RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:                       DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2004-00023
                                       INDEX CODE:  137.04
      XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX               COUNSEL: NONE

      XXXXXXXXXXXXX                     HEARING DESIRED:  YES

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her records be corrected to allow  her  to  provide  Survivor  Benefit  Plan
(SBP) coverage for her husband and to reflect her new married name.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

Her records should have reflected her status as single when she  retired  in
1993.  Additionally, she wants her current husband listed on her SBP.

In support of her application, she provides personal statements  and  copies
of  her  marriage  certificate,  divorce  decree,  correspondence  from  the
Defense Finance and Accounting  Service  (DFAS)  and  a  Leave  and  Earning
Statement (LES).  The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments,  is
at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 19 August 1974, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Air  Force  at  the
age of 21 in the grade of airman basic for a period of four years.  She  was
progressively promoted to the rank of technical sergeant effective and  with
a date of rank of 1 September 1990.

On 23 Mar 1992, a Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) found the applicant  unfit
for continued military service because of physical  disability  incurred  in
the line of duty.  The PEB recommended she be retired under  the  provisions
of Title 10, United States  Code,  Section  1202.   On  7  April  1992,  the
Secretary of  the  Air  Force  approved  the  applicant’s  transfer  to  the
Temporary Disability Retirement List (TDRL) effective  30  June  1992.   She
served 17 years, 10 months and 29 days on  active  duty.   On  27  September
1993, the Secretary of the Air Force directed the applicant be removed  from
the TDRL and transferred to the Permanent Disability Retirement List  (PDRL)
with a compensable percentage of 30%, effective 7 October 1993.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

ARPC/DPPTR addresses only the issue of SBP coverage.  DPPTR  recommends  the
applicant’s records be  corrected.   DPPTR  notes  that  a  member,  who  is
unmarried at retirement, may elect coverage  for  a  spouse  acquired  after
retiring.  However, the election must be made before the  first  anniversary
of the marriage.  DPPTR states that  according  to  the  documentation  they
have on file, even though the applicant  submitted  copies  of  her  earlier
divorce decree and her current marriage certificate to  the  finance  center
prior to the first anniversary  of  their  marriage,  she  did  not  clearly
express  she  wanted  to  provide  SBP  coverage  for  her  current  spouse.
Therefore, without a specific request to extend SBP coverage to her  current
spouse, the finance  center  did  not  establish  spouse  coverage.   It  is
DPPTR’s opinion that even though there is no evidence of an Air Force  error
in this case, they feel that in the interest  of  justice,  the  applicant’s
records should be corrected to show that she was unmarried and declined  SBP
coverage effective 29 June 1992, and on  3  August  2001,  she  submitted  a
valid request to provide SBP spouse coverage  based  on  full  retired  pay.
The DPPTR evaluation is at Exhibit C.

DPSFCM recommends the applicant’s requests  for  changes  to  her  name  and
marital status be denied.  DPSFCM notes that in accordance to  AFI  36-2608,
Military Personnel Records System, Table A7.2, Rule 2, a member  may  submit
a name change request by providing the original or  certified  copy  of  the
marriage,  divorce,  or  annulment  decree.   DPSFCM  states  the  applicant
submitted  non-certified  copies  of  her  divorce   decree   and   marriage
certificates.  Correspondence was sent to the applicant on 3 February  2004,
requesting the required documentation.  As of 7 April  2004,  the  applicant
had failed to provide their office with  the  necessary  documents.   It  is
DPSFCM’s opinion that since the documents are not an original  or  certified
copy of the original, they do not meet the legal requirements to be used  as
a source document for a change in the military personnel data  system.   The
DPSFCM evaluation is at Exhibit D.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the  applicant  on  16
April 2004 for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibit E).   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 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 probable error or injustice.   We  note  that  the  Air  Force
office of primary responsibility  for  SBP  coverage  recommends  providing
relief for that part of the applicant’s request  concerning  SBP  coverage,
while the Air Force office of primary responsibility for correcting marital
status and name  change  recommends  the  application  be  denied.    After
reviewing the  evidence  of  record,  we  note  that  while  the  applicant
submitted copies of her divorce decree and her marriage  certificate,  they
are not originals or certified copies of  the  originals;  therefore,  they
cannot legally be used as source documents to effect changes  to  her  name
and marital status at the time of her  retirement.   Should  the  applicant
submit the required source  documents,  this  Board  would  reconsider  her
requests, including her request pertaining  to  an  SBP  election  for  her
spouse.  In the absence of such evidence, we find no  compelling  basis  to
recommend granting the relief sought in this application.

4.  The applicant's case is adequately documented and it has not been  shown
that a personal appearance with or without counsel will  materially  add  to
our understanding of the issues involved.   Therefore,  the  request  for  a
hearing is not favorably considered.

_________________________________________________________________

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 this application in  Executive
Session on 20 July 2004, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Roscoe Hinton Jr., Panel Chair
      Mr. Michael J. Novel, Member
      Mr. Joseph A. Roj, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered in connection with  AFBCMR
Docket No. BC-2004-00023:

      Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, undated, with attachments.
      Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPTR, dated 8 Mar 04.
      Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPSFCM, dated 13 Apr 04.
      Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 16 Apr 04.




                                                   ROSCOE HINTON JR.
                                                   Panel Chair