RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2004-01047
            INDEX CODE:  136.01

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED: NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He be granted a waiver of  four  months  of  the  six-year  qualifying
service  requirement  so  he  can  be  issued  a  20-year   retirement
certificate and be eligible for Reserve retirement at age 60.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was told on release from active duty that if he spent six years  in
a Reserve or Air National Guard (ANG) unit, that he would qualify  for
a retirement.  No one told him however, that the  six  years  required
were considered qualifying years based on his retirement  year  ending
date  of  July.   Consequently  he  served  six  years,  but  not  six
qualifying years.  His qualifying years total  five  years  and  eight
months.

His unit did not inform him of this requirement nor did they  seem  to
know of it as they issued his National Guard  Bureau  (NGB)  Form  22,
Report of Separation and Record of Service, as  a  Retirement  action.
He served honorably and was careful to coordinate any and all proposed
retirement actions.  Had he known he needed to remain on Reserve duty,
he certainly would have stayed until  July  2001.   As  a  career  Non
Commissioned Officer  (NCO)  he  possessed  both  the  experience  and
knowledge to seek assistance from those trained  to  give  advice  and
make recommendations for a person soon to retire with over 26 years of
loyal service.  He does not feel he should have  to  complete  another
full year of service to make up the four-month  shortfall  created  by
situations completely out of his control.  He is now 48-years-old  and
has made life decisions that would create extreme  hardships  for  his
family and himself should he have to complete a full year  of  Reserve
service at this point in his life.

In support of his appeal, the applicant has provided copies of an  Air
Force DD Form 214, Certificate of Release  or  Discharge  from  Active
Duty, an Army National Guard (ARNG) NGB Form 22, an ANG NGB  Form  22,
an honorable discharge order, a memorandum from Air Reserve  Personnel
Center (ARPC) regarding  time  necessary  to  retire  with  a  Reserve
retirement, a point credit summary, and contact information.

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

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant has completed 25 years of satisfactory federal  service;
however, he completed only five years, of the required last six years,
of qualifying service in a Reserve component.  He enlisted in the  Air
Force Reserve (AFRES) on 15 July 1974 and then  served  with  the  Air
Force from 7 October 1974 to 15  March  1994  where  he  completed  19
years, 5 months, and 9 days of active service.  On 16 March  1994,  he
was transferred to the AFRES in a  non-participating  status.   On  30
March 1995, he enlisted in the Oregon Army  National  Guard  (ORARNG).
He transferred to the California ANG (CAANG) on 16 February  2000  and
participated until 30 March 2001 when  he  again  transferred  to  the
AFRES in a non-participating status.  He is currently assigned to  the
Non-Affiliated Reserve Section (NARS).  NARS  is  a  non-participating
status.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

ARPC/DPP  recommends  denial.   The  applicant’s  Retention/Retirement
(R/R) year was established as  July  to  July.   He  transferred  from
active duty to AFRES on 16 March 1994 and did not participate until he
enlisted in the ORARNG on 30 March 1995.  Therefore from 30 March 1995
to the end of his R/R year (14 July 1995) he accrued only ten  points.
50 points are necessary  for  a  year  to  be  considered  a  year  of
satisfactory service.  For every year he served and did not accrue  50
points, between July and July, he was not credited with a satisfactory
year.  From 15 July 1995  through  14  July  2000  he  completed  five
satisfactory years of service.  However, for the period  15 July  2000
to 30 March 2001, the date of his separation from the CAANG, he earned
only four points.  DPP states the applicant has not completed the last
six years of satisfactory service in a Reserve component  as  required
by law.  He is not eligible to retire under Title  10,  United  States
Code (U.S.C.), Section 12731.  Additionally,  the  Reserve  qualifying
service requirement cannot be waived.

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

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 7
May 2004 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.  Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the
existence of error or injustice. While the applicant was not  provided
official notification that he was eligible for retired pay at age  60,
the evidence provided persuades the Board that he was led  to  believe
that when he was discharged from the ANG he met all  requirements  for
eligibility for retirement.  In this respect, we note  that  NGB  Form
22, discharge document, states that the reason for his  discharge  was
retirement.  In addition, Special Order  #  AD-304,  states  that  the
applicant was being discharged so that he could apply for  retirement.
It appears the appropriate Air Force  officials  were  and  still  are
uncertain as to how much service time the applicant has  accrued.   In
this respect, we note the letter the  applicant  received  in  October
2003, stating that he is not  eligible  for  retired  pay  at  age  60
because he needs two additional years.  However, based on the advisory
opinion we received with this appeal, he  only  needs  one  additional
year.  We note too that the applicant has served on active  duty  with
the Army, in the Army Guard and  now  with  the  ANG  which  may  have
contributed to the miscalculation.  Under the  circumstances  of  this
case and since he only  needed  an  additional  31  points  to  obtain
eligibility for a Reserve retirement,  it  is  inconceivable  that  he
would have elected to be discharged prior to obtaining the  additional
points.  Based on the above findings, we  believe  the  applicant  has
established that he was  miscounseled;  therefore,  we  recommend  his
records   be   corrected    to    the    extent    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:

         a. He was credited with an additional thirty-one (31) non-
 paid inactive duty points for retention/retirement year 15 July 2000
 to 14 July 2001, resulting in 50 total points; and, that the period
 15 July 2000 to 14 July 2001 is a year of satisfactory Federal
 service.


            b. On 15 July 2001, he  was  transferred  to  the  Retired
Reserve, eligible  for  Reserve  retired  pay  at  age  60  under  the
provisions of Title 10, U.S.C., Section 12731.
______________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-
2004-01047 in Executive Session on 16 June 2004, under the  provisions
of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Michael K. Gallogly, Panel Chair
      Mr. Michael J. Novel, Member
      Ms. Olga M. Crerar, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 25 Mar 04, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, ARPC/DPP, dated 29 Apr 04, w/atchs.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 7 May 04.



                                   MICHAEL K. GALLOGLY
                                   Panel Chair


AFBCMR BC-2004-01047




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:

           a. He was credited with an additional thirty-one (31) non-
 paid inactive duty points for retention/retirement year 15 July 2000
 to 14 July 2001, resulting in 50 total points; and, that the period
 15 July 2000 to 14 July 2001 is a year of satisfactory Federal
 service.


            b. On 15 July 2001, he was transferred to the Retired
Reserve and is eligible for Reserve retired pay at age 60 under the
provisions of Title 10, U.S.C., Section 12731.





     JOE G. LINEBERGER

     Director

     Air Force Review Boards Agency