ADDENDUM TO RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2018-03415-2

	COUNSEL: NONE

	HEARING REQUESTED: YES

APPLICANT’S REQUEST

The Board reconsider her request to have her record properly updated and her updated record be considered before a Special Selection Board (SSB) for selection to the grade of O-6.  In addition to her original request, she asks for the opportunity to submit a letter to the promotion board.

RESUME OF THE CASE

The applicant is a retired Air Force Reserve lieutenant colonel (O-5). 

On 6 October 2014, the Calendar Year 2014 Air Force Reserve Line and Nonline Colonel Promotion Selection Board convened, and the applicant was not selected for promotion to the grade of O-6.

On 14 March 2019, the Board considered and denied the applicant’s request for SSB consideration for selection to the grade of O-6.  The Board concurred with ARPC/PB, finding the applicant had provided insufficient evidence of an error or injustice to justify relief.  Specifically, the applicant did not show there was an error or omission in the officer selection record.  APRC/PB further stated that the applicant had the option to write a letter to the board president calling attention to any matter concerning herself that she considered important to her case; however, the promotion board did not receive a letter from the applicant.

For an accounting of the applicant’s original request and the rationale of the earlier decision, see the AFBCMR Letter and Record of Proceedings at Exhibit F.

On 4 April 2020, the applicant requested SSB consideration for selection to O-6 and the opportunity to submit a letter to the promotion board.  The applicant contends the Air Force benefited from her knowledge as a civilian aviator yet her experience and credentials were a major oversight in the promotion board’s evaluation of her.  The emphasis on the “whole person concept” is not clearly represented on the officer selection brief; therefore, a letter to the promotion board would have made a significant impact on the board’s evaluation of her.  However, when the promotion board convened, she was deployed to a country with an underdeveloped infrastructure, which limited her communication with the promotion board, including her ability to timely submit a letter to the board.  

The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit G.

APPLICABLE AUTHORITY

Department of Defense Instruction 1320.11, Special Selection Boards, states an SSB must not consider any person, who by maintaining reasonably careful records, may have discovered and taken steps to correct that error or omission on which the original board based its decision against promotion.

Air Force Instruction 36-2504, Officer Promotion, Continuation and Selective Early Removal in the Reserve of the Air Force, requires officers to monitor their own  eligibility for promotion and to ensure their officer selection record is correct and up to date before the convening of the selection board.  ARPC/PB is prevented from approving an SSB if, by exercising reasonable diligence, the officer should have discovered the error or omission and could have taken corrective action before the originally scheduled board convened.

ARPCM 14-12, CY14 Air Force Reserve Line and Nonline Colonel Promotion Selection Boards Convening Notice, states an officer is responsible for reviewing and correcting the contents of their officer selection record for accuracy prior to the board date.  This includes, but is not limited to, OPRs, Points and training reports.  Officers will not be considered by an SSB if, in exercising reasonable diligence, the officer should have discovered an error or omission in their record and could have taken timely corrective action.

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

1.  After reviewing all Exhibits, the Board remains unconvinced the evidence presented demonstrates an error or injustice.  The applicant provides three copies of her FAA licenses as new evidence, one which was applicable during the CY14 promotion board.  In addition, the applicant contends limited communication at a deployed location prevented her from providing a letter to the promotion board.  However, the Board finds a preponderance of the evidence does not substantiate the applicant’s contentions.  As noted above, the applicant provides no evidence that she exercised reasonable diligence in attempting to notify the promotion board of an error or omission in her own record.  Therefore, the Board recommends against correcting the applicant’s records.

2.  The applicant has not shown a personal appearance, with or without counsel, would materially add to the Board’s understanding of the issues involved.

RECOMMENDATION

The Board recommends informing the applicant the evidence did not demonstrate material error or injustice, and the Board will reconsider the application only upon receipt of relevant evidence not already presented.

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-2018-03415-2 in Executive Session on 1 July 2020:

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

Exhibit F:	Record of Proceedings, w/ Exhibits A-E, dated 22 April 2019.
Exhibit G:	Application, DD Form 149, w/atchs, dated 4 April 2020.

Taken together with all Exhibits, this document constitutes the true and complete Record of Proceedings, as required by AFI 36-2603, paragraph 4.11.9.