RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-00843 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 HEARING DESIRED: NO 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

His Operational Flying Duty Accumulator (OFDA) or “gate” be 
corrected. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

His records were improperly coded from August 1996 through 
January 1999. Due to the lack of C-5 training allocations, he 
was unable to qualify in the aircraft. He was improperly coded 
as “unqualified.” He has 143 OFDA months and 144 months are 
required to receive Aviation Career Incentive Pay (ACIP) through 
25 years of service. Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command sent 
a waiver request to the Air Staff; however, it was returned 
without action. Had his records been properly coded, he would 
not need a waiver. 

 

In support of his appeal, the applicant provides a copy of the 
waiver request package. 

 

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachment, is at 
Exhibit A. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

The applicant is currently serving in the Regular Air Force in 
the grade of lieutenant colonel (O-5) with a date of rank of 
1 October 2007. He has a Total Active Federal Military Service 
Date of 28 December 1997 and a Total Federal Commissioned Service 
Date of 4 February 2006. 

 

The remaining relevant facts extracted from the applicant service 
records are contained in the evaluation by the Air Force office 
of primary responsibility at Exhibit B. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 


AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

USAF/A30-AT recommends denial. A30-AT states that the 
applicant’s record should have been coded with a Flying Status 
Code (FSC) “K” during the time period he was assigned to the C-5 
unit as a C-130 pilot. However, he is not entitled to OFDA 
months in this FSC, as it was (and still is) coded as an inactive 
FSC. The applicant’s OFDA waiver request was denied in 
accordance with Air Force Instruction (AFI) 11-401, paragraph 
2.8.1, which indicates “By direction of the SECAF, third gate 
waivers, for individuals to receive ACIP or CEFIP through 
25 years of aviation service when OFDA requirements have not been 
met, will not be considered.” 

 

A30-AT states the applicant’s aviation service history has been 
corrected to reflect the FSC “K” rather than “S” for the period 
from 2 August 1996 to 10 January 1999. This does not entitle him 
to any additional OFDA, because FSC “K” reflects an inactive 
period of service. 

 

The complete A30-AT evaluation is at Exhibit B. 

 

___________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

He respectfully disagrees with the Air Force advisory opinion. 
The Air Force advisory author only quotes part of the AFI 
paragraph which supported the original “Return without Action” on 
his waiver request. The entire AFI 11-401, paragraph 2.8.4 reads 
“Months lost due to time under flying status code K (inactive-
lack of support) do not meet OFDA waiver criteria unless the 
officer or CEA was assigned to a unit undergoing draw down or 
conversion to an aircraft in which the individual’s specialty was 
not required (i.e., an F-4 navigator assigned to a unit 
converting to single-place fighters), or when the unit aircraft 
was operationally grounded (paragraph 1.3.2). Individuals must 
meet both K code and draw down, conversion, or grounding criteria 
to be considered for a waiver. EXCEPTION: Members in active 
flying status assignments assigned flying status code K while 
deployed TDY to non-flying assignments IAW Table 2.6, are 
eligible for waiver consideration.” 

 

The advisory author did not refer to the statement “when the unit 
aircraft was operationally grounded.” While his unit’s C-5s were 
not grounded, the Flying Training Units (FTU) aircraft at Altus, 
Air Force Base (AFB), Oklahoma, were grounded by 19th Air Force 
for a time due to safety issues relating to the maintenance 
conversion from military “blue suit” to a civilian contractor. 
Even after 19th Air Force cleared Altus AFB to fly, maintenance 
issues remained. As noted in his appeals package, due to Altus’ 
inability to provide C-5 training slots, his unit requested a 
waiver to accomplish his aircraft qualification “in-house.” This 
request was denied by Headquarters Air Education and Training 


Command. By correcting his time to the proper “K” status, it 
confirms the grounding and subsequent maintenance issues at Altus 
AFB which prevented him from qualifying in the aircraft his unit 
operated. According to the “full” paragraph 2.8.4, gate months 
should have been accrued. 

 

AFI 11-401, paragraph 2.8.1, that A30-AT quotes was a change to 
the AFI with the March 2007 revision. What did not change was 
when one could apply for a waiver. While he waited for the 
waiver window to open, the AFI was revised and the rules changed. 
He was simply caught in the transition. AF/A30-ATF made a point 
that his request came in well after the AFI had changed and 
therefore, his waiver would not be considered. His waiver should 
have been considered under the AFI in effect when the error 
occurred. Had he not been required to wait, a waiver request 
would have been filed when he discovered the gate month error in 
2003. There was a documented failure to support and it meets the 
requirements of AFI 11-401 for gate month credit. 

 

The applicant’s complete rebuttal, with attachments, 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. Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to 
demonstrate the existence of an injustice. After a thorough 
review of the facts and circumstances of this case, we are 
persuaded that corrective action is warranted. We note that in 
2002, prior to him departing the 68th Airlift Squadron, the 
applicant was assured he had obtained the required 144 OFDA 
months. The applicant states and we believe had he known he only 
had 143 months OFDA he would have delayed his reassignment to 
allow him to obtain the additional month. Furthermore, based on 
the strong support he received from the Commander, Air Force 
Reserve Command and in the absence of a basis to question the 
integrity of this individual, we recommend that any doubt be 
resolved in favor of the applicant. Therefore, we recommend the 
applicant’s records be corrected as indicated below. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: 

 

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force 
relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that competent 
authority awarded him an additional one (1) month of Operational 
Flying Duty Accumulator (OFDA) credit, for a total of one hundred 


forty-four (144), with entitlement to Aviation Career Incentive 
Pay (ACIP) until his 25thyear of aviation service. 

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2010-00843 in Executive Session on 2 November 2010,
under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

, Panel Chair, Member,Member

All members voted to correct the record as recommended. The 
following documentary evidence was considered in connection with 
AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2010-00843:

Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 23 Feb 10, w/atchs.

Exhibit B. Letter, AF/A30-AT, not dated. 

Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 16 Apr10.

Exhibit D. Letter, Applicant, dated28 Apr 10, w/atchs.

Panel Chair

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