RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBERS:  BC-2003-00420
	              INDEX CODE 131.01   107.00  111.01
	 	COUNSEL:  None

	 	HEARING DESIRED:  No

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

She be given below-the-promotion-zone (BPZ) consideration by Special Selection Board (SSB) for the Calendar Year 2001B (CY01B) Central Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Selection Board with the Officer Performance Report (OPR) for the period 26 Jan through 3 Jul 01 and the Meritorious Service Medal, 2nd Oak Leaf Cluster (MSM 2OLC), for the period 26 Jan 99 to 7 Jul 01, in her Officer Selection Record (OSR).

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

She departed Kadena AB, Japan, on 3 Jul 01. The final OPR from that assignment was not signed until 6 May 02 and the MSM 2OLC was not signed until 19 Apr 02.  Neither item was in her OSR despite being due three months before the board met. Her personal phone calls and emails to the overseas unit resulted only in vague replies, while attempts to pulse the system via formal military personnel flight (MPF) channels repeatedly came up negative. In fact, the unit never submitted the award to the MPF at all, but instead sent it directly to her. She fixed the award problem the day she discovered it.

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. 

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

AFI 36-2406 stipulates that OPRs on extended active duty officers are due at HQ AFPC no later than 60 days following the closeout date of the report.  AFI 36-2803 provides that a member’s rating chain has up to two years to submit a recommendation for a decoration after the service was performed. It also directs that citations and special orders for decorations be filed within 30 days of the date the special orders are published. 

During the period in question, the applicant was the XX intelligence flight commander with the XXX Operation Support Squadron at Kadena AB, Japan. The applicant left Kadena on 3 Jul 01 for the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) at Maxwell AFB, AL.

The applicant was considered BPZ by the CY01B and CY02B LTC boards, which convened on 5 Nov 01 and 12 Nov 02, respectively; however, she was not selected. Both Promotion Recommendation Forms (PRFs) had overall recommendations of “Promote.”

The OPR in question had a closing date of 3 Jul 01, yet it was not signed until 6 May 02, six months after the CY01B board convened.  The report was not filed in the applicant’s OSR until 17 Jun 02. The pertinent AFI required it to be filed no later than 3 Sep 01, before the CY01B board convened.

The closing period for the MSM 2OLC was 7 Jul 01, but the orders were not published until 19 Apr 02. The award was filed in the applicant’s OSR on 15 May 02; the latest file-by date was 19 May 02.

As a result, the OPR and MSM 2OLC were not in her OSR when the CY01B board convened. Both were in her OSR for the CY02B board.

The applicant’s performance reports as a major reflect the following:

		PERIOD ENDING			OVERALL EVALUATION
		  25 Jan 00			  Meets Standards
		# 25 Jan 01			  Meets Standards
		*  3 Jul 01			  Meets Standards
		  10 Jun 02			  Training Report
		##27 Sep 02			  Training Report

#  Top report for CY01B board
*  Report in question
## Top report for CY02B board
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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPPO asserts that, although AFI 36-2406 requires OPRs be filed no later than 60 days following the closeout date, the report in question was not signed until six months after the board convened. As such, the OPR was not a matter of record for the CY01B board; therefore SSB consideration is not warranted. For the purposes of including the MSM 2OLC in a board that convened on 5 Nov 01, the decoration did not yet exist and was not required to be on file until 19 May 02. The applicant could have written to the board president of her accomplishments 
covered in her missing OPR and MSM 2OLC. However, she did not elect to exercise this option. While it may be argued that the “missing” OPR and MSM 2OLC were factors in the applicant’s nonselection, there is no clear evidence that their absence negatively impacted her promotion opportunity. Denial is recommended.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit C.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant contends by regulation the OPR was required to have been a matter of record at the time of the CY01B board. It was a mandatory OPR (reporting period greater than 120 days), not an optional one. Her records were not complete when reviewed for promotion. As for not communicating with the board president, it never occurred to her to question the integrity of her superiors who were writing the report. She was told it was in full draft when she departed Kadena on 3 Jul 01, as was the MSM 2 OLC. She followed up through phone calls, emails and pinging the military personnel system and was finally told the OPR was enroute. The evaluation contends there is no clear evidence that the absence of information in her promotion record hurt her opportunity. Her request for review is based on a desire to have conclusive results, rather than an absence of evidence. 

A complete copy of applicant’s response is at Exhibit E.

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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 error warranting SSB consideration for the CY01B board with the 3 Jul 01 OPR in the applicant’s records. AFI 36-2406 clearly requires OPRs to be filed at HQ AFPC no later than 60 days after a report’s closeout date. The OPR in question closed on 3 Jul 01 but was not signed until 6 May 02, six months after the CY01B board convened on 5 Nov 01 and eight months after the required file date of 3 Sep 01. The Air Force makes the fatuous argument in their evaluation that the report couldn’t be filed or considered by the selection board because it didn’t exist until it was signed, missing the point that the report’s signature and file dates were in obvious violation of 
the governing directive. While we cannot determine absolutely that the OPR’s absence caused her nonselection, we do believe the applicant’s incomplete record deprived her of full and fair consideration.  Therefore, we recommend the signature dates of the 3 Jul 01 OPR be changed to 3 Aug 01 and the applicant be afforded SSB consideration for the CY01B selection board with the report in her OSR.

4.	The applicant’s request to include the MSM 2OLC in her record for CY01B SSB consideration was noted. However, AFI 36-2803 allows a member’s rating chain up to two years after the service was performed to submit a recommendation for a decoration. The Instruction further directs citations and special orders for decorations be filed within 30 days of the special orders’ publication date. The MSM 2OLC’s closing date was 7 Jul 01, but the orders were not published until 19 Apr 02. Although its processing appears protracted, the award did comply with the governing directive when it was filed four days before the mandatory file date of 19 May 02. Therefore, the award cannot be included in the applicant’s OSR for CY01B board’s consideration because it did not exist when the board convened. Since in this respect the applicant has not established that she has been the victim of either an error or an injustice, we conclude this portion of her appeal should be denied.

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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 Field Grade Officer Performance Report (OPR), AF Form 707A, for the period 26 January 2001 through 3 July 2001, be corrected to reflect a signature date of 3 August 2001, rather than 6 May 2002 in Sections VI and VII.

It is further recommended that she be considered for promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel by a Special Selection Board for the Calendar Year 2001B Central Lieutenant Colonel Selection Board with the corrected OPR in her records.

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The following members of the Board considered this application in Executive Session on 12 June 2003 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

			Vice Chair
			Member
			Member

All members voted to correct the records, as recommended.  The following documentary evidence relating to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2003-00420 was considered:

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 17 Jan 03, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPPO, dated 4 Mar 03.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 14 Mar 03.
   Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 6 Apr 03.

                                   
                                   Vice Chair

AFBCMR BC-2003-00420

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     , be corrected to show that the Field Grade Officer Performance Report (OPR), AF Form 707A, for the period 26 January 2001 through 3 July 2001, be corrected to reflect a signature date of 3 August 2001, rather than 6 May 2002, in Sections VI and VII.

	It is further directed that she be considered for promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel by a Special Selection Board for the Calendar Year 2001B Central Lieutenant Colonel Selection Board with the corrected OPR in her records.

	                                                                          
	                                                                          Director
	                                                                          Air Force Review Boards Agency