RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-04136 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 HEARING DESIRED: NOT INDICATED 

 

 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

1. Her late husband’s records be corrected to reflect that he was 
on active duty when he died. 

 

2. She be entitled to survivor benefits to include $12,110.00 for 
funeral expenses. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

1. By way of e-mail, she updates her request by making it clear 
that her request is to correct her late husband’s record to put 
him in an active duty status and reinstate all survivor benefits. 

 

2. Her late husband was an Individual Mobilization Augmentee 
(IMA) and was on 70 day orders that ended on 30 Sep 09. His 
organization had a promotion party for him and asked him if he 
was available to return to duty the following week; however, he 
died on 2 Oct 09. It was not unusual for members to return to 
duty without being on orders until the administrative process 
caught up with them. 

 

3. The Air Force casualty office provided assistance to her as if 
her late husband had been on active duty; however, over a year 
later she was informed that there was a debt created for funeral 
expenses. She trusted the Air Force to do the right thing as she 
had no idea of what rules applied to her situation. 

 

4. She believes that her late husband would have been on orders 
and in an active duty status had it not been for the 
administrative process and fiscal year end. 

 

5. A waiver was processed through SAF/MRB requesting remission of 
the debt; however, they stated that the debt was not eligible for 
remission. She acted in good faith and believes her requests 
should be given favorable consideration. 

 

 

In support of her request, the applicant provides a copy of her 
late husband’s death certificate, a copy of a Command Man-Day 


Allocation System (CMAS) Authorization to Publish an IMA Manpower 
Appropriation (MPA) Tour Order, and e-mail communications. 

 

Her complete submission, with attachment, is at Exhibit A. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

The former member was an IMA assigned to the Pacific Command 
(PACOM)/J5, Air Force Reserve Command Readiness Management Group 
(AFRC RMG), Det 10/20 Camp Smith, HI. He served on active duty 
in the grade of lieutenant colonel and was on orders with AF/A1S, 
Arlington, VA, from 28 Jul 09 through 30 Sep 09. He died on 
2 Oct 09. The applicant received $12,100.00 for funeral costs. 

 

A Commander Directed Report of Investigation (CDI) was conducted 
on 7 Apr 10 that revealed the former member’s supervisor intended 
for him to be on orders 1-2 Oct 09. The testimony and evidence 
further revealed that well-intentioned mortuary and casualty 
personnel acted to award benefits and entitlements on the flawed 
assumption that the former member was in an active duty status. 
They found no evidence of collusion or criminal intent, the 
preponderance of the evidence points to several points of 
failure. Those include direct supervision in A1SR, and a general 
lack of understanding of the processes required to generate 
orders (status) for Reserve personnel; AFDW/A1A authentication of 
a CMAS after the fact, based on the belief that the supervisor 
fully intended to keep the former member on orders (and in 
status); and the improper use of the CMAS at the Air Reserve 
Personnel Center (APRC) and the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) 
as a valid order. 

 

According to the CDI, AFRC/JA stated in a legal review that while 
a Line of Duty Determination is required for all members who die 
on active status to ensure the member was in fact “in the line of 
duty” at the time of death, it was not required in this case 
because the member was in a civilian status at the time of his 
death. 

 

AFBCMR sent a request for additional advisories on 1 Jun 12; 
21 Sep 12, and 3 Oct 12 to AF/REP, AF/A1S, and AF/JAA, 
respectively. 

 

Per discussions with the Defense Finance Accounting Service 
(DFAS), there was a debt against the former member’s financial 
records; however, that debt has since been purged. The AFBCMR 
requested DFAS to provide a confirmation of the debt that was 
purged. As of this date, DFAS has not responded. 

 

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are 
contained in the letters prepared by the appropriate offices of 
the Air Force, which are at Exhibit C, G, and H. 

 


_________________________________________________________________ 

 

AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

AF/RED [sic] recommends allowing the applicant to retain all 
benefits paid to date, but deny any further active duty-related 
benefits and entitlements, which will avoid penalizing the family 
members for a situation over which they had no influence. 

 

The complete REP evaluation is at Exhibit C. 

 

AF/JAA recommends denying the applicant’s request to amend her 
late husband’s orders by placing him on active duty at the time 
of his death. Providing the requested amendment would validate 
the illegal acts perpetrated by AF/A1 and the Air Force District 
of Washington (AFDW) personnel who have subsequently been held 
responsible and appropriately disciplined for their actions. 
Further, there is no error in law or demonstrable injustice to 
the applicant in denying this request. 

 

JAA recommends granting the applicant relief in the form of 
terminating the collection of the debt of $12,110.00 in mortuary 
expenses based upon a finding of injustice due to the applicant’s 
reasonable reliance on the representation by the Air Force 
personnel that she was entitled to the payment of these funeral 
expenses. 

