RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:                       DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2007-00035
                                             INDEX CODE:  137.04
      XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX                COUNSEL:  NONE

                                             HEARING DESIRED:  NO


MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  12 June 2008


________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her late husband’s marital status be changed from “single” to  “married”  in
the year 2001, and that his  records  be  changed  to  show  he  elected  to
participate in the Reserve Component Survivor  Benefit  Plan  (RCSBP)  under
the automatic election coverage.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

She is the widow of a deceased Air Force Reserve member.

Her husband never received notification that  his  automatic  enrollment  in
Option  A  of  the  RCSBP  had  been  initiated,  or  advised  to  make  the
appropriate changes to his record.

After he was medically discharged in November 2001,  her  husband’s  records
did not reflect that he had been credited with 20 years of service  and  had
been transferred to  the  Retired  Reserve  until  October  2006,  when  she
notified the Air Reserve Personnel Center (ARPC) of his death.

Since her husband’s records  did  not  reflect  that  he  had  20  years  of
service, the system did not kick him  in  as  an  automatic  enrollment  for
having 20 years of service when the new law of automatic  enrollment  became
effective in January 2001.

She and her husband were married in August 2001, and he was not  aware  that
he was required to report any life changing events (single  to  married)  to
the RCSBP section of ARPC within a specified time frame.

In support of her  application,  she  has  provided  copies  of  a  personal
statement dated 14  December  2006,  a  medically  disqualified  memorandum,
dated 19 October 2000, a reserve order, dated 19 January 2001, an  NGB  Form
22 EF, effective 3 November 2000, her  marriage  license,  dated  31  August
2000, her husband’s Certificate of Death,  dated  11  January  2006,  and  a
letter from her Senator, dated 3 January 2007..

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

________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant’s husband was assigned to the  Retire  Reserve  in  the  grade  of
staff sergeant, effective 5 November 2000, and was awaiting retired  pay  at
age 60 when he passed away on 18 December 2005 (age 45, DOB 1 June 1960).

Once ARPC notifies reservists that they qualify for retired pay at  age  60,
they are eligible for the RCSBP.   Complete  information  on  the  RCSBP  is
included in the packet provided by ARPC which is sent by certified,  return-
receipt mail, about 30 days after the “Eligibility for Retired  Pay  at  Age
60” letter is mailed.  Members must choose this coverage during  the  90-day
period beginning the  day  the  “Reserve  Component  Survivor  Benefit  Plan
Information” packet is signed for,  regardless  of  their  military  status,
age, or health.

Reservists  have  three  RCSBP  options  to  provide  protection  for  their
families.  By choosing Option A, a  reservist  declines  to  make  an  RCSBP
election until age 60.  They remain eligible to  select  RCSBP  coverage  at
age 60, and no RCSBP is payable to beneficiaries if the member  dies  before
reaching age 60.  By choosing  Option  B,  a  reservist  elects  to  provide
coverage for an annuity to begin on the 60th anniversary of their  birth  if
they die before reaching age 60, or to begin immediately if they should  die
after reaching age 60.  The choice of Option C results in  coverage  for  an
annuity to begin immediately upon their death,  regardless  of  age  at  the
time of death.  If the RCSBP Election Certificate is not received  at  ARPC,
or postmarked within 90 days of receipt of the  package,  the  reservist  is
considered to have made an election.  If  married,  that  election  will  be
Option C, if not married, Option A.

If a reservist is not married at the  time  of  election,  or  divorces  and
remarries, they have one year from the time  of  marriage  to  add  the  new
spouse to their RCSBP election.

Due to significant changes and improvements to the RCSBP, four open  seasons
have been legislated by Congress in 1981, 1992, 1999, and 2005.

________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

ARPC/DPP recommends denial; however, if the decision is made  to  grant  the
relief  sought,  they  recommend  that  applicant’s  husband’s  records   be
corrected to show he elected full and immediate  coverage  for  spouse  only
(Option CA) under the RCSBP, effective 31 August 2001.

