RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2004-03278
            INDEX CODE:  110.00

            COUNSEL:  None

            HEARING DESIRED: No

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His records be corrected to allow him to receive an Initial Enlistment
Bonus (IEB)

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

When he enlisted in the Air Force his enlistment agreement  stated  he
would receive an IEB of no less than $5,000.00.  He  changed  his  Air
Force Specialty (AFS) Code from satellite operations to communications
operation.  He was told he would now receive a bonus of $6,000.00 upon
successful completion of  his  technical  training.   He  successfully
completed his  training  and  submitted  the  necessary  paperwork  to
receive his bonus.  A few weeks passed and when he  had  not  received
his bonus he made an appointment with the finance office to check  the
status of his bonus.  He was told by finance that due to his  changing
his AFSC while in technical school he would not be receiving a  bonus.
He requested on several occasions to see the  regulations  showing  he
was not eligible to receive an IEB, but was informed that  there  were
no  regulations  regarding  bonuses  and  that  all  the   information
regarding his bonus was on his enlistment agreement.

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

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 23 September 2003 for a
period of six years as an airman basic (AB).  He is currently  serving
on active duty in the grade of airman first class (A1C).

On 23 September 2003, the applicant signed and initialed Air Form (AF)
3005 (Guaranteed Aptitude Area Enlistment Agreement Non-Prior  Service
- United States Air Force) and AF Form 3008 (Supplement to  Enlistment
Agreement - United States Air Force) in the Air Force Specialty  (AFS)
2E131 acknowledging he understood the  terms  and  conditions  of  his
enlistment  agreement.   The  applicant  was  disqualified  from   the
electronics  AFS   and   reclassified   to   the   AFS   of   computer
communications.  He successfully completed the technical  training  in
computer communications.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPAE states initial enlistment bonuses are  used  to  aid  in
meeting recruitment needs of the Air Force, with effective  dates  and
amounts that are subject to change to meet specific recruiting  goals.
The IEB eligibility is  determined  by  the  servicemember’s  Date  of
Enlistment (DOE) and successful completion of technical  training  for
the career field in which the servicemember enlisted.   The  applicant
was disqualified from the electronics career field  before  completion
of technical training and was reclassified in the AFSC 3C031 (computer
communications)  which  at  the  time  did  not  offer  a  bonus.   HQ
AFPC/DPPAE recommends the applicant’s request be denied since  he  did
not meet the requirements for payment of the bonus due  to  his  being
disqualified from the career field in the  initial  enlistment  career
field.

A complete copy of the Air Force evaluation is attached at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant  reviewed  the  Air  Force  evaluation  and  states  the
contract he  signed  stated  he  would  receive  a  minimum  bonus  of
$5,000.00 at the arrival of his first duty station.  It further stated
he understood if he voluntarily  or  because  of  misconduct  did  not
complete the term of obligated service for which the bonus was paid or
should he not maintain qualification in the awarded bonus AFSC, he may
be required to pay the unearned portion of  the  bonus.   He  believes
this is open to interpretation and he did not change  courses  because
of misconduct or voluntary reasons, he simply had  to  change  courses
because in tech-school
there was not enough funding for courses, so he was  forced  to  learn
material, do the book work associated with the material and test on it
all in one day.  Also, the recruiter and people who enlisted  when  he
did told him the bonus for the AFSC 3C0X1 was $6,000.00 (Exhibit E).

_________________________________________________________________

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 an  error  or  injustice.   We  took  notice  of  the
applicant's complete submission in judging the  merits  of  the  case;
however, we agree with the opinion and recommendation of the Air Force
and adopt its rationale as the  basis  for  our  conclusion  that  the
applicant has not been the victim of an error or injustice.  The Board
notes the applicant signed and initialed an enlistment  agreement  for
payment of an $5,000.00 Initial Enlistment Bonus  upon  completion  of
technical training in the Air Force  Specialty  Code  2E131.   He  was
disqualified from this career field  before  completion  of  technical
training and was reclassified into the Air Force Specialty Code 3C031,
which did not have an enlistment bonus at that  time.   The  applicant
has not established that he met the contractual requirements  for  the
Initial Enlistment Bonus payment  in  his  initial  enlistment  career
field.  In view of the above and in the absence  of  evidence  to  the
contrary, we find no compelling basis to grant the requested relief.

_________________________________________________________________

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 AFBCMR Docket Number BC-
2004-03278  in  Executive  Session  on  15  February  2005  under  the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                       Mr. Robert S. Boyd, Panel Chair
                       Mr. Robert H. Altman, Member
                       Ms. Martha A. Maust, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

      Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 14 Oct 04, w/atchs.
      Exhibit B. Microfiche.
      Exhibit C. Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPAE, dated 2 Dec 04.
      Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 10 Dec 04.
      Exhibit E. Letter, Applicant’s Response, undated.




                                        ROBERT S. BOYD
                             Panel Chair