RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2006-01362
            INDEX CODE:  131.09

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED: NO



_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her former grade of Staff Sergeant (E5) be restored to her along  with
a date of rank (DOR) of 1 January 1995.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

She was the victim of a grave injustice in that she was  involuntarily
demoted from SSgt to the grade  of  senior  airman  (E4)  without  her
knowledge.  She originally enlisted in the Regular Air Force  and  had
served seven years when she was honorably discharged in the  grade  of
senior airman (SrA).  In July 1994, she  enlisted  in  the  Air  Force
Reserve (USAFR) and was assigned to the Security  Police  Squadron  at
Westover Air Reserve Base as an SSgt.  During 1999 she became pregnant
with twins and notified her squadron she did not plan to  reenlist  in
July 2000.  During the year between July 1999 and July 2000, she began
experiencing complications with her pregnancy and  miscarried  one  of
her twins at 11 weeks.  She was hospitalized and classified as a high-
risk pregnancy.  She notified her supervisor  of  her  hospitalization
and pregnancy complications and told him she would  not  be  attending
Unit Training Assemblies (UTA’s) for a while.  She was a single parent
at the time and did not have any family in  the  area.   Consequently,
the strain of losing a baby and carrying another one with no family to
help and no husband left her under  tremendous  stress  and  pressure.
She lost her civilian job because she could  not  work  her  specified
hours due to the limitations imposed on her by her pregnancy  and  she
was also unable to participate in her  Reserve  weekends.   While  she
kept her supervisor and squadron informed of her status, she  was  lax
in that she did not follow through by submitting the proper  paperwork
that would have put her in an inactive  status  until  her  Expiration
Term of Service (ETS) in July 2000.  However, her  squadron  told  her
she would be placed on the inactive status list until  her  ETS.   She
was aware of nothing further until she enlisted with the Massachusetts
Air National Guard (MAANG) during February 2006 and found out she  had
been involuntarily demoted by the USAFR due to nonparticipation.   She
contacted the USAFR at Westover and was told  her  records  no  longer
existed and that she should apply  to  the  AFBCMR  for  relief.   Her
demotion order is dated 10 February 2000 and,  at  the  time  she  was
eight  months  pregnant.   She   remained   in   the   Westover   area
(approximately three miles from the base) and never changed her  phone
number, yet she  was  never  notified  via  letter  of  counseling  or
reprimand nor in any other fashion of her demotion.  While  she  feels
fortunate she was allowed to reenlist, she is proud of her 13 years of
military service and feels her rank was taken away  from  her  without
due cause.  Had she been aware of the involuntary demotion  she  would
have  taken  appropriate  action  to  ensure   the   unjustified   and
unwarranted punitive action would not have been taken.

In support of her  appeal,  the  applicant  has  provided  a  personal
statement, pertinent copies of her personnel record and medical record
as well as several letters of support.

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

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 1 April 1987.  She  was
progressively promoted to the grade of staff sergeant.  On 10 February
2000, while serving with the MAANG, she was demoted to  the  grade  of
senior airman.  On 29 March 2006, she enlisted  with  the  Connecticut
ANG (CTANG) in the grade of senior airman.  She has over 10  years  of
service.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFRC/A1B recommends denial.  A1B cites Air Force Instruction  (AFI)
36-2503, Administrative Demotion of Airmen, wherein it is  stated  the
commander may demote an airman before reassigning or  separating  them
due to non-participation in Reserve Training.  The  commander  informs
the Airman  by  certified  mail,  return  receipt  requested,  of  the
intention to recommend demotion.  The Airman acknowledges  receipt  of
the notification memorandum within three  calendar  days  of  receipt.
Should the Airman not respond, the demotion is processed as if  he  or
she had concurred with the demotion.  As six years has  elapsed  since
she left the USAFR, A1B has not been able to locate  any  notification
documentation related to the demotion.  However,  A1B  notes  she  has
provided  a  copy  of  the  demotion  order  dated  10  February  2000
indicating she was demoted for non-participation.  Further, she admits
to  non-participation  due  to  pregnancy  complications  and  accepts
responsibility  for  not  notifying  her  squadron  with  the   proper
documentation that would have excused  her  absences.   Based  on  the
information made available A1B reasonably assumes  the  applicant  had
knowledge of and  received  notification  of  her  demotion  for  non-
participation.  It appears she was given due process and there  is  no
additional evidence provided to support her claim she was not notified
of the demotion.

A1B’s complete evaluation is at Exhibit B.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant does not agree with A1B’s advisory opinion and wants to make
it clear she was never made aware of her demotion and still  does  not
understand why it happened.  She notified the unit  of  her  pregnancy
and its complications and let them know  she  would  not  be  able  to
attend UTA’s on a regular basis.  She provided her squadron  with  the
medical documentation of her pregnancy and feels the  squadron  had  a
responsibility to ensure all her medical documentation was followed up
on with a 433 (medical waiver due to pregnancy).  When questioning her
responsibility to follow proper procedures, she questions her squadron
and supervisor’s lack of following procedure in her  case.   She  left
the unit because  she  was  pregnant  with  complications  and  argues
against the advisories contention she should have  reasonably  assumed
knowledge of the demotion when she would have fought  against  it  had
she been aware of it.  She contends she was not aware of the  demotion
until her enlistment with the MAANG.  She notes the USAFR is not  able
to produce any documentation showing she was notified of her  demotion
and feels she did what she could, under the guidance of  her  squadron
and supervisor, to make sure she left the USAFR in an  acceptable  and
correct manner.  The fact she was placed on the Inactive  Status  List
is no indication she was aware of an impending demotion.  She asks the
Board to consider her 13 years of service and  her  Gulf  War  veteran
status as well as the sacrifices she and her family have made in order
to allow her to continue her career.  She feels she deserves  to  have
the rank she earned and her status as a noncommissioned officer.

Applicant’s complete response is at 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.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented  to  demonstrate
the existence of error or injustice.  After a thorough review  of  the
evidence of record and applicant's submission, we  are  not  persuaded
that her uncorroborated assertion she was  unaware  of  her  impending
demotion for non-participation and would have acted had she known,  in
and by itself,  sufficiently  persuasive  to  override  the  rationale
provided by the Air Force Reserve.  She admits  to  not  participating
due to complications with  a  pregnancy  and  further  admits  to  not
notifying her squadron by  appropriate  documentation  to  excuse  her
absences.  Therefore, we agree with the opinion and recommendation  of
the Air Force Reserve’s office of primary responsibility and adopt the
rationale expressed as the basis for our decision that  the  applicant
has failed to sustain her burden of having suffered either an error or
injustice.  Therefore, in the absence of persuasive  evidence  to  the
contrary, we find no compelling basis to recommend granting the relief
sought in this application.

_________________________________________________________________

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-
2006-01362 in Executive Session on 1 August 2006, under the provisions
of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. John B. Hennessey, Panel Chair
      Mr. Elwood C. Lewis, III, Member
      Ms. Donna D. Jonkoff, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 12 Apr 06, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Letter, AFRC/A1B, dated 9 Jun 06.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 23 Jun 06.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, Applicant, dated 28 Jun 06.





                                   JOHN B. HENNESSEY
                                   Panel Chair