Pilot’s Letter of Resignation to the Secretary of the Air Force Is Withheld
by Captain Cliff Volpe. For Immediate Release: April 17, 2000
In further delay of my anthrax case, my commanders are withholding my resignation letter from the Secretary of the Air Force. My letter, addressed to the Secretary, included my request for an honorable discharge as well as a detailed outline of the ways in which the military has harassed me and mishandled my case since my refusal to take the anthrax vaccine six months ago.
It is proper procedure for the Secretary of the Air Force to receive a request for resignation through the chain of command. I submitted my request through my chain of command on April 10, 2000. However, my Squadron Commander returned my resignation letter to me on April 14, 2000, without ever delivering it to the Secretary of the Air Force. The letter was detained on regulatory grounds that are clearly unjustified.
In refusing to forward my resignation letter to the Secretary of the Air Force, my Squadron Commander cited an Air Force regulation which states that officers are not allowed to apply for a resignation if their commanders notify them that a discharge action is being considered. My commanders assert that, since October 1999, they have notified me several times that they intend to discharge me from the military.
However, the regulation assumes that the verbal notice of discharge will be followed immediately by formal discharge procedures. In my case, the military’s verbal intent to discharge me has been matched with no formal action over the last six months. According to their logic, my commander is denying me my legal right to ever resign, even if it is years from now.
Furthermore, my commanders’ stated intentions to discharge me have been inconsistent with his statements to strip me of my wings, court martial me, give me another Article 15, or even to allow me to stay on active duty. Such inconsistencies make it extremely difficult for me to have faith in the military’s word or action. Thus, it is these delayed and contradictory actions by my chain of command that prompted me to submit my letter of resignation.
Additionally, on 10 April, 2000, I submitted a formal complaint to the Andrews AFB Inspector General. The Inspector General is the Air Force’s investigative arm for complaints, to include reprisal, harassment, and retaliation.
Attached is the letter from my Squadron Commander informing me that he is withholding my resignation (see "Withheld Resignation") and my written response that I submitted to my Squadron Commander on April 17, 2000 (see "Withheld Resignation response"). Also attached is my original resignation letter (see "Resignation letter").
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Electronic copy of the below text submitted to Captain Volpe on 14 April
2000.)
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13 April 2000
MEMORANDUM FOR CAPT CLIFTON P. VOLPE
FROM: 457 AS/CC
SUBJECT: Application for Separation from the Air Force Submitted 10April 2000
The application described above, on AF Form 780, together with the other documents you submitted, are herewith returned to you without further action. Under the terms of the Note following paragraph 2.5 of AFI 36-3207, "Officers may not apply for (separation for miscellaneous reasons) . . .when their commanders notify them, verbally in writing, that . . . discharge action is being considered under AFI 36-3206." You have received such verbal notice several times since October 1999, most recently on 5 April 2000. I have discussed this matter with our wing commander, Col Baker, and he concurs in this action returning the described application to you.
KENNETH M. KONICKI, Lt Col, USAF
Commander, 457th Airlift Squadron
Attachment
AF Form 780 dated 10 Apr 00 w/atchs
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Electronic copy of the below text submitted to Lt Col Konicki by Captain
Volpe on 17 April 2000
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17 April 2000
MEMORANDUM FOR 457 AS/CC
FROM: Captain Clifton P. Volpe
SUBJECT: Request for Redress, Complaint of Wrongs under UCMJ Article 138
1. I am requesting redress for the following injustice. My application for request for resignation addressed to the Secretary of the Air Force was returned to me.
2. Sir, you notified me on 14 Apr 00 that my application and letter requesting separation from the Air Force, addressed to the Secretary of the Air Force, is being returned to me without further action. I interpret this to mean that you did not forward my application and letter to the Secretary of the Air Force.
3. I respectfully request that you reconsider sending my application and letter to the Secretary of the Air Force. I am entitled, under Air Force Instruction 36-3207, to request resignation. I also believe that you are not justified in preventing me from exercising the right I have to request resignation.
4. Sir, you justified your action of withholding my letter from the Secretary of the Air Force by citing AFI 36-3207, paragraph 2.5., "Officers may not apply for (separation for miscellaneous reasons)…when their commanders notify them, verbally or in writing, that…discharge action is being considered under AFI 36-3206." I agree that the intent of this AFI is to ensure that members do not abuse their right to request resignation immediately after they have been informed by their commander that they will be discharged. However, you said that "[Captain Volpe] has received such verbal notice several times since October 1999…" Surely, AFI 36-3207 assumes that verbal notice of discharge will be followed in a reasonable and timely manner with actual discharge procedures. The fact that six months has passed without action is one of the reasons I submitted my resignation.
5. Your expressed intent to discharge me is inconsistent with your failure to initiate discharge action during the past six months. You have been considering discharge for over 180 days, but no formal action has been taken, and there are no factual circumstances to justify a six-month delay. The fact that you failed to take discharge action indicates that the verbal notices you gave me held no meaning. By your interpretation of AFI 36-3207, you can prevent me from ever resigning, no matter how many years go by, merely by stating that you are considering discharge. Under your reasoning, I am not permitted to ever request resignation.
