RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-02423
            INDEX CODE:  128.12

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED: NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

The date for modification of her orders and pay be adjusted to reflect
payment of Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH)-I entitlement for a  179-
day tour of active duty with the Pacific Air Command Air Force (PACAF)
Reserve Affairs Office.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The intent to hire her for a 179-day tour, for which she was  entitled
to BAH-1, was clear to all  parties.   Administrative  delays  by  the
Hawaii Air National Guard (HI ANG) in processing her waiver  to  amend
her tour length from 139 days to 179 days enabled her entitlement only
to BAH-II instead of BAH-I.

In support of her appeal, the  applicant  has  provided  a  background
paper on BAH-I, a letter of support from PACAF/RE, a pertinent  e-mail
trail, a timeline, HI ANG staff summary sheets regarding her tour, and
copies of orders.

Her complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant, a member of the HI ANG, began  a  179-day  active  duty
tour with the PACAF/RE office at Hickam AFB, HI from 1 Nov  02  to  28
Apr 03.  However, the tour could only be approved  initially  for  139
days with the option to waive policy and extend the tour to 179  days.
The 139-day tour entitles the applicant to BAH-II and the 179-day tour
entitles the applicant to BAH-I.  The difference between the  two  BAH
rates to the applicant, in this case, was approximately $3,900 in lost
BAH entitlements.

Approval of the waiver to extend  the  tour  requires  that  140  days
remain on the tour after extending it to 179 days.  Consequently,  her
original order would have to have been amended to read 179 days  prior
to 10 December 2002.  Her order was amended on 13 December  2002  that
left less than the required 140 days remaining on her tour.   She  was
therefore entitled only to BAH-II.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

ANG/DPPI recommends  denial.   DPPI  cites  DODFRM,  Vol  7A,  Chapter
260201, which, under Duration of Orders,  states:  “Reserve  Component
members called or ordered to active duty for  139  days  or  less  are
entitled to BAH-II, except as provided in subparagraph B  (Contingency
Operations).  However, if a member receives an order  modification  or
extension of assignment, the prospective (new) period of  active  duty
must be 140 days or  more  and  BAH-I  would  start  on  the  date  of
modification.”  DPPI states the waiver was not approved prior  to  the
139-day point, nor was there an administrative  oversight  in  cutting
the orders causing a delay.

DPPI’s complete evaluation, with attachment, is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant, with all respect, states the  DPPI  advisory  does  not
address the main crux of her argument and it ignores the  majority  of
the documentation she submitted as evidence.   She  contends  she  has
submitted strong evidence showing  there  were  administrative  delays
that caused her waiver request to be delayed.   She  states  the  DPPI
advisory did not address the evidence she submitted in the form  of  a
letter from PACAF/RE substantiating the facts of her contentions.  The
PACAF/RE letter does state the waiver request was not submitted  in  a
timely manner and it does corroborate  several  administrative  delays
that took place during the processing of the waiver.  She contends the
administrative clerk responsible for handling her waiver  request  was
negligent in that it took him 34 days to submit it, and when approved,
another 13 days  to  forward  the  approval  to  her  unit  where  the
amendment to her orders would take place.  She  contends  he  did  not
follow the direction of his commander who  has  stated  he  asked  the
clerk to submit the waiver for tour extension immediately at the start
of applicant’s tour.  She does not feel she should be penalized for an
administrative error and respectfully askes the Board  to  review  her
case and correct her record in a way that is fair and just.

_________________________________________________________________

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.   Policy  dictates  that  personnel
selected for active duty tours be initially  hired  for  139-days  and
then  extended,  via  waiver,  to  179-days.   The  hiring   authority
indicates he ordered applicant’s tour to be extended immediately  upon
the beginning of her 139-day tour.  It

appears the waiver process took an inordinate and excessive amount  of
time to complete and led to her losing her eligibility for entitlement
to the higher BAH-I rate.  Therefore, we recommend that the records be
corrected as 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 Special Order (SO) RW-
32, extending her 139 day tour to 179 days, was effective on 6
December 2002 rather than 17 January 2003, with entitlement to BAH-I.

______________________________________________________________

The following members of the  Board  considered  this  application  in
Executive Session on 2 March 2004, under the  provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

      Mr. Roscoe Hinton, Jr, Panel Chair
      Ms. Martha A. Maust, Member
      Ms. Carolyn B. Willis, Member

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

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 25 Jun 03, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, ANG/DPPI, dated 7 Nov 03, w/atch.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 21 Nov 03.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 4 Dec 03, w/atch.




                                   ROSCOE HINTON, JR
                                   Panel Chair



                         DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
                                WASHINGTON DC




[pic]
Office Of The Assistant Secretary





BC-2003-02423




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 Special Order
(SO) RW-32, extending her 139 day tour to 179 days, was effective on 6
December 2002 rather than 17 January 2003, with entitlement to BAH-I.







     JOE G. LINEBERGER

     Director

     Air Force Review Boards Agency