RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2008-00625
            INDEX CODE:  131.00
            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her husband’s retirement status be changed from Honorary Retirement  without
pay to Reserve retirement with pay.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

Her  husband  was  never  notified  that  he  would  receive   an   Honorary
Retirement.  He enlisted in 1978 and served on  active  duty  for  14 years.
He enlisted in the Air Force Reserve in 1992 to complete  his  20  years  of
service.  Based on the amount of military time served, he would  never  have
accepted an Honorary Retirement.

In support of the application, the applicant submits a  statement  from  the
Air Force Reserve Personnel Superintendent, a personal  statement  from  her
spouse, DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from  Active  Duty,
medical examination reports, enlistment/reenlistment documents, and  Reserve
Order EK-6004 (Retired Reserve).

The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 23 Jun 97, the former service member was relieved from  active  duty  and
placed on the Retired Reserve List.

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application, extracted  from
the applicant’s military records, are contained in the  letter  prepared  by
the appropriate office of the Air Force at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________




AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ  AFRC/DPP  recommends  denial.   DPP  states  in   order   to   establish
eligibility for Reserve retired pay  under  Title  10,  United  States  Code
(U.S.C.), Section 12731, member  must  complete  20  years  of  satisfactory
service with the last six/eight years of qualifying  service  in  a  Reserve
component.  The former service member’s record  indicates  he  completed  17
years, 4 months and  29  days  of  satisfactory  service  creditable  toward
retired pay eligibility.  He transferred to the  Honorary  Retired  Reserve,
not eligible for Reserve retired pay, effective 23 Jun 97.

In order to establish eligibility for Reserve retired pay  under  Title  10,
United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 12731a, member must complete  at  least
15, but less than 20 years of satisfactory service with the last  six  years
of qualifying service in a Reserve  component.   In  addition,  the  service
member must be involuntarily separated from the Selected Reserve to  include
medical disqualification between 23 Oct  92  and  31  Dec  01.   His  record
indicates he completed  over  15  years  of  satisfactory  service  and  was
medically disqualified for military duty; however, he completed  only  three
of the required last six years of qualifying service in a Reserve  component
and, therefore, is not eligible for Reserve retired pay.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2005  repealed
the requirement the last six years of qualifying service  be  in  a  Reserve
component in order to qualify for  Reserve  retired  pay.   Reserve  members
subject to separation based on disqualifying, non-service connected  medical
conditions now qualify for transfer to the Retired Reserve, with pay at  age
60 if they have a minimum of 15 years  satisfactory  service  regardless  of
whether or not their last  six  years  of  satisfactory  service  was  in  a
Reserve component.  The effective date  of  this  provision  is  1  May  01;
however, there is no grandfather provision.  Therefore,  members  separating
prior to 1 May 05 were not eligible.

DPP notes the AF Form 311, Application for Transfer to the Retired  Reserve,
was signed by the service member on 23 Jun  97  and  the  statement  “Member
elected  Honorary  retirement  in  lieu  of  administrative  discharge   for
physical disqualification” was annotated in the remarks section.

The complete DPP evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 13  Jun
08 for review and comment within 30 days.  As of this date, this office  has
received no response (Exhibit D).
_________________________________________________________________

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 its rationale as the basis for our conclusion  that
the former service member has not been the victim of an error or  injustice.
 While we are not unsympathetic,  we  are  not  persuaded  by  the  evidence
presented  that  the  actions  surrounding  his  honorary  retirement   were
erroneous or unjust.  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 this application in  Executive
Session on 9 Sep 08, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. James W. Russell, III, Panel Chair
      Ms. Jan Mulligan, Member
      Ms. Lea Gallogly, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered in AFBCMR BC-2008-00625:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 1 Feb 08, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Former Service Member’s Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ ARPC/DPP, dated 3 Apr 08, w/atchs.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 13 Jun 08.




                                   JAMES W. RUSSELL, III
                                   Panel Chair