ADDENDUM TO RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2015-04510-2

	COUNSEL:  NONE

	HEARING REQUESTED:  NO

APPLICANT’S REQUEST

1.  His Air Force Commendation Medal (AFCM) be upgraded to a Meritorious Service Medal (MSM).

2.  His AF Form 911, Senior Enlisted Performance Report (EPR) (MSgt thru CMSgt) rendered for the period 14 March 2006 thru 13 March 2007 include a memorandum stating his supervisor did not sign nor mark down the four categories (Duty Performance, Leadership, Managerial Skills, and Judgment) on the EPR.  

3.  His retirement date on his Record of Proceedings (ROP) dated 9 February 2017 be corrected to reflect 1 January 2009 rather than 1 January 2008.

RESUME OF THE CASE

The applicant is a retired Air Force master sergeant (E-7).

The applicant was awarded the AFCM with Three Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters (AFCM w/3BOLCs) for the period 16 November 1999 to 22 December 2008 for meritorious service.

On 25 September 2019, by DD Form 149, the applicant requests a memorandum be added to his EPR rendered for the period 14 March 2006 thru 13 March 2007 to reflect the report was falsified.  His AFCM be upgraded to an MSM and the ROP issued by the Board be corrected to reflect his correct retirement date of 1 January 2009.  The applicant contends his supervisor did not complete the rating on the contested EPR or sign it.  AFI 36-2401, Correcting Officer and Enlisted Evaluation Reports, dated 10 March 2006), paragraph A1.5.17. states, “anyone other than the supervisor writing the narratives or rating on the form must state so in Section V of the form.”  He was told that he was being marked down on his report as a requirement from the Air Force that not all master sergeants be rated the same.  He believes he was chosen as the scapegoat because he was a not deployable as a diabetic nearing retirement, which is noted in his medical records.  According to AFI 36-2406, Officer and Enlisted Evaluation Systems, paragraph 3.2.4.3.2, “it is the responsibility of the rater to confirm that all information on the report is accurate at the time of the report.”  Since his supervisor did not sign the report, he never confirmed if the information was accurate.  

The duty title on his contested EPR is incorrect.  He was not the Superintendent, Training and Resources.  He was listed as working the AMC (Acquisition Management Complex) Security Office and was the temporary Superintendent from October 2005 until October 2006.  He did not question his duty title since all three raters had signed off on the report.  However, he was relieved as the superintendent due to three adverse events, the suicide of an airman, which required an investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigation (AFOSI), theft of equipment and children in the control booths while live fire was being conducted.  These three incidents were enough to show a lack of confidence in his ability as the superintendent to properly lead his section.  The downgrade marking on the report corresponds with those actions, which should belong to the actual superintendent and not him.  

He further contends the AFCM he received at retirement should be replaced with an MSM.  The command staffs consideration to reject award of the MSM was based on false and inaccurate information.  Specifically, the false information negated award of the MSM.  

The ROP in his original request (BC-2015-04510) incorrectly reflects his retirement date as 1 January 2008 rather than 1 January 2009.  He does not understand how the Board could provide a judgment using incorrect data.   

In support of his reconsideration request, the applicant provided a personal statement, emails, excerpts from his military personnel records and a redacted copy of an Air Force Office of Special Investigation (AFOSI) Report.

The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit F.

On 9 February 2017, the Board considered and denied his request to revise his EPR rendered for the period 14 March 2006 to 13 March 2007, to reflect the appropriate duty title, finding that the prior request was not timely submitted.

For an accounting of the applicant’s original request and the rationale of the earlier decision, see the AFBCMR Letter and Record of Proceedings, with Exhibits A thru E, at Exhibit G.

APPLICABLE AUTHORITY

DOD 1348.33-M. Manual of Military Decorations and Awards, states:

The AFCM is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States, below the grade of Colonel and foreign military personnel, who, while serving in any capacity with the Department of the Air Force after 28 March 1958, distinguished themselves by outstanding achievement or meritorious service.

The MSM is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States, or of a friendly foreign nation, who has distinguished themselves by outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States.  Normally, the acts or services, rendered must be comparable to that required for the Legion of Merit, but in a duty of lesser though considerable responsibility.  

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

1.  The application was not timely filed, but it is in the interest of justice to excuse the delay.

2.  The applicant exhausted all available non-judicial relief before applying to the Board.

3.  After reviewing all Exhibits, the Board concludes the applicant has presented evidence sufficient to demonstrate an error or injustice regarding part, but not all, of his request.  In particular, the applicant has provided his retirement order, which is sufficient to justify amending his retirement date on the Record of Proceedings (ROP) dated 9 February 2017 to reflect 1 January 2009.  However, for the remainder of the applicant’s request, the evidence presented did not demonstrate an error or injustice, and the Board therefore finds no basis to recommend granting that portion of the applicant’s request.  Therefore, the Board recommends the applicant’s records be corrected as indicated below.

RECOMMENDATION

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to the APPLICANT be corrected to show his retirement date as 1 January 2009 on his Record of Proceedings (ROP) dated 9 February 2017.

CERTIFICATION

The following quorum of the Board, as defined in Air Force Instruction (AFI) 36-2603, Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records (AFBCMR), paragraph 1.5, considered Docket Number BC-2015-04510-2 in Executive Session on 14 October 2020:

, Panel Chair
, Panel Member
, Panel Member

All members voted against correcting the record.  The panel considered the following:

Exhibit F:	Application, DD Form 149, w/atchs, dated 25 Sep 19.
Exhibit G:	Record of Proceedings, w/ Exhibits A-E, dated 9 Feb 17.

Taken together with all Exhibits, this document constitutes the true and complete Record of Proceedings pertaining to Docket Number BC-2015-04510-2, as required by AFI 36-2603, paragraph 4.11.9.