Canoles v. Department of the Air Force

In her March 2001 decision, the Administrative Judge found that petitioner was aware of the regulations requiring him to file a request with the agency at least as early as his receipt of her previous, 1997, decision, and therefore that his failure to timely do so was fatal because he “was not prevented by circumstances beyond his control from requesting service credit in a timely manner.” We may set aside this determination only if it is unsupported by substantial evidence. 5 U.S.C. § 7703(c).

The majority holds, however, that petitioner’s 1999 request to the Air Force for service credit — 15…