RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:  99-00728
		INDEX NUMBER:  131.01

		COUNSEL:  NONE

		HEARING DESIRED: NO

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

The Assignment History on his Officer Selection Brief (OSB) for the CY98 Lieutenant Colonel Selection Board be corrected; the Officer Performance Report (OPR) closing 1 Dec 97 be considered in the Management Level Review (MLR) process; the wording in Section IV, Promotion Recommendation, on his Promotion Recommendation Form (PRF) for the CY98 board be changed; the citations to accompany the award of the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM) and the Joint Service Achievement Medal (JSAM) be included in his record; and that he be reconsidered by a Special Selection Board (SSB) for promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel by the CY98 Lieutenant Colonel Selection Board.

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The OSB contained erroneous information.  The command level for his position as Exec Officer, OPS Directorate, should read DD/J.  The command level for his position as Dp Ch, CENTCOM Info Op Spt Team, should read DD/J and the organization should read AFELM JT C2 War CE JCS XXX XXXXXX.  These errors could have created the impression that he took a step down from a joint duty assignment to Wing/Base Level.  The OPR closing 1 Dec 97, was missing from his unit records at the time of the MLR for promotion recommendations and the report may have been missing from his Officer Selection Record (OSR) at the time of the CY98 board.  His post-selection debrief in Sep 98, indicated it would have been better if the senior rater had stated “If I had one more DP to give this would be it” in Section IV of the PRF rather than “Top 5 percent.”  The citations to accompany the award of the DMSM and JSAM were missing from his record for the CY98 board and probably were missing for the CY97 board.  

In support of his appeal, the applicant provided an assignment SURF, dated 2 Apr 98; OSB for the CY98 lieutenant colonel board, dated 30 May 98; several documents pertaining to Assignment History errors and missing decorations; OPRs closing 25 May 97, 1 Dec 97, and 31 May 98; the PRF for the CY98 lieutenant colonel board; and other documents related to the issues under review (Exhibit A).

___________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Information extracted from the Personnel Data System (PDS) indicates that the applicant was appointed a second lieutenant, Reserve of the Air Force, on 29 Jan 82.  He was voluntarily ordered to extended active duty on the same date.  He is currently serving on active duty in the grade of major, having been promoted to that grade, effective 1 Apr 94.

Applicant's OPR profile for the last 10 reporting periods follows:

	PERIOD ENDING	EVALUATION

	18 Feb 92	Meets Standards
	14 Oct 92	Meets Standards
	15 Oct 93	Meets Standards
	 2 Jul 94	Meets Standards
	25 May 95	Meets Standards
	25 May 96	Meets Standards
	13 Dec 96	Training Report
	25 May 97	Meets Standards
   *	 1 Dec 97	Meets Standards
	31 May 98	Meets Standards

*Top report CY98 Lieutenant Colonel Selection Board, which convened on 1 Jun 98.

Documentation in the applicant’s selection record indicates that the OPR closing 1 Dec 97, was filed in his OSR on 5 Feb 98.  The citations to accompany the award of the DMSM and JSAM were filed in his OSR on 12 Mar 99.

___________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATIONS:

The XXXXX, Assignment Information Branch, AFPC/DPAPS, reviewed this application and agreed with the applicant that the Assignment History portion of the OSB for the CY98 Lieutenant Colonel Board was incorrect.  They verified that the PDS has been updated to reflect the corrections to his assignment history.  The evaluation is at Exhibit C.

The XXXX, Appeals and SSB Branch, AFPC/DPPPA, reviewed this application and recommended denial.  Although they accepted the changes made to the PDS, the Appeals and SSB Branch did not support promotion reconsideration since the correct information was contained in the corresponding OPRs.

Regarding the OPR closing 1 Dec 97, the applicant has not provided documentation from anyone in his rating chain to verify the OPR was missing when his record was considered in the promotion recommendation process.  If the applicant is challenging the validity of the PRF, he should provide statements from the evaluators addressing whether the OPR would have made a difference in the promotion recommendation, if it was missing.  Additionally, the report was filed in the applicant’s OSR on 5 Feb 98.  Even though the duty history entry was not updated on his OSB, it was on the OPR and available for the board’s review.

With regard to the citations to accompany the award of the JSAM and DMSM, the citations were missing from the OSR when it was considered by the board.  However, they were both reflected on the OSB.  

The applicant is concerned the citation for the JSAM was missing when he was considered below the promotion zone (BPZ) by the CY97 (21 Jul 97) Lieutenant Colonel Board.  The OSB did indicate award of the JSAM.  However, the DMSM was not included since the special order for the award was not published until Dec 97. 

A complete copy of DPPPA’s evaluation is at Exhibit D.

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATIONS:

Copies of the evaluations were forwarded to the applicant for review and response (Exhibit E).  As of this date, no response has been received by this office.