Her  husband  retired  under  the  provision  of  the   Reserve   Transition
Assistance Program (RTAP) which allowed retirement for those who had 15  but
less than 20 years of satisfactory service.  He retired  with  18  years  of
satisfactory service based on medical disqualification, and was assigned  to
the Retired Reserve on 5 November 2000.  He was notified of his  eligibility
to participate in the RCSBP by letter dated 20  February  2001.   The  RCSBP
election package was sent by certified mail, and an individual named  XXXXXX
signed for it on 8 March 2001.  He was divorced at  the  time  and  did  not
make an RCSBP election.  He was automatically  considered  to  have  elected
Option A, declining making an election until age 60.

Applicant and her husband were married on 31 August 2001;  however,  he  did
not notify the ARPC RCSBP section of his change in marital status  within  a
year as required by law  and  explained  in  the  RCSBP  package  previously
mailed to him.  He died on 18 December 2005.  Had he lived,  he  would  have
been afforded another opportunity to make a  RCSBP  election  upon  reaching
age 60.

The applicant’s initial conversation with  the  ARPC  RCSBP  office  was  to
notify them of her husband’s death, and at that time  the  system  reflected
her husband as being divorced.  She was informed that she might qualify  for
certain benefits depending on review of the  divorce  decree,  as  ARPC  was
under the impression that they were speaking to  the  former  spouse.   Upon
review of the divorce  decree  and  marriage  certificate  provided  by  the
applicant, it was noted that she was not the  former  spouse,  but  the  new
spouse, who would have been eligible to receive RCSBP had her husband  taken
the appropriate steps to change his status from  divorced  to  married,  and
made an RCSBP election change due to a life changing event.

Any election made by the service member  must  be  written,  signed  by  the
person making the election, and received by ARPC  or  the  Secretary  within
the timeframes specified by Title 10, United  States  Code.   Unfortunately,
applicant’s  husband  did  not  do  this  upon  initial  RCSBP   eligibility
notification, or his remarriage to applicant.

Since her husband was eligible for retired  pay  at  age  60,  applicant  is
eligible for an ID card, BX and commissary  privileges,  and  to  apply  for
medical and dental benefits through the TRICARE program when he  would  have
turned age 60.  She may also be eligible for benefits through  the  Veterans
Administration.

The ARPC/DPP evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit C.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A complete copy of the evaluation  was  forwarded  to  the  applicant  on  2
February 2007, for review and comment, within 30 days.  Applicant  responded
on 1 March 2007, and requested to temporarily withdraw her case.  On  3  May
2007, she  requested  that  her  application  be  reopened  and  a  decision
rendered.

Applicant’s complete responses are 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  the
deceased member’s records should be altered so  that  his  surviving  spouse
would be eligible to receive a RCSBP annuity.  Applicant’s  contentions  are
duly noted; however, we do not find these assertions, in and by  themselves,
sufficiently persuasive to  override  the  rationale  provided  by  the  Air
Force.  Applicant’s late  husband  did  not  make  an  RCSBP  election  upon
initial eligibility notification, within  one  year  of  his  remarriage  to
applicant as required by law, or during one open season  that  followed  his
retirement and his remarriage to applicant.  We  therefore  agree  with  the
recommendations of the Air Force 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 an injustice.  In view  of  the  above
and absent persuasive evidence to the contrary, we find no compelling  basis
to recommend granting the relief sought.

________________________________________________________________

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-2007-00035
in Executive Session on 7 June 2007, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                       Ms. Kathy L. Boockholdt, Panel Chair
                       Mr. Alan A. Blomgren, Member
                       Ms. Janet I. Hassan, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 12 Dec 06, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, ARPC/DPP, dated 1 Feb 07, w/atchs.
    Exhibit D.  Letters, Applicant, dated 1 Mar 07 and 3 May 07.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 2 Feb 07.




                                   KATHY L. BOOCKHOLDT
                                   Panel Chair