So, I am just shocked and confounded by the behavior of a couple of individuals in my leadership. Tell me what you would do in this circumstance:
AF Form 1185, Section III, Question 1 asks, “Is Airmen pending administrative action or judicial/nonjudicial punishment that could result in demotion/separation/punitive discharge or dismissal? If yes, provide status:”
The day before my leadership officially informed me of the MEB process being started and went over the AF Form 1185 with me to have me provide comments and sign it, they initiated a UIF (Unfavorable Information File). (It felt very much like they did it in order to be able to put it on the AF Form 1185, but that is not my point.)
Since a UIF is not an administrative action or judicial/nonjudicial punishment that could result in demotion/separation/punitive discharge or dismissal, the answer to Question 1 in Section III of the AF Form 1185 should be “No”. They marked “Yes” and typed in, “Member pending issuance of an Unfavorable Information File”.
I asked for it to be corrected. My PEBLO asked the office of authority named in the AFI for guidance on the response, and they said that it should be corrected (they agreed with me). My leadership said they wanted an AFI reference. They AFI doesn’t specifically address this question. I think it is understood that if a form asks for your name, you put your name. Regulations don't say, "In the NAME block of the form, you should just put your own name, not your mother's maiden name or your spouse's name or your kids' names." There is a basic assumption that you only put what is actually requested on the form, and nothing extra. If the form asks for administrative action, you put whatever administrative action is going on if there is any at all. However, if it asks specifically about administrative action that could result in demotion/separation/punitive discharge or dismissal, then you only say “Yes” if there is an administrative action that actually could result in at least one of those things. Am I not understanding this correctly?
The situation is making me feel like my leadership is intending to negatively affect the outcome of the MEB somehow, and I am concerned that if they want this badly to be able to answer “Yes” to the question on that section of the form, then they will go ahead and initiate that type of action in order to be able to do that. I have been Active Duty in the Air Force for over 19 years (July 2020 will be my 20-year mark). I am afraid that there is a goal to have me processed out with no benefits and no retirement, which would be a total kick in the teeth after this much service. I know there are things I can do to drag the process out long enough to cross the 20-year finish line, but it is still scary and upsetting. I asked was that the question be corrected and answered accurately, and I got argument and pushback. I really thought that I would point it out, and they would just fix it. I had no idea this would be such a conflict.
I don't understand how, if the PEBLO knows that this is wrong, they are not being told that they have to fix the form. I mean, if I put the wrong thing on a form, whatever office I turned it in to, would give it back to me, and say, "correct this and bring it back". I'm so baffled. What would you do?
AF Form 1185, Section III, Question 1 asks, “Is Airmen pending administrative action or judicial/nonjudicial punishment that could result in demotion/separation/punitive discharge or dismissal? If yes, provide status:”
The day before my leadership officially informed me of the MEB process being started and went over the AF Form 1185 with me to have me provide comments and sign it, they initiated a UIF (Unfavorable Information File). (It felt very much like they did it in order to be able to put it on the AF Form 1185, but that is not my point.)
Since a UIF is not an administrative action or judicial/nonjudicial punishment that could result in demotion/separation/punitive discharge or dismissal, the answer to Question 1 in Section III of the AF Form 1185 should be “No”. They marked “Yes” and typed in, “Member pending issuance of an Unfavorable Information File”.
I asked for it to be corrected. My PEBLO asked the office of authority named in the AFI for guidance on the response, and they said that it should be corrected (they agreed with me). My leadership said they wanted an AFI reference. They AFI doesn’t specifically address this question. I think it is understood that if a form asks for your name, you put your name. Regulations don't say, "In the NAME block of the form, you should just put your own name, not your mother's maiden name or your spouse's name or your kids' names." There is a basic assumption that you only put what is actually requested on the form, and nothing extra. If the form asks for administrative action, you put whatever administrative action is going on if there is any at all. However, if it asks specifically about administrative action that could result in demotion/separation/punitive discharge or dismissal, then you only say “Yes” if there is an administrative action that actually could result in at least one of those things. Am I not understanding this correctly?
The situation is making me feel like my leadership is intending to negatively affect the outcome of the MEB somehow, and I am concerned that if they want this badly to be able to answer “Yes” to the question on that section of the form, then they will go ahead and initiate that type of action in order to be able to do that. I have been Active Duty in the Air Force for over 19 years (July 2020 will be my 20-year mark). I am afraid that there is a goal to have me processed out with no benefits and no retirement, which would be a total kick in the teeth after this much service. I know there are things I can do to drag the process out long enough to cross the 20-year finish line, but it is still scary and upsetting. I asked was that the question be corrected and answered accurately, and I got argument and pushback. I really thought that I would point it out, and they would just fix it. I had no idea this would be such a conflict.
I don't understand how, if the PEBLO knows that this is wrong, they are not being told that they have to fix the form. I mean, if I put the wrong thing on a form, whatever office I turned it in to, would give it back to me, and say, "correct this and bring it back". I'm so baffled. What would you do?