RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-00714
		INDEX CODE:  131.01
		COUNSEL:  NONE

		HEARING DESIRED:  NO

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He be considered for promotion to the grade of colonel by Special Selection Board (SSB) for the Calendar Year 1998A (CY98A) Colonel Selection Board.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

Evidence of his successful completion of dental residency was not made available to selection board members that considered him for promotion between 1997 and 2001.  He submitted the correction request to his Military Personnel Flight (MPF) and was assured the corrections were made.  For each of the boards from 1998 to present, he submitted a letter to the board president noting the discrepancy in his record.  He discussed his nonselection with his current command surgeon who stated that he sat on his previous SSB panel and knew of his residency training and noted that his record did not reflect the additional training.  In addition, his OSBs contained the wrong code for his dental school.  They reflected 7BAY and should have reflected 7BYY.  

In support of his request, applicant provided a personal statement, a statement from his command surgeon, copies of documents retrieved from the AFPC web site, and his Calendar Year 2001A OSB.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant was appointed a captain, Reserve of the Air Force, on 26 Jan 82 and was voluntarily ordered to extended active duty on that same date.  He was progressively promoted to the grade of lieutenant colonel, having assumed that grade effective and with a date of rank of 18 Dec 93.

He was considered and not selected for promotion to the grade of colonel by the CY98A (9 Nov 98), CY99A (8 Nov 99), CY00A (6 Nov 00), CY01A (22 Oct 01), and the CY02A (28 Oct 02) Central Colonel Selection Boards.  On 28 Aug 00, he was considered by SSB for the CY98A board, and was not selected.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPAMF2 states that although the documents provided by the applicant are not selection briefs, only the document dated 10 Sep 01 is truly an Officer Preselection Brief (OPB).  The 10 Sep 01, OPB reflects data has been updated and in the system on 10 Sep 01.  The DPAMF2 evaluation is at Exhibit C.

AFPC/DPPPO recommends the application be denied on the basis of timeliness.  If the Board decides to consider the case on its merit, then denial is recommended.  The applicant contends he was not aware of the absence of his residency training until October 2000.  However, the applicant received an OPB 90-100 days prior to the convening of each selection board.  The OPB contains data that appears on the OSB at the central board.  He failed to ensure the OSBs were corrected.  The proper recourse would have been to write a letter to the board, which he did, but failed to mention his completion of his dental residency training.  Therefore, he did not exercise reasonable diligence to ensure his record was accurate prior to these boards.  Additionally, although the OSBs for the 1998, 1999, and 2000 board did not reflect his dental residency training, his training report closing 24 Jun 95, which was filed in his Officer Selection Record (OSR), did show his completion of "Advanced Clinical Dentistry Program."  Therefore, board members had knowledge of this accomplishment.  There is no clear evidence that the inaccurate OSBs negatively impacted his promotion opportunity.  Central boards evaluate the entire OSR, assessing whole person factors such as job performance, professional qualities, depth and breadth of experience, leadership, and academic and professional military education.  Therefore, SSB consideration is not warranted.  The DPPPO evaluation is at Exhibit D.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant states that he is only requesting SSB consideration for the CY98A board.  He was discouraged from writing a letter to that board differentiating the increased responsibility of his flight commander position at Little Rock AFB as compared to the prior squadron commander position at Columbus AFB.  He was told that any letter was unnecessary as the board members would know the difference without intervention on his part.  Review of board results by AFPC personnel concluded that his nonselection was likely due to the board perception that he did not perform well as a squadron commander and was not selected for another command position.  In actuality, the new assignment as a flight commander was a reward for a job well done, not retribution for poor performance.  The duty title of Flight Commander is a lower position on the hierarchy than squadron commander.  

In support of his request, applicant provided a personal statement, letters in support of his appeal, copies of documentation previously submitted, and officer SURFs.  His complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit F.

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ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPO states that if the applicant had exercised proper care of his records prior to the CY98A board, he would have discovered that the residency training was not recorded on the OSB.  The applicant clearly failed to exercise reasonable diligence to correct his records until after he was identified as a nonselect for promotion, as evidenced by his own written statement.  He maintains that immediate action was taken to address the incorrect/missing information but he provides no evidence to support his claim.  The DPPPO evaluation is at Exhibit G.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant's response to the additional advisory opinion is attached at Exhibit I.

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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.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of error or injustice warranting SSB consideration.  We took notice of the applicant's complete submission in judging the merits of the case; however, we are not persuaded by the evidence presented that he has substantiated that his completion of dental residency was not made available to the selection board members nor are we persuaded that the absence of his residency training on the OSBs had a negative impact on his promotion opportunity.  We agree with the Air Force offices of primary responsibility that it appears he did not exercise due diligence to ensure his selection records were accurate prior to promotion consideration and we adopt their rationale as the basis for our conclusion that the applicant has not been the victim of an error or injustice.  In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the Board finds no compelling basis to recommend granting the relief sought in this application.  

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THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified that the evidence presented did not demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; that the application was denied without a personal appearance; and that the application will only be reconsidered upon the submission of newly discovered relevant evidence not considered with this application.

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The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2003-00714 in Executive Session on 14 Oct 03, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

	Panel Chair
	Member
	Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 14 Feb 02, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPAMF2, dated 14 Apr 03.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPO, dated 28 May 03.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 3 Jun 03.
    Exhibit F.  Letter, Applicant, dated 28 Jun 03.
    Exhibit G.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPO, not dated.
    Exhibit H.  Letter, SAF/MRBC, dated 25 Sep 03.
    Exhibit I.  Letter, Applicant, dated 3 Oct 03.

                                   
                                   Panel Chair