 

By way of background, JAA provides an in-depth review of the 
Commander-Directed Report of Investigation and the Air Force 
Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) Report of Investigation. 
In this respect, both investigations pertained to the improperly 
submitted CMAS request seeking authorization for the former 
member’s active duty orders to be retroactively extended by two 
days, and the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records 
(AFBCMR) request that was filed by the applicant. JAA concludes 
that the former member was not on active duty at the time of his 
death and that due to an illegally composed and processed CMAS 
request to retroactively extend the former member’s period of 
active duty from 30 Sep to 2 Oct 09, various survivor benefits 
were improperly extended to the applicant, which included the 
improper payment of $12,100.00 in funeral expenses as well as the 
initiation (later reversed) of other survivor benefits. 

 

 

 a. They found the CMAS request was improperly propounded by 
personnel assigned to AF/A1S and/or AFDW. The Readiness 
Management Group at Robins AFB, GA, (orders approving authority) 
was notified of the improper CMAS request and disapproved it. 

 

 b. They found that there was no legal basis for amending the 
former member’s military records as requested. Without a doubt, 
making such an amendment would amount to the validation of 
unlawful activities. 

 


 c. They found the CDI was legally insufficient as to its 
analysis of the actions of the three civilian employees involved 
in the issuance of the CMAS orders. 

 

 d. AFOSI conducted a more detailed investigation and AFDW/JA 
found that it was legally sufficient, affirmed that the CMAS was 
improperly issued and the former member was not in an active duty 
status at the time of his death, and recommended disciplinary 
action against the three civilians. 

 

The complete AF/JAA evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit 
G. 

 

AF/A1S recommends that the debt collection for the funeral 
expenses of $12,110.00 be terminated. Unfortunately, because the 
former member was not on active duty at the time of his death, 
they do not believe the Air Force has the authority to award any 
additional active duty survivor benefits to the applicant. 

 

The complete AF/A1S evaluation is at Exhibit H. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the 
applicant on 2 Nov 12 for review and comment within 30 days. As 
of this date, this office has received no response. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

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 with regard to 
the applicant’s request to have her late husband placed in an 
active duty status at the time of his death. In this respect, we 
took note of the applicant’s complete submission; however, we 
agree with the opinions and recommendations of the Air Force 
offices 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. While the applicant’s situation 
is regrettable, as noted by the Deputy Director for 
Administrative Law, Office of the Judge Advocate General, by 
placing the decedent in an active duty status at the time of his 
death would be to fabricate a fact, which is illegal and would 
also sanction those acts previously taken by personnel who have 
since been disciplined. The Board agrees that there was no basis 


to amend the former member’s orders that ended on 30 Sep 09 to 
make it appear that he was in an active duty status at the time 
of his death. Therefore, we find no basis upon which to 
favorably consider this portion of her request. 

 

4. Notwithstanding the above, we find sufficient relevant 
evidence to demonstrate the existence of error or injustice 
warranting a measure of relief. In this respect, we find that 
the applicant relied upon the Air Force to provide appropriate 
assistance at the time of her husband’s death. We believe that 
the applicant acted in good faith and should not be held 
accountable for monies paid to her for funeral expenses. Given 
the circumstances surrounding the applicant’s current debt, we 
believe it was through no fault of her own that she was 
erroneously paid funds for her late husband’s funeral costs. 
Consequently, we recommend the records be corrected to the extent 
indicated below. 

 

5. The applicant's case is adequately documented and it has not 
been shown that a personal appearance with or without counsel 
will materially add to our understanding of the issues involved. 
Therefore, the request for a hearing is not favorably considered. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: 

 

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force 
relating to APPLICANT be corrected to show that on 7 October 
2011, she applied for a waiver of the debt in the amount of 
$12,100.00 that was incurred as a result of receiving funeral 
expenses and her request was approved by competent authority. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2012-01401 in Executive Session on 18 Dec 12, under the 
provisions of AFI 36-2603: 

 

, Panel Chair 

, Member 

, Member 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 7 Oct 11, w/atchs. 

 Exhibit B. Letter, AFBCMR, dated 1 Jun 12, w/atchs. 

 Exhibit C. Letter, AF/RED [sic], dated 9 Jul 12. 


 Exhibit D. Letter, AFBCMR, dated 21 Sep 12, w/atchs. 

 Exhibit E. Letter, AFBCMR, dated 26 Sep 12. 

 Exhibit F. Letter, AFBCMR, dated 3 Oct 12, w/atchs. 

 Exhibit G. Letter, AF/JAA, dated 5 Oct 12, w/atchs. 

 Exhibit H. Letter, AF/A1S, dated 22 Oct 12. 

 Exhibit I. Letter, AFBCMR, dated 2 Nov 12. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair