RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2014-00710
		
		COUNSEL:  NONE

		HEARING DESIRED:  NO



APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

1.  His date of separation (DOS) be changed from 20 Feb 07 to 3 Feb 12.  

2.  In the alternative, all medical financial debts incurred by his dependents during the period 20 Feb 07 through 3 Feb 12 be fully covered by the Air Force and TriCare.  


APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

His DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, was inappropriately back-dated to 20 Feb 07.  In accordance with Personnel Services Delivery Guide (PSDG), dated 1 Mar 11, the effective date of discharge is the date the Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC) accomplished the DD Form 214 and publishes the separation order.  Time spent on appellate leave until the effective date of separation is annotated on the DD Form 214 as excess leave.  Therefore, the date his DD Form 214 was prepared should have also served as the effective date of his discharge.  His DD Form 214 was accomplished and signed on 3 Feb 12.  He was placed on appellate leave on Apr 05 and was told he would remain on appellate leave until the conclusion of his entire legal case, which could take months or years.  Since then, he has routinely updated his DEERS ID cards as directed, and his dependents have received medical treatment.  On 15 Mar 12, he discovered he was discharged when a medical referral request was denied, but his DOS had been inappropriately backdated to 20 Feb 07.  Then, he started receiving letters from TriCare demanding he pay back over $13,000 in medical expenses incurred during the period in question.  

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


STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant initially entered the Regular Air Force on 29 Jan 97.
On 17 Nov 04, the applicant was found guilty at a General Court Martial of wrongfully accepting a gift from a prohibited source, in violation of Article 92, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).  For this, he was sentenced to a bad conduct discharge (BCD), reduced in grade to Airman Basic, confined for two months, and was fined $8,230.  

On 20 Feb 07, the general court-martial convening authority ordered the applicant to be furnished a BCD.  He was placed on appellate leave until his final court-martial order was provided.  

On 3 Feb 12, the applicant was furnished a BCD, and his DD Form 214 established his date of separation as 20 Feb 07.

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are contained in the memoranda prepared by the Air Force offices of primary responsibility (OPR), which are attached at Exhibits C and D.


AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFLOA/JAJM does not make a recommendation, but finds no error or injustice in regards to the court-martial proceedings.  The applicant was tried on 17 Nov 04 by a general court-martial, and was found guilty of wrongfully accepting a gift from a prohibited source.  On 20 Apr 05, the general court-martial convening authority approved the sentence.  On 4 Oct 06, the applicant waived and withdrew his appellate review.  Based upon the documents within the record of trial, it is confirmed the general court-martial convening authority ordered the applicant’s bad conduct discharge executed on 20 Feb 07. 

A complete copy of the AFLOA/JAJM evaluation is at Exhibit C.

AFPC/DPSOR makes no recommendation.  The applicant is requesting his DOS be changed to the same date his separation orders and DD Form 214 were prepared.  AFI 36-3202, Separation Documents, states the “effective date of separation for Appellate Review is the date the actual DD Form 214 and separation orders are issued.  Do not backdate the DD Form 214.”_  The applicant was placed on appellate leave until his final court-martial order was provided.  General Court Martial Order Number 6 states the applicant withdrew his rights to appellate review, thus generating separation action.  

A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSOR evaluation is at Exhibit D.


APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Modification of his discharge date as he requested will establish a valid active duty status, and clear his debt according to TriCare.  He emphasizes he was not contacted by anyone about his case from 2006 until 2012 when his first medical referral for his daughter was denied.  The PSDG, dated 1 Mar 11, superseded AFI 36-3202, and is clear on how to handle out-processing, and no other AFI contradicts it.  He was not separated from the Air Force on 20 Feb 07.  He was in an active duty status until 3 Feb 12, and both he and his dependents carried valid DEERS ID cards.  The administrative oversight of the Air Force was not his fault or his family’s fault.  The AFPC/DPSOR advisory states “the intent” of the Air Force was an earlier separation, but that is not good enough and not supported by any AFI Regulation, or the PSDG (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 error or injustice.  We took notice of the applicant's complete submission, to include his rebuttal response to the advisory opinions, in judging the merits of the case.  The Board notes the comments from AFPC/DPSOR indicating that a DD Form 214 completed at the conclusion of Appellate Leave is to be dated as of the date the DD Form 214 was accomplished, and said form is not to be back dated.  Therefore, in view of the fact that the AFI requires the Date of Separation (DOS) be established when the DD Form 214 and separation orders are processed and, for whatever reason, the Air Force did not publish the orders until nearly five years after the applicant’s Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD) was ordered to be executed, we believe it appropriate to recommend that 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 the APPLICANT be corrected to reflect he was in appellate leave status from 5 January 2005 until 3 February 2012 and separated from active duty on 3 February 2012. 


The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-00710 in Executive Session on 22 Jan 15 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

	Panel Chair
	Member
	Member
All members voted to correct the records as recommended.  The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-00710 was considered:

	Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 11 Feb 14, w/atchs.
	Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
	Exhibit C.  Memorandum, AFLOA/JAJM, dated 11 Jul 14.
Exhibit D.  Memorandum, AFPC/DPSOR, dated 23 Jul 14.
Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 18 Aug 14.