RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:  02-01150
		INDEX CODE:  131.00
		COUNSEL:  NONE

		HEARING DESIRED:  NO

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

1.  His Officer Performance Report (OPR) rendered for the period 15 Jul 98 through 23 May 99 be replaced with a corrected OPR.

2.  He be considered for promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel by Special Selection Board (SSB) for the Calendar Year 2000 (CY00) lieutenant colonel selection board.

3.  He be considered by SSB for selection to attend Intermediate Service School (ISS).

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The OPR was not in his records at the Military Personnel Flight when he reviewed his records prior to the CY99 lieutenant colonel board.  However, the OPR was in his Officer Selection Record (OSR) that met the board.  Prior to the CY00 board he reviewed his records and noticed that the OPR contained an incorrect duty title and that changes that were requested by the rater and additional rater had not been incorporated.  The duty title that was used did not exist on the Unit Manning Document.  He obtained a corrected OPR along with letters of support from his rating chain and submitted an appeal through the Evaluation Reports Appeal Board (ERAB) to have the OPR replaced.  The ERAB denied his request because of the lapse of time from discovery of the error to submittal of the appeal.  The time lapse was beyond his control because the OPR had to be circulated via mail for signatures and the deployment of the additional rater.  

In support of his request, applicant provided a personal statement, the contested OPR, the corrected OPR, and letters of support.  His complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.  

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant is currently serving on extended active duty in the grade of major, having assumed that grade effective and with a date of rank of 1 Aug 98.  He was considered and not selected for below-the-zone promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel by the CY99 and CY00 lieutenant colonel selection boards.  He was considered and selected for promotion to lieutenant colonel in-the-zone by the CY01B lieutenant colonel selection board which convened on 5 Nov 01.  

The applicant submitted a similar appeal to the ERAB.  The ERAB denied the appeal because the applicant did not provide clear evidence that the changes were warranted.  The ERAB further stated that most evaluation reports could be changed to be harder hitting, include stratification, and provide embellishments.  However, the time to do that is before the report becomes a matter of record.  Further he did not show that he attempted to correct the mistakes prior to it being reviewed by the selection board.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPAP reviewed applicant's request and states that in accordance with AFI 36-2611, each officer should ensure his AFPC assignment selection folder is up-to-date.  The assignment selection folder is the OSR.  The OSR is accessible to the officer and the officer is responsible for reviewing it and ensuring its accuracy and completeness.  He should be reconsidered for ISS selection and subsequent Operational Deferment, upon approval to correct the duty title of the OPR.  The DPAP evaluation is at Exhibit C.

AFPC/DPPPE reviewed applicant's request and recommends denial of his request to substitute the OPR but the Board should direct the PME recommendation be changed to ISS.  A change to the level of PME recommendation alone does not require SSB consideration since it is purely administrative in nature.  DPPPE states duty titles are not restricted by manpower billets.  Raters determine duty titles based on the ratee's assigned responsibilities and the very first line of Section III on the contested report states "Principal assistant to the commander..."  As such it appears that "Special Assistant to the Commander" was, in fact the intended duty title.  Further, it does not appear the rater felt the duty title was incorrect until the applicant's nonselection for promotion, two years after the closeout of the report.  

DPPPE noted several errors with the proposed OPR that would preclude approving the substitution.  The report was accomplished on the wrong version of the AF Form 707a.  The contested and the proposed reports recommend the applicant for Senior Service School (SSS) even though he was still eligible for ISS, which is prohibited by AFI 36-2406.  The proposed OPR contains changes that do not add or remove information that was not previously known to the evaluators.  The changes appear to be designed to embellish the report and to make it harder hitting, giving the applicant an unfair advantage against his peers, not to correct an erroneous duty title.  The DPPPE evaluation is at Exhibit D.

