RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-00038
COUNSEL: NONE
HEARING DESIRED: NO
________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
His aviator retention pay (ARP) contract be effective from,
1 February 2013 through 31 January 2015, making him eligible for a
2 year option, $15,000 ARP bonus.
________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
He was unable to sign the ARP contract until the 2013 ARP policy
was released. The policy was approved and signed on 7 June 2013,
nine months after the beginning of FY13. He was eligible for the
2 year, $15,000 ARP bonus as of 1 February 2013.
The applicants complete submission, with attachments, is at
Exhibit A.
________________________________________________________________
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
The applicant is currently serving in the South Dakota Air
National Guard in the grade of lieutenant colonel.
The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are
contained in the letter prepared by the appropriate office of the
Air Force at Exhibit B.
________________________________________________________________
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
ANGB/A1PF recommends approval. The applicant should be permitted
to request, execute, and be paid for a Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 ARP
agreement. According to Special Order A-S000009, dated 27 January
2009, the applicant was ordered to duty from 1 February 2009
through 31 January 2015. This period allows him to enter into a
Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 ARP agreement. However, the release of the
FY 20l3 ARP Policy was delayed until 7 June 2013. Because of this
delay, the applicant was unable to submit his application for ARP
until after 7 June 2013, which is outside of the 30-day processing
window allowed per paragraph 1.7.3 of the ANG FY 20l3 ARP Policy.
Except for the delay in policy release, the applicant meets all
other eligibility requirements.
A complete copy of the NGB/A1PF evaluation, with attachments, is
at Exhibit B.
________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant
on 8 September 2014, for review and comment within 30 days
(Exhibit C). To date, a response has not been received by this
office.
________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
The applicant was provided copies of documents describing a recent
decision by the Secretary of the Air Force (SECAF) pertaining to
Aviator Continuation Pay (now Aviator Retention Pay) on
25 November 2014, for review and comment within 30 days. To date,
a response has not been received.
The complete AFBCMR memorandum, 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. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to
demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice. We took
notice of the applicants complete submission in judging the
merits of the case; however, we are not convinced the evidence
presented by the applicant is sufficient to conclude that he is
the victim of an error or injustice that would warrant corrective
action. While we note the NGB/A1PF recommendation to grant the
applicants request because the delay in the release of the FY
2013 ARP Policy was through no fault of his own, we are not
convinced the applicant is the victim of an injustice. In this
respect, we note that ARP is an incentive program, not an
entitlement and true incentives influence decisions about the
future. Therefore, correcting the applicants records to reflect
a backdated ARP agreement essentially offers an incentive to an
officer for a decision he has already made and provides a
retention bonus for a period of service already served.
Furthermore, because the decision whether or not to offer ARP in
any given year is entirely at the discretion of the Secretary, any
delay in approval of the program for a given year cannot become
the basis for a retroactive recovery. Therefore, in the absence
of evidence to the contrary, we find no basis to recommend
granting the requested relief.
________________________________________________________________
THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:
The applicant be notified the evidence presented did not
demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; the
application was denied without a personal appearance; and 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 AFBCMR Docket Number
BC-2014-00038 in Executive Session on 8 January 2015, under the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:
The following documentary evidence was considered:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 19 Dec 13, w/atchs.
Exhibit B. Letter, NGB/A1PF, dated 4 Mar 14 w/atchs.
Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 8 Sep 14.
Exhibit D. Letter, AFBCMR, dated 25 Nov 14, w/atchs.
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