___________________________________________________________________

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 probable error or injustice warranting consideration for promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel by a Special Selection Board for the CY 1998B Lieutenant Colonel Board.  On reaching this conclusion, we considered the following:  

    a.  With regard to the applicant’s request to correct the Assignment History section on the Officer Selection Brief (OSB) reviewed by the CY98B promotion board, we note that AFPC/DPAPS concurs with the applicant that the command level for the 2 Feb 1997 duty title, Exec Officer, Ops Directorate, which read “W/B” should have reflected “DD/J”; and the 26 May 1996 duty title, Dp Ch, CENTCOM Info Op Spt Team, which read command level “  ”; organization “  ”; and duty location “Kelly” should have reflected command level “DD/J”; organization “AFELM JT C2 WAR CE”; and duty location “XXX XXXXXX.”  We agree with the AFPC/DPAPS advisory opinion.

    b.  Regarding the applicant’s request that the citations to accompany the award of the JSAM and the DMSM be included in his selection record, we note that the citations were not filed in his record until 12 Mar 99, after the promotion board met.  Although these citations were listed on the selection brief and the board members were aware of the decorations, the narratives for these awards were missing.  Therefore, his record might have been placed at a disadvantage when compared with other officers’ records that may have included the citations.

4.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice with regard to the remainder of the applicant’s requests.  

    a.  Regarding the applicant’s contention that the OPR closing 1 Dec 97, was missing from his unit records at the time of the MLR for promotion recommendations.  The applicant did not provide statements from anyone in his rating chain that the report was missing during the promotion recommendation process.  Moreover, there is no evidence that, even if the report were missing, it would have made a difference in the promotion recommendation since no one in his rating chain submitted statements substantiating that the PRF was inaccurate.  

    b.  With respect to the applicant’s request to make the wording better in Section IV of his PRF considered by the CY98 Lieutenant Colonel Board, we were not persuaded by the documentation provided that the PRF was improperly prepared, that it was based on erroneous information, or, that there was significant information not available at the time the PRF was prepared which would have had an impact on the promotion recommendation he received.  Therefore, without evidence to the contrary and in the absence of supporting statements from the evaluators, including the MLR board president, we find no basis to render the PRF erroneous and do not recommend changing Section IV, Promotion Recommendation, of the PRF.

    c.  Regarding the applicant’s contention that the OPR closing 1 Dec 97, might have been missing from his selection record before the CY98 board.  The OPR was filed in his selection record on 5 Feb 98.  Therefore, it was available for review by board members.

    d.  In response to the applicant’s contention that the citations for the DMSM and the JSAM were probably missing when he was considered below the zone for promotion to lieutenant colonel by the CY97C promotion board, the JSAM was included on the OSB even though the citation was missing from the selection record.  Therefore, the board members were aware of the award and we view its omission for his consideration for promotion below the zone as harmless.  Furthermore, since the special order for the DMSM was not published until Dec 97, it would not have been included in his record when he was considered by the CY97 board on 21 Jul 97.

5.  After carefully considering the available evidence, the applicant’s submission, and the administrative corrections made to his records after the CY98B board, we believe the applicant may have been deprived of full and fair consideration by the selection board.  Therefore, we are persuaded that the applicant’s records should be corrected to the extent indicated below so that the administrative corrections made subsequent to the CY98B promotion board may be reviewed by an SSB for that board.

___________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that:

	a.	The Assignment History Section of the Air Force Officer Selection Brief, for Selection Board P0598B, Sequence Number 000133, prepared 30 May 1998, be amended as follows:  

		1.	Change:  2 Feb 1997 duty title, Exec Officer, Ops Directorate, command level “W/B” to read command level “DD/J.”

		2.	Change:  26 May 1996 duty title, Dp Ch, CENTCOM Info Op Spt Team, command level “  ”; organization “   ”; location “Kelly”; to read command level “DD/J”; organization “AFELM JT C2 WAR CE”; and duty location “XXX XXXXXX.”

	b.	The citation to accompany the award of the JSAM was accepted for file in his Officer Selection Record on or before 31 May 1998.

	c.	The citation to accompany the award of the DMSM was accepted for file in his Officer Selection Record on or before 31 May 1998.

It is further recommended that he be considered for promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel by a Special Selection Board for the CY1998B Lieutenant Colonel Selection Board, which convened on 1 June 1998, with inclusion of the corrections to his Assignment History on his Officer Selection Brief and the citations for the award of the Joint Service Achievement Medal (JSAM) and Defense Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM) in his Officer Selection Record.

___________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered this application in Executive Session on 16 November 1999, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

All members voted to correct the records, as recommended.  The following documentary evidence was considered:

     Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 10 Mar 99, w/atchs.
     Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
     Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPAPS, dated 19 Apr 99.
     Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPA, dated 2 Jun 99.
     Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MIBR, dated 14 Jun 99.