have a copy of his DD Form  4  that
was supplied with their 3 August 2002  advisory  opinion.   Much  more
importantly, the basis for his case is  the  DD  Form  4  inaccurately
reflects his actual enlistment in ROTC and should not be used as proof
of enrollment in the ROTC  program.   He  understands  and  has  never
contested he signed his DD Form 4 on 4 November 1980; he remembers the
event.  He continues to contend, however, the 4 November 1980  signing
was delayed wholly due  to  AFROTC  errors  processing  his  four-year
scholarship award, which the USAF awarded him in the spring  of  1980.
This delay wrongly postponed his signing of  a  DD  Form  4  from  his
2 September 1980 ROTC start to 4  November  1980.   This  created  his
current, inaccurate 4 November 1980 DIEUS.  Therefore, he  contends  2
September 1980 should be his true date of enlistment,  and  should  be
reflected in his official military records.

He agrees with AFPC/JA’s definition of DIEUS.  He accepted, began  and
was paid for his enlistment as a scholarship  cadet  when  he  entered
Penn State and the AFROTC  program  on  2  September  1980.   Although
AFROTC errors delayed the processing of his scholarship and  thus  the
signing of the DD Form 4, he contends he fully met  all  the  criteria
intended in this AFI for a 2 September 1980 DIEUS.

He disagrees with AFPC/JA’s closing statement  in  their  letter.   He
believes that if the Board finds, based on the proof  he  can  provide
along with his own personal testimony, that his proper enlistment date
should be 2 September 1980, his  DIEUS  should  be  corrected  from  4
November 1980 to 2 September 1980.

He takes using the Board’s time and  resources  very  seriously.   The
correction of his DIEUS, not of any consequence when he signed the  DD
Form 4, is now important.  The date essentially was meaningless to him
until the DoD recently established that all military personnel with  a
DIEUS of 8 September 1980 and after would receive High 3  versus  full
pay retirement benefits.  He believes he  rightfully  fall  under  the
full pay system.

A copy of applicant’s response is at Exhibit J.

________________________________________________________________

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.    Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented  to  demonstrate
the existence of error or injustice.  In this  respect,  we  note  the
DIEUS for AFROTC 4-year scholarship cadets is defined as the first day
of the first year of school (the beginning of the  ROTC  commissioning
program for scholarship cadets).  The applicant contends  that  errors
by AFROTC delayed the filing of paperwork for his scholarship and  the
completion of his DD Form 4, Enlistment  Contract,  thus  creating  an
incorrect DIEUS.  Applicant also contends that  HQ  AFROTC  rightfully
corrected his  scholarship  and  he  received  full  back-pay  to  the
beginning of the school year to include reimbursement for  his  books,
tuition, and his $100/month pay, but his DIEUS was not corrected.   He
further states AFROTC detachment personnel at  Penn  State  University
told him, as a young cadet, it was  not  a  date  of  any  significant
importance.  Based on the information contained in the case  file,  we
believe that the applicant has been the victim of injustice.  In  view
of the misleading information and  since  the  delayed  of  filing  of
paperwork was of no fault of the  applicant,  we  do  not  believe  he
should be penalized.  Therefore, we  recommend  his  Date  of  Initial
Entry to Uniformed Service (DIEUS) be adjusted to 2 September 1980.

________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the  Department  of  the  Air  Force
relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that his Date  of  Initial
Entry to Uniformed Service (DIEUS) be established as 2 September 1980,
rather than 4 November 1980.

________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered Docket  Number  BC-2002-
02517 in Executive Session on 30 September 2004, under the  provisions
of AFI 36-2603:

                  Mr. Edward H. Parker, Panel Chair
                  Ms. Deborah A. Erickson, Member
              Ms. Janet I. Hassan, Member

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

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 29 Jul 02, w/atch.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPAO, dated 3 Aug 02, 2/atchs.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 6 Sep 02.
   Exhibit E.  Applicant’s Response, dated 27 Sep 02, w/atch.
   Exhibit F.  Memorandum, dated 18 Mar 04, w/atch.
   Exhibit G.  Letter, AFPC/DPPAOR, dated 9 Jul 04.
   Exhibit H.  Memorandum, JA, dated 29 Jun 04.
   Exhibit I.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 16 Jul 04.
   Exhibit J.  Applicant’s Response, dated 23 Jul 04.




                                   EDWARD H. PARKER
                                   Panel Chair




AFBCMR BC-2002-02517




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 his Date of Initial
Entry to Uniformed Service (DIEUS) be, and hereby is, established
as 2 September 1980, rather than 4 November 1980.






            JOE G. LINEBERGER
            Director
            Air Force Review Boards Agency