RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:                       DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2006-02754
                                             INDEX CODE:  135.03
      XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX                COUNSEL:  NONE

                                          HEARING DESIRED:  NOT INDICATED


MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  Mar 13, 2008


________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His National Guard Bureau (NGB) Form 22, Report of Separation and Record  of
Service, be corrected to allow him to receive Reserve retired pay  and  Tri-
Care insurance.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was treated unjustly in determining his discharge date and was placed  in
the wrong category to receive retired pay, his NGB Form  22,  dated  30  May
1994, which separated him from the  Washington  Air  National  Guard  (ANG),
reflects 10 days short of 20  years  of  service,  and  that  he  should  be
eligible for Reserve retired  pay  since  he  is  receiving  60%  disability
compensation and the regulation was changed shortly after his  discharge  to
allow for early retirement if medically disqualified for further service.

In support of his request, applicant provided a copy of  his  NGB  Form  22,
dated 30 May 1994, and a copy of  Reserve  Order  EK-5959,  dated  2  August
1994, which assigned him to the Honorary Reserve Retired  Section  effective
1 June 1994.

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

________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

In order  to  establish  eligibility  for  Reserve  retired  pay  under  the
provisions of 10 USC, Section 12731, a member  must  complete  at  least  20
years of satisfactory service.  Subsequent to 30 June 1949,  a  member  must
participate and accrue at least 50 points in a specific one year  period  to
earn a year of satisfactory service.  Each reservist in an active status  is

granted 15 membership points in a specific year, but must earn at  least  35
more points each year through  active  duty,  unit  training,  or  Extension
Course Institute courses to complete a satisfactory year  creditable  toward
Reserve retired pay eligibility.

Applicant served on active duty with the United States  Navy  (USN)  from  1
September 1959 until his release from  active  duty  on  14 August  1963,  a
total of 3 years, 11 months, and 14 days.  Upon release  from  active  duty,
he was transferred to the USN Reserves (USNR) effective 15 August 1963,  and
remained assigned there until his  discharge  on  1 September  1965.   While
assigned to the USNR, applicant did not participate in  USNR  training  and,
since he did not earn at least 35 points each  year,  did  not  earn  enough
points to qualify for any satisfactory years creditable  towards  a  Reserve
retirement. Applicant had no military affiliation until he enlisted  in  the
ANG on 21 June 1980, and he remained a  member  of  the  ANG  until  medical
disqualification and subsequent transfer to  the  Honorary  Retired  Reserve
Section  on  1 June  1994.   During  his  tenure  with  the  ANG,  applicant
completed 13 years, 11 months, and 10 days of  satisfactory  service  for  a
reserve retirement, thus giving him a total of 17 years, 10 months,  and  24
days  of  satisfactory  service  for   a   reserve   retirement.    Although
applicant’s NGB Form 22 does correctly reflect 19 years, 11 months,  and  10
days of honorable service accrued during his military career,  this  is  not
the same as satisfactory service creditable for a reserve retirement.

In order  to  establish  eligibility  for  Reserve  retired  pay  under  the
provisions of 10 USC, Section 12731a (Early Qualification  for  Retired  Pay
at Age 60), a  member  must  complete  at  least  15 years  of  satisfactory
service and be involuntarily separated due to  force  reduction.   This  law
was expanded on 5  October  1994  to  include  members  who  were  medically
disqualified for military service.  Since there was no  early  qualification
program in effect when applicant was separated from the ANG on 30 May  1994,
he was transferred to the Honorary Retired Reserve Section on  1 June  1994.


VA  disability  compensation  and  Reserve  retired  pay  are  two  separate
programs  and  the  fact  that  a  member  is  eligible  for  VA  disability
compensation  does  not  automatically  qualify   a   member   for   Reserve
retirement.

________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

ARPC/DPP recommends  denial  as  applicant  did  not  complete  20 years  of
satisfactory service and is therefore not entitled to  Reserve  retired  pay
at age 60.  Additionally, even though
applicant did complete at least 15 years of  satisfactory  service,  he  was
discharged from the ANG prior to  the  effective  date  of  the  law  change
authorizing early qualification due to medical disqualification.


The ARPC/DPP evaluation is at Exhibit C.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded  to  the  applicant  on  27
October 2006 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 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  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  office  of  primary
responsibility and adopt it’s rationale as  the  basis  for  our  conclusion
that the applicant has not  been  the  victim  of  an  error  or  injustice.
Therefore,  in  the  absence  of  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  Docket  Number  BC-2006-02754
in Executive Session on 12 December 2006, under the provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

                       Mr. John B. Hennessey, Panel Chair
                       Ms. Patricia R. Collins, Member
                       Ms. Teri G. Spoutz, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 20 Aug 06, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, ARPC/DPP, dated 20 Oct 06, w/atchs.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 27 Oct 06.




                                   JOHN B. HENNESSEY
                                   Panel Chair