RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2005-01888
            INDEX CODE:  121.03

      XXXXXXX    COUNSEL:  NONE

      XXXXXXX    HEARING DESIRED: NO


MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  17 DEC 2006


___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Sixty (60) days of leave be restored to his  leave  account  as  of
1 Oct 04 and that he be entitled to sell  his  leave  back  on  his
retirement effective date of 1 May 05.

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

While assigned to the Defense Attaché  Office  (DAO),  he  inquired
about his leave status from his unit personnel specialist  and  was
advised that he would not loose any leave because he  was  assigned
in an area that received Imminent Danger Pay.  He attempted to take
leave; however, due to ongoing local crisis and medical  situations
in the office, he had to request his position be back-filled in his
absence.  He was medically evacuated five times while  assigned  at
the DAO.

He submitted a request for Special Leave Accrual (SLA); however, it
was disapproved because the supporting documentation did  not  meet
the requirements of AFI 36-3003, para 10.9.3.

Applicant states, as of 1 Jan 05, he had a  leave  balance  of  125
days, while out-processing he elected to sell-back 60 days and take
51  days  as  terminal  leave,  in  conjunction  with  30  days  of
permissive temporary duty (TDY).  While on terminal  leave  he  was
notified that the leave he accrued while assigned to DAO  had  been
taken from him.  He  was  advised  that  the  Defense  Finance  and
Accounting Service (DFAS) had purged their system and  removed  all
leave in excess of 60 days because there was  no  justification  to
carry them forward.

In support of his appeal, applicant submitted a personal statement;
copies of his Leave and Earnings Statement (LES)  for  the  periods
ending 31 Oct 02,  03,  04,  31  Jan  05,  and  28  Feb  05;  email
correspondence between him and his unit,  and  an  extract  of  his
Master Military Pay Account (MMPA).

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

___________________________________________________________________


STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant entered active duty on  23  Aug  82  and  had  continuous
honorable service until his retirement effective 1 May 05.  He  was
progressively promoted to the grade of chief master  sergeant  with
an effective date and date of rank of 1 Dec 99.

Based on information from applicant’s MMPA:

      Applicant’s Actual Leave balance on  his  MMPA  reflected  he
carried forward a balance of 79 days at the end of Fiscal Year (FY)
02; he had a balance of 96 days at the end of FY03 and lost 6  days
at FY04; he brought forward 90 days in FY04, and lost  46  days  at
FY05; he brought forward 60 days at FY05 and at  the  time  of  his
retirement he had an excess leave balance of 3.5 days.

      If computed with entitlement to Special Leave Accrual  (SLA),
his account reflects a balance of 79 days of leave at  the  end  of
FY02; he brought forward 79 days of leave in FY03, and lost 6  days
at FY04; he brought forward 90 days in FY04, and lost  16  days  at
FY05; he brought forward  90  at  FY05  and  at  the  time  of  his
retirement he had a balance of 26.5 days owed the applicant.

___________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ  AFPC/DPSFF  recommended  restoring  60  days  of  leave.    The
applicant received notification from his local finance office  that
DFAS has purged their system and removed all leave in excess of  60
days because there was no justification given to  carry  the  leave
forward.  The applicant was deployed to an imminent danger area and
was unable to take his accrued leave.  They recommended that due to
the fact that the applicant lost  a  total  of  72  days  of  leave
between FY03 and FY05, 60 days of leave should be restored.

AFI  36-3003,  Military  Leave  Program  states  in  part  member’s
application must clearly establish that an error  or  injustice  by
the Air Force caused the member’s lost leave.   Additionally,  para
4.1.4., Use of Leave, recommends member be given the opportunity to
take at least one leave period of 14 consecutive days or more  each
FY and encourages them to use the 30 days of leave they accrue each
year.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit C.