AFPC/DPPPO reviewed applicant's request and concurs with the DPPPE and DPAP advisories.  DPPPO states that although DPPPE recommends that the Board deny the applicant's request to substitute the entire OPR, it directs that the PME recommendations be changed to ISS.  However, a change to the level of PME recommendation is administrative in nature and does not warrant consideration by an SSB.  The DPPPO evaluation is at Exhibit E.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

In response to the Air Force evaluations the applicant provided an OPR completed on the correct version of the AF Form 707a.  The remaining suggested corrections were not made.  His complete submission is at Exhibit G.

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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 warranting corrections to the contested OPR.  In this respect, we note the statements submitted from the rating chain members indicate that the duty title on the contested report is inaccurate.  Based on these statements, we recommend that the duty title be corrected.  We also note that the report contains PME recommendations for SSS; however, as indicated by the Air Force, the applicant was not eligible for SSS.  In his appeal to this Board, applicant has requested that he be considered for ISS, which is the appropriate PME recommendation that should have been indicated on the OPR.  Therefore, we recommend the duty title and PME recommendation be changed on the contested OPR and that his corrected report be considered for promotion and ISS by SSBs.

4.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice warranting voidance of the contested report and placing a reaccomplished OPR in his record.  After reviewing the evidence of record, to include the statements submitted from his rating chain members, we are not persuaded that the additional changes requested are justified.  In this regard, the statements provided do not reveal that additional changes are necessary.  We have reviewed the requested changes to the contested report and find, as does the Air Force,that they do not add or remove information that was not previously known to the evaluators but appears to an attempt to embellish the report, which is inappropriate.  We believe that the comments on the report were honest assessments of applicant’s performance at the time the report was rendered and in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we do not recommend favorable action on his request to have the contested OPR replaced with a reaccomplish report.

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THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to APPLICANT be corrected to show that the AF Form 707A, Field Grade Officer Performance Report (OPR), rendered for the period 15 July 1998 through 23 May 1999, be amended as follows:

	a. The duty title in Section III be changed to reflect "Assistant Operations Officer (ADO)."

	b. The last line of Section VI be changed to reflect "--send to ISS" rather that "--send to SSS."

	c. The last line of Section VII be changed to reflect "challenge with Joint ISS/tour" rather than "challenge with Joint SSS/tour."

It is further recommended that his record, to include the above corrected OPR, be considered for promotion by a Special Selection Board (SSB) for the Calendar Year 1999B (CY99B) and the CY00A Central Lieutenant Colonel Selection Boards; and, for Intermediate Service School (ISS) by SSB for the CY00 ISS Selection Board.

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The following members of the Board considered Docket Number 02-01150 in Executive Session on 4 Dec 02, 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 7 Feb 02, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPOO, dated 14 May 02.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPE, dated 25 Sep 02. 
    Exhibit E.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPO, dated 25 Sep 02.
    Exhibit F.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 4 Oct 02.
    Exhibit G.  Letter, Applicant, dated 20 Nov 02, w/atch.

					

AFBCMR 02-01150

MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF OF STAFF

	Having received and considered the recommendation of the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records and under the authority of Section 1552, Title 10, United States Code (70A Stat 116), it is directed that:

	The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show the AF Form 707A, Field Grade Officer Performance Report (OPR), rendered for the period 15 July 1998 through 23 May 1999, be, and hereby is, amended as follows:

		a. The duty title in Section III be changed to reflect "Assistant Operations Officer (ADO)."

		b. The last line of Section VI be changed to reflect "--send to ISS" rather that "--send to SSS."

		c. The last line of Section VII be changed to reflect "challenge with Joint ISS/tour" rather than "challenge with Joint SSS/tour."

	It is further directed that his record, to include the above corrected OPR, be considered for promotion by a Special Selection Board (SSB) for the Calendar Year 1999B (CY99B) and the CY00A Central Lieutenant Colonel Selection Boards; and, for Intermediate Service School (ISS) by SSB for the CY00 ISS Selection Board.