RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:                       DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2007-01216
                                             INDEX CODE:  128.14
      XXXXXXXXXXXXX                     COUNSEL:  NONE

                                             HEARING DESIRED:  NO


MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  19 October 2008


________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He be reimbursed for personal, out-of-pocket expenses of  $2,838.00  (moving
company), $2,610.00 (required painting expense),  $573.46  (Move-In-Housing-
Allowance), and $283.80 (required lease registration  fee),  incurred  as  a
result of an authorized, local, short-distant move  due  to  housing  safety
hazards.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was authorized the move per the JFTR, volume 1, section  5255,  paragraph
D-1, but the 31st CES  Housing  Flight  Chief  acted  on  his  own  personal
interpretation of the regulation.  In addition, the 31st CES Housing  Flight
Chief never  involved  the  31st  FW/CC  for  approval  or  disapproval,  as
required by regulation.

His First Sergeant contacted the 31st CES/CC, who approved the move.

In support of his appeal, he has furnished copies of a  personal  statement,
dated 9  April  2007,  letters  from  the  housing  counselor  and  previous
landlord, dated 22 September 2005, a letter from DET  17  OLB/CC,  dated  27
September 2005, e-mails dated 27, 28, and 29 September 2005, and 23  and  24
March 2006, extracts from JFTR v.1 U5355 and JFTR v.1  U10026,  and  various
documents (paint  expense  letter,  moving  receipt,  lease  agreement,  and
registration receipt) pertaining to his move.

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

________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant was leasing an off-base residence in the vicinity  of  Aviano  AB,
Italy, when, sometime during the  summer  of  2005,  the  basement  flooded,
including some or all of the residential electrical wiring.   He  felt  this
situation posed an unsafe environment for his family,  and  secured  another
residence on the economy prior to an inspection of  his  current  residence.
He personally paid the associated costs to perform this move.

________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ USAF/A7CA-2 recommends denial, as neither  sufficient  documentation  nor
supporting testimony from on-site personnel has  been  provided  to  support
his request.

JFTR Vol. 1, Sec 5355, Para D-1, requires an economy-to-economy move to  “be
at  Government  expense,  for  example,  when  the  member  is  directed  by
competent authority to vacate local economy quarters because  the  commander
has: (1) determined the member’s residence does not meet Service  health  or
sanitation standards, or (2) placed the housing area/complex  “off-limits”.”
 Applicant has not provided documentation  where  the  31st  FW/CC  or  31st
CES/CC made this determination.

AFI 32-6001, Para 4.6.2, states “With written approval from  the  Commander,
assign  housing  as  an  out-of-turn  assignment  for  hardship  conditions.
Assign members to the next uncommitted unit in  the  appropriate  grade  and
bedroom category to satisfy the requirement, and do  not  allow  a  turndown
option.”  Applicant has not provided documentation where the 31st  FW/CC  or
31st CES/CC made this determination.

AFI 32-6001, Para 6.5, states “When involuntary relocations are required  to
complete emergency repairs and  major  renovation  projects,  the  Commander
directs residents  to  relocate  to  other  FH  or  to  community  housing.”
Applicant has not provided  documentation  where  the  31st  FW/CC  or  31st
CES/CC made this determination.

According to the 31st CES Housing Flight Chief  during  the  incident;  “I’m
pretty sure we visited the home and couldn’t find where  the  home  was  not
livable after the water was removed, and that’s why we didn’t  authorize  an
economy-to-economy move.  If the member asked for a government move from  an
economy unit because of livability issues, standard practice  was  to  offer
government housing first.  We would never have moved a member from  economy-
to-economy housing without the CC’s approval.   Period!   If  that  document
isn’t available, we didn’t recommend the government pay the move.”

Applicant relocated to another economy house without  proper  authorization,
and this action required him to incur a financial obligation  for  which  he
expected reimbursement, even  though  he  had  been  advised  prior  to  the
relocation  that  reimbursement  was  not  authorized.   The  quarters   are
currently occupied by another  military  family,  and  while  the  residence
stood vacant for several  months  and  it  is  impossible  to  know  if  the
landlord made improvements to the quarters, it is clear  this  facility  was
never posted as an off-limits facility.

Although they recommend denial, if the decision is made to grant the  relief
sought, they recommend $5,265 should be reimbursed based  on  the  following
breakdown of costs:

            $2,610 – Estimate to perform a government contracted
                   move
            $2,132 – Painting expenses based on his contract
            $  523 – Move In Housing Allowance

The USAF/A7CA-2 evaluation is at Exhibit C.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A complete copy of the evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 13  July
2007, for review and comment, within 30 days.  However, as of this date,  no
response has been received by this office.

________________________________________________________________

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.   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 their rationale as the  basis  for  our  conclusion
that the applicant has not been the victim of an error or  injustice.  Based
on the evidence of record and the documentation provided,  it  appears  that
the  applicant  relocated  to   another   economy   house   without   proper
authorization.  If he can provide documentation that no  government  housing
was  available,  or  that  the  proper  command  authorities  approved   his
relocation to another economy house, we  will  reconsider  his  application.
However, 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-2007-01216
in Executive Session on 30 August 2007, under  the  provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

                       Mr. Jay H. Jordan, Panel Chair
                       Mr. James L. Sommer, Member
                       Mr. Steven A. Cantrell, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 9 Apr 07, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ USAF/A7CA-2, dated 13 Jun 07.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 13 Jul 07.




                                   JAY H. JORDAN
                                   Panel Chair