RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

 AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-02409 

 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 

 HEARING DESIRED: NO 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

He receives a retroactive 180-day per diem waiver for the period 
29 April 2010 to 31 May 2010. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

His Home of Record (HOR) is outside of the commuting distance 
and should have been in a “non-commute” status with authorized 
per diem and lodging. A per diem waiver was needed to continue 
his order, from 29 April – 30 September 2010, in this status for 
more than 180 days. A waiver was submitted in May 2010 based on 
the guidance from NGB A1; however, the orders were changed to 
“will commute” until a waiver was approved through 31 May 2010. 

 

In support of his appeal, the applicant provides copies of his 
orders; a letter of support from his detachment commander, with 
attachments; SAF/MRM policy guidance memorandum, with 
attachments, and a copy of the Wing Instruction 65-101, Financial Management Office – Commuting Distance. 

 

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

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

The applicant is currently serving as a master sergeant (E-7) in 
the Air National Guard (ANG) at Otis Air National Guard Base 
(ANGB), Massachusetts. 

 

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. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 


NGB/A1PS (Benefits and Entitlements) recommends denial of 
retroactive 180 days per diem waiver for the period 29 April 
2010 to 31 May 2010. NGB/A1 notes their guidance is in 
accordance with that of SAF/MR and HAF/A1, in that per diem 
waiver requests will accompany the current/last order of the 
service member. A future order should never be submitted 
because that is the purpose of the per diem waiver. NGB/A1 
further notes the applicant incurred a financial loss; however, 
his commander has processed numerous per diem waivers in the 
past for many members in the unit. The commander and his staff 
are aware of the current SAF/MR policy and criteria, as well as 
the importance of submitting waiver packages in a timely fashion 
to allow for processing. 

 

The complete NGB/A1PS evaluation, with attachment, is at 
Exhibit C. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF THE AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the 
applicant on 27 August 2010 for review and comment within 30 
days. As of this date, no response has been received by this 
office (Exhibit D). 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

SAF/MRM recommends denial. MRM states that per JFTR, Volume I, 
paragraph U7150 A4b(3), a member called to active duty away from 
home for more than 180 days, for other than training purposes, 
may be authorized per diem for the entire period if the call to 
active duty/extension is required by unusual circumstances, 
emergency circumstances, contingency operations, or exigencies 
of the service concerned as determined by the Secretarial 
process. As of 22 March 2007, the Secretary of the Air Force 
delegated to SAF/MRM those certain decision authorities under 
the JFTR and JTR. Commanders must obtain the per diem waiver 
before orders are issued or amended since the JFTR does not 
provide for retroactive approval. Members without an approved 
waiver or Permanent Change of Station (PCS) assignment should be 
returned to their old station and not be allowed to continue 
work at the current location without Temporary Duty (TDY) and 
transportation allowances. SAF/MRM Policy Memos of 
19 August 2009 and 11 February 2011, both indicate that 
commanders must obtain per diem waivers (over 179 days) before 
orders are issued or amended. 

 

The complete SAF/MRM evaluation is at Exhibit E. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 


APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF THE ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the 
applicant on 4 April 2011 for review and comment within 30 days. 
As of this date, no response has been received by this office 
(Exhibit F). 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

 

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 warranting corrective 
action. After reviewing the applicant’s submission and the 
evidence of record, it appears the applicant’s unit erroneously 
prepared and amended orders before obtaining the required per 
diem waiver. NGB/A1PS and SAF/MRM indicates the applicant’s 
unit should have been aware of the policy and criteria as well 
as the importance of submitting the waiver package in a timely 
manner. Notwithstanding this, it appears the applicant is being 
held accountable for actions beyond his control. It is not 
clear that the applicant understood when his orders were amended 
to state that he would commute, he would not be paid per diem. 
As such, no complicity on the part of the applicant to 
erroneously extend his TDY has been established. In view of the 
foregoing, and to preclude the possibility of injustice to the 
applicant, we believe any doubt in this matter should be 
resolved in his favor. Accordingly, we recommend his 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 he applied 
for per diem waiver for the period of 29 April 2010 to 
31 May 2010 and his request was approved by competent authority. 

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2010-02409 in Executive Session on 16 June 2011, under 
the provisions of AFI 36-2603: 

 

All members voted to correct the records, as recommended. The 
following documentary evidence was considered: 

 

 Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 21 Jun 10, w/atchs. 

 Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. 

 Exhibit C. Letter, NGB/A1PS, dated 23 Aug 10, w/atch. 


 Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 27 Aug 10. 

 Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRM, dated 1 Apr 11. 

 Exhibit F. Letter, AFBCMR, dated 4 Apr 11, w/atch. 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair