RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2006-01057
            INDEX CODE:  128.14

      XXXXXXXXXXX      COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED: NO


MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  7 OCT 2007


___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His debt incurred as a result of  an  overpayment  of  his  Jan  06
Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) payment be waived.

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He did not received his Jan  06  CRSC  payment.   He  believes  his
records were audited because of a cover-up between the CRSC  office
and Cleveland Retired Pay office.

He did not receive his Jan  06  CRSC  payment  through  his  direct
deposit account.  When he went to his bank to take some  money  out
he was overdrawn.  He inquired as to why and was informed that  his
$1437 CRSC payment was not deposited.  He  contacted  Cleveland  to
find out what happened and they said a computer  error  caused  the
problem.  After further coordination with the Cleveland office  and
the CRSC office, he was informed that he was audited and it  showed
that he was overpaid on his initial CRSC payment.   When  he  asked
for the source document showing the overpayment, nothing happened.

In support of his appeal, applicant submitted a personal statement;
a letter from the Defense Finance and  Accounting  Service  (DFAS),
dated 19 Jan 06 and 16 May 06, and a  copy  of  his  CRSC  approval
letter, dated 24 Feb 04.

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

___________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant entered active duty on  23  Apr  75  and  had  continuous
honorable service until his retirement effective 1 May 95.  He  was
progressively promoted to the grade  of  master  sergeant  with  an
effective date and date of rank of 1 Jun 93.  He was credited  with
20 years and 7 days of active duty service.

Applicant received CRSC entitlement for his  Post-Traumatic  Stress
Disorder (PTSD) and Impaired Hearing, effective 1 Jun  03,  with  a
70 percent disability rating.  His rating for  PTSD  was  increased
and a disability for Tinnitus was approved.  At that time, the CRSC
board realized that his original effective date was incorrect.   On
3 Mar 05, the CRSC award letter was  corrected  with  an  effective
date of 1 Aug 03 for 70  percent,  and  the  increase  was  granted
effective 1 Sep 04 for 100 percent.

___________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPD recommended approval of applicant’s request for relief
from the indebtedness for his overpayment of CRSC.  On 24  Feb  04,
when the applicant’s CRSC award was initially approved,  the  board
established his CRSC effective date as 1 Jun  03  in  error,  since
applicant’s retired pay was not  reduced  by  the  VA  compensation
until 1 Aug 03.

When the CRSC Board prepares  an  approval  memorandum  authorizing
CRSC payment, it is forwarded to DFAS for review and initiation  of
payment.   During  their  review,  DFAS  will  verify  the  service
component and effective date prior  to  authorization  of  payment.
When errors are identified, DFAS will normally notify  the  service
of the error and request a corrected memorandum prior  to  payment;
however, they could not find a record of a request from DFAS for  a
corrected letter.

On 1 Mar 06, applicant notified the CRSC office  that  he  did  not
receive  his  Dec  05  payment  for  CRSC.   They  contacted  their
counterparts at DFAS and were advised that due to the error on  his
effective date, an overpayment of $855 was created.

Title 10 USC, Section 2274, provides authority for  waiving  claims
of erroneous payments of pay and allowance made to or on behalf  of
members or former members  of  the  Uniformed  Services.   However,
erroneous payments of CRSC are not considered  for  waiver  because
the statutory  authority  is  limited  to  “pay”.   As  defined  in
Title 10, USC, Section 101(a)(15), the term “pay” does not  include
“special compensation”; therefore, the CRSC board has no  authority
to direct forgiveness of the overpayment.

The HQ AFPC/DPPD complete evaluation is at Exhibit B.

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to  the  applicant
on 2 Jun 06 for review and comment within  30  days.   As  of  this
date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit D).

___________________________________________________________________

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 warranting removal of the  debt
caused as a result of the overpayment for  CRSC  entitlement.   The
Air Force has recommended approval of the applicant’s  request  and
we are in agreement.  Based on the available records, the applicant
was approved for CRSC; however, the effective date of 1 Jun 03, was
in error, resulting in an overpayment of $855.   DFAS  advised  the
applicant that the overpayment was a result  of  an  error  on  his
effective  date  for  CRSC  and  that  they  were  working  out   a
resolution.  Since the CRSC entitlement is  not  considered  to  be
pay, it appears that  the  debt  cannot  be  waived.   Nonetheless,
because the overpayment was through no fault of the  applicant,  we
believe the debt  incurred  by  the  applicant  should  be  offset.
Accordingly, we recommend that 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  prior  to  his
retirement from active duty, he was in a temporary duty status  for
a sufficient number of days and was  paid  total  per  diem  in  an
amount equivalent to $855 of basic pay.

___________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket  Number
BC-2006-01057 in Executive Session  on  19  July  2006,  under  the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Michael J. Novel, Panel Chair
      Ms. Barbara R. Murray, Member
      Mr. Reginald P. Howard, Member

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

     Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 3 Apr 06, w/atchs.
     Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
     Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPD, dated 17 Apr 06.
     Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 2 Jun 06.




                                   MICHAEL J. NOVEL
                                   Panel Chair


AFBCMR BC-2006-01057




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 XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX, be corrected to show that
prior to his retirement from active duty, he was in a temporary
duty status for a sufficient number of days and was paid total per
diem in an amount equivalent to $855 of basic pay.






            JOE G. LINEBERGER
            Director
            Air Force Review Boards Agency