RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBERS:  BC-2004-00223
            INDEX CODE 112.10  112.07
            COUNSEL:  None

            HEARING DESIRED:  No

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

One of the following remedies be granted so he may become eligible for
the $30,000 Career Status Bonus (CSB):

1.  His grade of technical sergeant (TSgt) be restored with a date  of
rank (DOR) of 1 Jul 98, or

2.  His grade of staff sergeant (SSgt) be restored with a DOR of 1 May
94, or

3.  His Total Active Federal Military Service (TAFMS) date be  changed
from Apr 88 to Sep 88, or

4.  The CSB be retroactively applied once he  is  selected  for  staff
sergeant (SSgt), or

5.  He be made eligible to reenlist as an exception to  High  Year  of
Tenure (HYT) policy.

[Note: Options #1 and #2 were considered  and  denied  in  an  earlier
AFBCMR appeal--See Statement of Facts below.]

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He is a senior airman (SRA) who will have 16 years of TAFMS in Apr 04.
He was reduced in grade from TSgt to airman basic by court-martial  in
Nov 01. He completed  the  Return  to  Duty  Program  (RTDP)  and  was
recently promoted to SRA through the AFBCMR process. He  currently  is
not eligible to reenlist because of HYT restrictions. Since he is  not
reenlistment eligible, he does not qualify for the CSB.  He  has  been
afforded the opportunity to test for SSgt in promotion cycle 04E5.  If
he is selected,  he  becomes  reenlistment  and  retirement  eligible.
However, by the time the promotion list is released, he will  be  past
his 16-year mark and will be ineligible for the CSB.  He  asks  to  be
made reenlistment eligible before he reaches his 16-year  mark  as  an
exception to HYT policy so that he may apply for the CSB. He  realizes
he put himself in this position due to  his  misconduct  but  he  also
believes  he  is  still  being  punished  by  not  being  allowed   to
participate in the CSB program.

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is  at  Exhibit
A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant’s TAFMS date is 14 Apr 88, according  to  his  1 Oct  03
Statement of Service.

A 19 Nov 01 general court-martial reduced the applicant from  TSgt  to
airman basic, confined him for 12 months, and sentenced him to  a  bad
conduct discharge (BCD). The charges  involved  dereliction  of  duty,
larceny, forgery, uttering bad checks, failing to pay a debt, and mail
theft. The applicant completed the RTDP and the BCD was  remitted.  He
was promoted to airman on 9 Apr 03 and would have reached his HYT on 2
Feb 04. This made him ineligible for promotion consideration to  SSgt.
In  a  15 May  03  appeal  to  the  AFBCMR,  the  applicant  requested
reinstatement to the grade of SSgt (DOR 1 May 94) so he would be  able
to reenlist and continue his career. Restoration to  SSgt  would  have
automatically restored him to the grade of TSgt. On  10  Sep  03,  the
Board did not restore his SSgt  grade  but  instead  promoted  him  to
senior airman effective 9 Apr 03 and waived the HYT restriction so  he
could be eligible for promotion consideration by the 04E5 cycle.

For an accounting of  the  facts  and  circumstances  surrounding  the
applicant’s earlier appeal and the rationale of that decision  by  the
Board, see the Record of Proceedings (ROP) at Exhibit C.

On 19 Nov 03, through a second AFBCMR action, the applicant was  given
a constructive reenlistment, reenlisting him on 1 Jan 03 for two years
and extending his HYT date to 31 Dec 04.

The Fiscal Year 2000 National Defense Authorization Act  (FY00  NDAA),
Public  Law  106-65,   changed   the   military   retirement   system.
Specifically, the change places those persons who first become members
of a Uniformed Service on or after 1 Aug 86 (as  determined  by  their
Date  of  Initial  Entry   into   Military   Service/Uniform   Service
(DIEMS/DIEUS)), under the High-3/50% retired plan unless they elect to
receive a $30,000 one-time lump-sum bonus on or about the 15th year of
active duty service. To receive the CSB, a member agrees to remain  on
active duty through 20 years of active service and to have retired pay
computed under the provisions of the 1986 Military  Retirement  Reform
Act (MRRA), commonly known as  REDUX.  These  changes  were  effective
1 Oct 99. [Note: The DIEUS was formerly known as the DIEMS.]

A member’s eligibility for the CSB hinges on the date he first  became
a member; if the DIEMS/DIEUS is before 1 Aug 86,  the  member  is  not
eligible for the CSB; if the entry date is after 1 Aug 86, the  member
is eligible. The member must also be eligible to reenlist.

