RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-03756
            INDEX CODE:  128.10
            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her debt for overpayment of Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) be remitted.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

She entered the Air Force with a civilian spouse and  one  child.   She  was
notified that her spouse had filed for a divorce shortly after entering  the
Air Force.  Upon arrival at her first duty station she  was  placed  in  the
dormitory on a space-available basis since  her  orders  indicated  she  was
married  with  a  child.   While  inprocessing  she  notified  the  Military
Personnel Flight (MPF) and  the  Finance  office  that  she  was  pending  a
divorce.  She was advised that as long as she was providing support for  her
son she would continue to stay in the  dorm  and  receive  BAH.   After  her
divorce was finalized in September 1999, she provided the  MPF  and  Finance
office with a copy of her divorce paperwork.   Her  ex-husband  has  primary
custody of their child.  She inquired and was again  advised  that  she  was
authorized to receive BAH while staying in the  dorm  as  long  as  she  was
paying child support.  In January  2001,  she  received  a  printout,  which
indicated she was married but not that  she  had  a  dependent  child.   She
inquired about the problem  and  was  advised  that  when  she  updated  her
information in DEERS, the PC-III database  had  not  updated  because  of  a
glitch in the system.  She was later informed by  the  Finance  office  that
her pay was incorrect and a debt was established.  She submitted  a  request
for remission of her debt.  She had to resubmit her  request  several  times
because it kept being lost.  After approximately two years, her request  was
denied by DFAS stating that she had knowledge that she was  being  overpaid.


After the birth of her second  child,  she  and  her  fiancée  went  to  the
Finance office to update the information  on  her  second  child.   She  was
advised since she already had a dependent she would have to add  the  second
child's name to prevent from being paid for  two  dependents.   The  updates
never happened.  After  she  arrived  at  her  next  duty  station  she  was
informed that she should have been collecting dependent pay  as  opposed  to
BAQ-DIFF, a difference of approximately $10 a month.  She was back-paid  for
the with-dependent pay and a debt was established for the BAQ-DIFF.

The debt she has incurred  has  created  a  financial  hardship.   The  most
current debt has been paid leaving her with the original  debt.   She  feels
she is being financially burdened for years of  being  misinformed  and  her
case is being mishandled.

In support of her request,  applicant  provided  a  personal  statement  and
documentation associated with her request  for  remission  of  indebtedness.
Her complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Data extracted from the Personnel Data System reflects  that  the  applicant
enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 27 Jan 99 and  has  been  progressively
promoted  to  the  grade  of  staff  sergeant,  having  assumed  that  grade
effective and with a date of rank of 1 Aug 02.  In January 2001, a debt  was
established for overpayment of BAH at the with-dependent rate in the  amount
of $9,420.41.  The applicant was authorized BAH-DIFF  (differential)  during
the period she was receiving BAH at the with-dependent  rate  and  was  paid
$2,253.  Payment of her debt was suspended from February 2001  through  July
2003 pending the outcome of her waiver request.  The current balance of  her
debt is $4,205.  In  July  2003,  an  additional  debt  for  overpayment  of
variable housing allowance (VHA) between 1 Jul 01 through 14 Nov 01, in  the
amount of $1,387 was established.  The balance on that debt is $1,132.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

DFAS-POSS/DE recommends denial.  DFAS states that the  applicant  reasonably
could not expect to receive with dependent spouse BAH after her divorce  was
final.  Since she was receiving her Leave and Earning Statements (LESs)  she
had a responsibility to review them and would have seen that she  was  being
paid BAH for a spouse that she did not have.  She should have  reported  the
discrepancy to the finance office.  She also could  not  expect  to  receive
BAH with dependent spouse BAH when she had no housing costs.  When the  debt
was discovered in January 2001, she was credited  with  $2,253.68  for  BAH-
DIFF.  Even though she was aware that she had a debt for the  with-dependent
BAH, she did not apply these funds against that debt.  The  DFAS  evaluation
is at Exhibit B.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on  5  Dec
03 for review and comment within 30 days.  As of this date, this office  has
received no response.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

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

2.  The application was timely filed.

3.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence of  error  or  injustice.   We  took  notice  of  the  applicant's
complete submission in judging the merits of the case;  however,  the  Board
majority agrees with the Air Force office  of  primary  responsibility  that
the applicant reasonably could not  expect  to  receive  BAH  at  the  with-
dependent rate once her divorce was  finalized  and  that  she  should  have
questioned  this  and  reported  the  discrepancy  to  her  Finance  office.
Therefore, the Board majority adopts their rationale as the basis for  their
conclusion that the applicant has  not  been  the  victim  of  an  error  or
injustice.  In the absence of  persuasive  evidence  to  the  contrary,  the
Board majority finds no compelling basis to recommend  granting  the  relief
sought in this application.

_________________________________________________________________

RECOMMENDATION OF THE BOARD:

A majority of the panel finds insufficient evidence of  error  or  injustice
and recommends the application be denied.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered  Docket  Number  BC-2003-03756
in Executive Session on 17 Feb 04, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Ms. Marilyn Thomas, Vice Chair
      Ms. Martha J. Evans, Member
      Mr. Charles E. Bennett, Member

By a majority vote, the Board voted to deny the request.   Ms.  Evans  voted
to correct the record and submits a minority report  which  is  attached  at
Exhibit D.  The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 14 Aug 03, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Letter, DFAS-POSS-DE, dated 25 Nov 03.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 5 Dec 03.
    Exhibit D.  Minority Report, dated 23 Feb 04.




                                             MARILYN THOMAS
                                             Vice Chair



MEMORANDUM FOR THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AIR FORCE BOARD
               FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS (AFBCMR)

SUBJECT:  AFBCMR Application

      I have carefully reviewed the evidence of record and the
recommendation of the Board members.  A majority found that the applicant
had not provided sufficient evidence of error or injustice and recommended
the case be denied.  I concur with that finding and their conclusion that
relief is not warranted.  Accordingly, I accept their recommendation that
the application be denied.

      Please advise the applicant accordingly.




                                        JOE G. LINEBERGER
                                        Director
                                        Air Force Review Boards
Agency