6. I also submitted my resignation because your stated intentions to discharge me are inconsistent with your multiple statements since October 1999 to strip me of my wings (by FEB), court martial me, give me another Article 15, or allow me to stay on active duty. The primary inconsistency is that, over the last six months, you have told me several times that you intend to allow me to stay in the Air Force. To date, no action has been taken on any of these notices.
7. Furthermore, the conditions under which you state I will be discharged have been contradicted. On 28 March 2000, the Staff Judge Advocate from Scott AFB, Lt Col Hillyer, told my attorney that they intended to give me a general discharge and most likely no pay would be recouped from me. However, you informed me on 4 April 2000, that my chain of command intended to conduct discharge procedures possibly under other than honorable conditions and to retroactively take my flight pay. This is another example of an inconsistency that makes it difficult for me to trust and rely upon the Air Force. Attached is a list outlining the verbal and written notices I have been given during the past 6 months (see attachment 1). None of the verbal intentions I have been given have actually been carried out.
8. Please, Sir, do not deny me my right to request resignation. I wrote my resignation letter because I feel that I have been subjected to undue mental anguish and suffering because my case has been delayed for over six months. If you withhold my resignation now, I feel that the additional delay only further justifies my need to request resignation. If the Secretary of the Air Force chooses to deny my resignation because he believes my chain of command is considering discharging me, so be it, but at least the Secretary of the Air Force should be allowed to consider my request. Sir, I respect the Air Force very much, but I cannot endure prolonged and further inaction to resolve my case. Please submit my request for resignation to the Secretary of the Air Force.
CLIFTON P. VOLPE, Capt, USAF
Notices of Actions Being Considered that Captain Volpe has Received from his Chain of Command.
18 Oct 99 My Squadron Commander informed me that I could face a court-martial, Flying Evaluation Board, recoupment of special pay and bonuses, fine of one month’s pay, or dishonorable dismissal if I continued to refuse the anthrax vaccine. He also said that once I was punished under Article 15, that "this issue would not be over."
20 Oct 99 My Squadron Commander told me not to jump to conclusions about receiving a court-martial or discharge in the future.
25 Oct 99 In a written reprimand, the 15 AF/CC told me "Let there be no doubt in your mind that further misconduct on your part will not be tolerated but will be dealt with swiftly and severely."
28 Oct 99 My Squadron Commander reiterated that "this [receiving my Article 15] is only the first small step should I refuse [to take the anthrax vaccine] again." He also said that I may be taken off flying status and lose my flight pay.
16 Nov 99 My Squadron Commander told me that they were considering allowing me to remain in the Air Force for the remainder of my active duty service commitment (until 2005). Furthermore, he added that they were considering moving me to Scott AFB and giving me a non-flying job in the Operational Support Squadron. Additionally, he said that they were contemplating stripping me of my pilot wings by having me meet a Flying Evaluation Board.
19 Nov 99 My Squadron Commander told me that "I think we are going to press ahead with taking you off flying status, having you meet an FEB, relocating you to Scott AFB, and allowing you to remain in the Air Force doing an OSS job until 2005."
24 Nov 99 My Squadron Commander informed me that "he has been talking to XP at Scott AFB and they are pretty excited about getting me."
05 Jan 00 Captain McDowell from the Scott AFB Judge Advocate office informed my attorney that a Flying Evaluation Board was being staffed for me at the discretion of my Wing Commander.
19 Jan 00 My Squadron Commander told me that I am "on standby", and that I should "make myself comfortable and bed down."
21 Jan 00 My Squadron Commander informed me that he doesn’t know when a decision will be made about my case. Furthermore, he told me that my Wing Commander "could have me serve out the rest of my Air Force career just waiting." Additionally, he said that my Wing Commander may still court-martial or FEB me, and that "the Article 15 [I received] was a first, small step."
31 Jan 00 My Squadron Commander informed me that "there has been peace here and I don’t want to send you the wrong message. We do not intend a peaceful resolution to this." He also added that they had been discussing ways to strip me of my pilot wings and take away my flight pay. Furthermore, he told me that he does not know when there will be a resolution to my case.
25 Feb 00 I asked my Squadron Commander if I could possibly be allowed to fly again. He said that I would "never see the inside of an Air Force aircraft again." Additionally, he informed me that my Wing Commander had just told him that I was still on standby.
23 Mar 00 I asked my Squadron Commander if I could attend Safety School (as recommended by inspecting officials at our 20 March 2000 Wing Safety inspectors). My Squadron Commander told me no, because "he could get a phone call tomorrow and I would be out of here."
28 Mar 00 The Staff Judge Advocate from Scott AFB told my attorney that they intended to give me a general discharge, and that most likely they would not recoup money from me.
4 Apr 00 My Squadron Commander told me that they intended to discharge me possibly under other than honorable conditions. Also, they planned on initiating flight disqualification procedures and retroactively taking my flight pay.