The first day the applicant became a member of a Uniform Service was 7
Aug  86,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  Air  Force   Reserve   (Delayed
Entry/Enlistment Program (DEP)). Therefore, his DIEMS/DIEUS meets  the
CSB eligibility.

Summary:  The applicant’s DIEMS/DIEUS  meets  the  post-1 Aug  86  CSB
criteria. He reaches his 16-year point  on  14  Apr  04.  His  present
reenlistment (RE) code  of  4D  renders  him  ineligible  to  reenlist
because of HYT restrictions, i.e., he has not  yet  been  promoted  to
SSgt. Unless he is able to reenlist before 14 Apr 04, he will  not  be
eligible for  the  CSB.  The  16-year  restriction  is  determined  by
statute. He will test for the 04E5 cycle, but the results will not  be
released until  he  is  past  his  16-year  point.  If  selected,  the
applicant will be able to continue his career and become eligible  for
retirement, but if he remains ineligible to reenlist before he reaches
16 years, he forfeits the CSB.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPAE confirms the  applicant’s  RE  code  of  4D  is  correct
because he is a SRA with more than 9 but less than 16 years of  TAFMS.
He not reenlistment eligible.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit D.

HQ AFPC/DPPRR notes the applicant is not reenlistment eligible,  which
renders him ineligible for the CSB, and he will not become  enlistment
eligible prior to his 16th year of active service. Based on the Public
Law and governing directives, the applicant is not  eligible  for  the
CSB and may only become eligible if the  ineligibility  condition  has
been remedied prior to 16 years of active service.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit E.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant provides  various  options  for  relief.  He  especially
favors the first remedy listed  above  and  would  have  included  CSB
program information in his original appeal had he known it  was  going
to present a problem. Restoration to TSgt would remedy  his  situation
immediately as long as it occurs before his 16 year  TAFMS  date.   He
realizes he has gotten a second chance  and  he  wants  to  take  full
advantage of it. He respectfully requests his eligibility for the  CSB
be restored.

A complete copy of applicant’s response is at Exhibit G.

_________________________________________________________________

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  an  injustice  warranting  partial   relief.   The
applicant’s proposed remedies for restoration of his SSgt/TSgt  grades
were noted; however, he has not persuaded us to overturn our  original
decision denying those requests. Statute precludes  awarding  the  CSB
once a member  passes  the  16th  year  of  TAFMS,  and  changing  the
applicant’s TAFMS date is inappropriately complex  given  the  simpler
solution we recommend. We  believe  the  HYT  restrictions  should  be
waived  and  the  applicant  allowed  to  reenlist.  In  our  original
decision, our goal was to give him a realistic opportunity to continue
his career and/or attain retirement eligibility. We did not intend  to
whitewash his misbehavior to the extent of  reinstating  his  rank  of
SSgt and TSgt--the applicant should earn these grades  back.  However,
the applicant completed the rigorous RTDP and his  latest  performance
report reflects the highest praise and rating. Had he not run  out  of
time, he would have been eligible for the CSB. Depriving  him  of  the
$30,000 bonus seems to be an additional punishment not originally part
of his sentence. Therefore, we recommend the HYT restriction be waived
and the applicant’s constructive reenlistment on 1 Jan 03  be  changed
from a period of two years to six. This HYT waiver and additional four-
year term of enlistment would  satisfy  the  CSB  requirements  to  be
eligible to reenlist and to commit to 20 years of active service.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the  Department  of  the  Air  Force
relating to the APPLICANT, be corrected to  show  that,  on  1 January
2003, as an exception to High Year of Tenure policy, he reenlisted  in
the Regular Air Force for a period of six (6) years  rather  than  two
(2) years.

_________________________________________________________________

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

                 Mr. Thomas S. Markiewicz, Chair
                 Ms. Martha Maust, Member
                 Ms. Cheryl Jacobson, Member

All  members  voted  to  correct  the  records,  as  recommended.  The
following documentary evidence relating to AFBCMR  Docket  Number  BC-
2004-00223 was considered:

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 19 Jan 04, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  ROP dated 30 Sep 03.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPAE, dated 27 Jan 04.
   Exhibit E.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPRR, dated 28 Jan 04.
   Exhibit F.  SAF/MRBR, dated 6 Feb 04.
   Exhibit G.  Letter, Applicant, dated 19 Feb 04.





                                   THOMAS S. MARKIEWICZ
                                   Chair




AFBCMR BC-2004-00223




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, on 1 January 2003,
as an exception to High Year of Tenure policy, he reenlisted in the
Regular Air Force for a period of six (6) years rather than two (2)
years.





   JOE G. LINEBERGER

   Director

   Air Force Review Boards Agency