___________________________________________________________________

ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

DFAS/POCC/DE reviewed this application and provided  the  following
analysis:

Department of  Defense  Financial  Management  Regulation  (DODFMR)
Vol 7A, Chapter 35, section 350102 states a member  may  not  carry
forward a leave balance of more than 60  days  into  a  new  fiscal
year, except when entitled to SLA.  A member who serves  on  active
duty while entitled to  hostile  fire/imminent  danger  pay  for  a
continuous period of at least 120 days may carry forward up  to  90
days of leave into the new fiscal year.  This unused leave  may  be
carried forward until the end of the third  fiscal  year  following
the fiscal year in which the  service  in  the  qualifying  hostile
fire/imminent danger area is terminated.

A review of applicant’s MMPA  reveals  he  had  an  entitlement  to
Hostile Fire Pay (HFP) for the period 1 Mar 02 through 25  Aug  04.
His beginning leave balance as of 1 Oct 01 (FY02) was 60  days  and
in Jan 02, ten days of Special Leave Accrual (SLA) were restored to
his leave balance.  He carried forward more than the normal 60 days
allowed for FY03 and FY04.  In FY05,  the  applicant  only  carried
forward 60 days based on actual leave on MMPA.

Second computation of MMPA shows the leave balance had the 90  days
been brought forward in FY05.  Applicant’s entitlement to HFP ended
in FY04; therefore he should have been able  to  carry  forward  90
days into FY05.   Based  on  leave  computation  and  DODFMR,  they
recommend 26.5 days of leave be restored to his MMPA

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit E.

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATIONS:

Applicant states that  the  data  or  its  origin  is  not  clearly
understood.  The attached LESs he provided are  the  only  official
leave data he received while assigned to the HFP location.

He further explained the circumstances surrounding his inability to
take the earned leave and request his 60 days of leave be restored.

Applicant’s complete response, with attachments, 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 error or injustice.  Applicant requests 60 days of
leave be restored to his leave account and he be entitled  to  sell
his leave upon his 1  May  2005  retirement.   The  Air  Force  has
recommended restoring 60 days to the applicant’s leave account.  In
reviewing the applicant’s MMPA, DFAS determined, however, that  the
applicant’s account should have reflected 26.5 days of leave at the
time of his retirement.  Nevertheless, we believe  that  there  may
have been mitigating circumstances that  affected  the  applicant’s
ability to properly project his leave prior to his retirement.   In
this regard, it appears the applicant based his  decisions  on  the
documents (LESs)  which  were  provided  to  him,  along  with  the
direction, advice and comments  of  military  financial  specialist
assigned that  responsibility.   Unfortunately,  it  appears  these
documents did not reflect  an  accurate  accounting  of  his  leave
balance during FY03, 04, and 05.  For this reason, we believe  that
any doubt should be resolved in the applicant’s behalf by  granting
his request.  Therefore, we accept the findings of  the  Air  Force
and agree with their recommendation that 60 days of leave should be
restored  to  the  applicant’s  leave  account.   Accordingly,   we
recommend the  applicant’s  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 sixty (60) days of
leave were added to his leave account on 30 April 2005 and  at  the
time of his  retirement,  he  was  authorized  to  receive  a  cash
settlement of his unused accrued leave.

___________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket  Number
BC-2005-01888 in Executive Session on 21 December 2005,  under  the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. James W. Russell III, Panel Chair
      Ms. Patricia R. Collins, Member
      Mr. Vance E. Lineberger, Member

All members voted to correct  the  records,  as  recommended.   The
following documentary evidence was considered:

     Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 7 Jun 05, w/atchs.
     Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
     Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPFF, dated 8 Aug 05.
     Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 19 Aug 05.
     Exhibit E.  Letter, DFAS-POCC/DE, dated 13 Oct 05, w/atchs.
     Exhibit F.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 3 Nov 05.
     Exhibit G.  Letter, Applicant, undated, w/atchs.




                                   JAMES W. RUSSELL III
                                   Panel Chair



AFBCMR BC-2005-01888




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 XXXXXXX, XXXXXXX, be corrected to show that sixty
(60) days of leave were added to his leave account on 30 April 2005
and at the time of his retirement, he was authorized to  receive  a
cash settlement of his unused accrued leave.
.






            JOE G. LINEBERGER
            Director
            Air Force Review Boards Agency