RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  00-01248

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO



APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His record, to include an  Officer  Selection  Brief  (OSB)  reflecting  his
correct command levels for the period 26 January 1990 to 31 August 1998,  be
considered for promotion to the  grade  of  lieutenant  colonel  by  Special
Selection  Board  (SSB)  for  the  Calendar  Year  1999B   (CY99B)   Central
Lieutenant Colonel Selection Board.


APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

His OSB was incorrect at the time he was considered  for  promotion  by  the
CY99B board.

The applicant states that his command levels should reflect the following:

      Effective Date         Command Level

        31 Aug 98           CMHQ
        16 Aug 96               CEN
        27 Sep 94               DD/J
        16 Jun 94               NAF
        25 Mar 94               NAF
         1 Jul 92               NAF
        13 Dec 90               NAF
        26 Jan 90               CEN

The applicant also states that had he  been  aware  of  the  errors  in  his
record and how to correct them a  year  ago,  his  record  would  have  been
corrected before the CY99B board convened.

The applicant’s complete submission is attached at Exhibit A.







STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The relevant facts  pertaining  to  this  application,  extracted  from  the
applicant's military records, are contained in the letters prepared  by  the
appropriate offices of the Air Force.  Accordingly,  there  is  no  need  to
recite these facts in this Record of Proceedings.


AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The  Chief,  Assignment  Procedures  Section,  AFPC/DPAPP1,   reviewed   the
application and states that applicant’s request to have  the  command  level
block updated to reflect “CMHQ,” versus “NAF,” was approved and  updated  by
the Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC) through an In-System Request (ISR)  on
25 April 2000.  In addition, the approved command  level  codes  have  since
been updated by the servicing Military Personnel Flight (MPF).  However,  at
the time the applicant in-processed, the command level  reflected  currently
approved command level data.  On 2 November  1999,  the  senior  officer  in
charge initiated a request to have the command level changed from  “NAF”  to
“CMHQ” status.  There is no record provided to  indicate  that  the  request
was approved in time to change the applicant’s record prior to the date  the
CY99B board convened.  Likewise, no  attempt  to  correct  the  other  eight
command level entries was made by the applicant on any  preceding  promotion
board.  The  pre-selection  brief  directed  the  applicant  to  review  the
assignment history fields  which  contain  command  levels  and  report  any
errors to the  provided  point  of  contact  for  correction  prior  to  the
convening of the  board.   The  applicant  did  not  provide  any  proof  to
indicate that a request for correction of command level was submitted  in  a
reasonable time to update prior to the CY99B board.  Therefore,  they  opine
that supplemental promotion consideration is not warranted.

A complete copy of the evaluation is attached at Exhibit C.

The Chief, Appeals and SSB Branch, AFPC/DPPPA, reviewed the application  and
accepts the findings of AFPC/DPAPP1.  In addition, they note that  while  it
may be argued errors in the applicant’s command levels played a role in  his
nonselection for promotion, there is no clear evidence  that  it  negatively
impacted his promotion  opportunity.   The  Secretary  of  the  Air  Force’s
Memorandum of  Instruction  (written  guidance)  instructs  promotion  board
members to “use the whole person concept  to  assess  such  factors  as  job
performance,  academic  and  professional  military  education   (PME)   and
specific achievements.  The overriding facts must be job performance…”   The
guidance charges board members to give fair and equitable  consideration  to
all  records.   In  addition,  every  Officer  Performance   Report   (OPR),
Promotion  Recommendation  Form  (PRF),  and  decoration  citation  in   the
applicant’s record, reflected the command level for each  assignment.   They
do not believe the minor errors in command  levels  caused  the  applicant’s
nonselection  for  promotion.   Therefore,  they  recommend  denial  of  his
request for SSB consideration.

A complete copy of the evaluation is attached at Exhibit D.


APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATIONS:

The applicant reviewed the evaluations and  states  that  he  made  as  much
effort as any officer could reasonably expect to  ensure  his  records  were
correct.   In fact, he personally reviewed his record  at  AFPC  before  his
first  below-the-zone  consideration  and  made  sure  that  every  document
submitted after that made it to the record.  Although the evaluations  down-
play the magnitude of  the  incorrect  command  levels,  it  is  well  known
throughout the Air Force that assignment  history  plays  a  vital  role  in
promotion board evaluation.  Furthermore, his OPRs, PRF and decorations  doe
not specify the command level of an assignment, and they do cannot begin  to
offset the impression created by the assignment  history  on  the  OSB.   In
addition, the fact that assignments code at a low level on  the  OSB  cannot
be adequately compensated for through words in performance reports or  other
documents.  That is why incorrect coding  for  his  current  assignment  had
been raised all the way to the 2-star general officer  level  prior  to  the
board convening, in an attempt to correct it.

In further support of the appeal, applicant  provides  statements  from  the
Commander,  Air  Force  Security  Assistance  Center  (AFSAC/CC)   and   the
Director, County Management Directorate (AFSAC/CM) indicating that  he  made
every effort to ensure his record was correct prior to the CY99B board.

The applicant’s complete response, with attachments, is at Exhibit F


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 probable error or injustice.  At the  time  the  applicant  was
considered for promotion by the CY99B board,  his  Officer  Selection  Brief
(OSB) incorrectly listed his command levels for the period 26  January  1990
to 31 August 1998.  Prior to the convening of the CY99B  board,  the  senior
officer in charge requested the applicant’s command levels be  changed  from
“NAF” to “CMHQ.”  However, the request was  not  approved  until  after  the
CY99B board convened.  The Commander, Air Force Security  Assistance  Center
(AFSAC/CC) and the Director, Country Management Directorate (AFSAC/CM)  have
provided statements indicating that  the  applicant  made  every  effort  to
ensure his record was correct prior to the CY99B board.  In  view  of  this,
and since the applicant’s command level  codes  have  been  updated  by  the
applicant’s servicing  Military  Personnel  Flight  (MPF),  we  believe  the
applicant’s command levels should  be  corrected  as  requested.   While  it
cannot be conclusively determined  whether  or  not  the  incorrect  command
levels was the sole reason for applicant's  nonselection  for  promotion  by
CY99B board, we do believe that  it  served  to  deprive  him  of  fair  and
equitable consideration.  Therefore, we recommend his  corrected  record  be
considered for promotion to the  grade  of  lieutenant  colonel  by  Special
Selection Board for the CY99B board.


THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air  Force  relating
to APPLICANT, to include an Officer Selection  Brief  (OSB)  reflecting  his
command levels as “CEN”  effective  26  January  1990,  “NAF”  effective  13
December 1990, “NAF” effective 1 July 1992, “NAF” effective 25  March  1994,
“NAF” effective 16 June 1994, “DD/J”  effective  27  September  1994,  “CEN”
effective  16 August  1995,  and  “CMHQ”  effective  31  August   1998,   be
considered for promotion to the  grade  of  lieutenant  colonel  by  Special
Selection  Board  (SSB)  for  the  Calendar  Year  1999B   (CY99B)   Central
Lieutenant Colonel Selection Board.


The following members of the Board considered this application in  Executive
Session on 7 September 2000, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                  Mr. Joseph G. Diamond, Panel Chair
                  Mr. William H. Anderson, Member
                  Mr. Jackson A. Hauslein, Member

All members voted to correct the records,  as  recommended.   The  following
documentary evidence was considered:

      Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 2 May 00, w/atchs.
      Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPAPP1, dated 22 May 00.
      Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPA, dated 31 May 00.
      Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MIBR, dated 16 Jun 00.
      Exhibit F.  Letter, Applicant, dated 7 Jul 00, w/atchs.



             JOSEPH G. DIAMOND
                                  Panel Chair