MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

 	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           10 July 2003                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002082351

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the record of consideration of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Ms. Stephanie Thompkins		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Roger W. Able		Chairperson	
	Mr. Larry C. Bergquist		Member	
	Ms. Barbara J. Ellis		Member	

	The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date.  In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

	The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

APPLICANT REQUESTS:  In effect, a military education waiver for promotion reconsideration by a special selection board (SSB) for promotion to lieutenant colonel and retention. 

APPLICANT STATES:  That she was initially unable to complete the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) by correspondence due to the fact that she was training and establishing herself as a pilot in the aviation industry.  It was necessary to frequently change residences and often on short notice, as directed by her employers.  She requested to be enrolled on 11 March 2002 and the request was disapproved due to a temporary profile.  Because of this injustice she could not possibly have completed the CGSC requirement prior to the convening of the board.  In support of her application she submits her address history after release from active duty, her request for reenrollment in CGSC, the disapproval or her request, her resume, and three letters of support. 

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records show:

She was appointed in the Reserve as a second lieutenant effective 12 August 1983.

She attained the rank of major effective 11 August 1995.  Based on the required 7 years time in grade, her maximum time in grade (MTIG) date for lieutenant colonel was 10 August 2002.

On 20 November 2001, she was ordered to active duty not to exceed 365 days with a reporting date of 3 December 2001.

On 11 March 2002, her commander requested that the applicant as a Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) officer called to active duty be granted an education waiver for the CGSC by the selection board scheduled for September 2002.

The request was disapproved on 12 May 2002, based on her Army Physical Fitness Test scores.  She was also required to take the AFPT prior to 1 August 2002 as prescribed by her profile.

She was considered and not selected for promotion to lieutenant colonel by the 2001 and 2002 Reserve Components Selection Boards, which convened on 2 October 2001 and 27 September 2002.  She was not selected due to her not completing CGSC on or before the board convening dates.

On 11 March 2002, she was enrolled in Phase III and IV of the CGSC.

Based on her two time non-selections she has been given an established removal date of 1 September 2003.

In a letter of support, dated 11 June 2003, the Chief, Security, Force Protection and Law Enforcement, Headquarters, US Army Materiel Command, stated that the applicant was assigned to one of their IMA positions and had been mobilized and was serving on active duty.  Those orders terminate on 16 February 2004.  

Army Regulation 135-155 specifies that promotion reconsideration by an SSB may only be based on erroneous non-consideration or material, which existed in the record at the time of consideration.  Material error in this context is one or more errors of such a nature that, in the judgment of the reviewing official (or body), it caused an individual’s non-selection by a promotion board and, that had such error(s) been corrected at the time the individual was considered, a reasonable chance would have resulted that the individual would have been recommended for promotion.  The regulation also provides that boards are not required to divulge the proceedings or the reason(s) for non-selection, except where an individual is not qualified due to non-completion of required military schooling.

The regulation also specifies that completion 50% of the CGSC is required for promotion to lieutenant colonel on or before the convening date of the respective board.

Army Regulation 135-175 prescribes the policies and procedures for the separation of Reserve officers.  This regulation provides that individuals twice not selected for promotion to captain will be transferred to the Retired Reserve if they are eligible and request such transfer, or retained in the active Ready Reserve when more than 18 but less than 20 qualifying years of service have been completed, or discharged.

Army Regulation 15-185 establishes procedures for making application, and the consideration of applications, for the correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army acting through this Board.  The regulation specifies that an application to the Board will not operate as a stay of any proceedings being taken with respect to the person involved.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, and advisory opinion(s), it is concluded:

1.  In view of the circumstances in this case, the applicant is not entitled to an educational waiver and promotion reconsideration to lieutenant colonel.  The Board does not dispute the applicant’s exemplary military career; however, she has not shown error, injustice, or inequity for the relief she now requests.

2.  The Board notes the applicant’s contentions that due to training and establishing herself as a pilot in the aviation industry along with frequent residence changes she was unable to complete the military education requirement.  However, based on the fact that the applicant had not completed her military education by the convening dated of the 2001 and 2002 promotion boards, she was not qualified for promotion without completing 50% of the CGSC, and she is also not entitled to promotion reconsideration to lieutenant colonel under the 2001 and 2002 criteria.  The requirement for completion of 50% of the CGSC is a long-standing requirement for promotion to lieutenant colonel.

3.  Implicit in the Army's promotion system is the universally accepted and frequently discussed principle that officers have a responsibility for their own careers.  The general requirements and workings of the system are widely known and specific details such as RCSB dates and promotion zones are widely published in official, quasi-official and unofficial publications, and in official communications.  Given that the applicant became a major effective 11 August 1995 and that she had to be considered by an RCSB so that, if selected, she could be promoted by the time she had served 7 years in grade, the applicant knew, or should have known, that she would be considered by an RCSB as early as 2001 and that she needed to insure, well in advance, that her record would present her career and qualifications to that board in the best possible light.

4.  The Board also notes that the applicant was aware that the promotion board would review her military education and there was the possibility that based on her record she would not get selected for promotion.

5.  The Board further notes that the applicant is not entitled to retention.  Pertinent laws and regulations clearly show that an officer twice non-selected for promotion must be removed from an active status not later than the first day of the seventh month after the month in which the President approved the selection board results. 

6.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy this requirement.

7.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request. 

DETERMINATION:  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

_LCB_____  _BJE___  _RWA__  DENY APPLICATION

		    Carl W. S. Chun
		    Director, Army Board for Correction
    of Military Records

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002082351	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20030710	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	131.00	
2.	131.10	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.