ADDENDUM TO
                            RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  00-01726

            INDEX NUMBER:  131.01


            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED: NO

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her date of separation (DOS) be deleted from her Officer  Selection
Brief (OSB) prepared for the Calendar Year (CY) 2000A Central Major
Selection Board; and that she be reconsidered for promotion to  the
grade of major by this board.

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

She did not receive fair and equitable consideration for  promotion
to the rank of major because her OSB contained a DOS.

___________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant met the CY00A  Central  Major  Selection  Board,  In-the-
Primary-Zone (IPZ), which convened at HQ AFPC on  24  January  2000
and was nonselected for promotion.  Her OSB for this board reflects
her approved DOS of “1 Jul 00” and the reason as “Resignation.”

HQ AFPC/DPPO found no error or injustice concerning the annotations
on the applicant’s OSB and recommends denial  of  the  application.
That  office  states  that  as  for  the  specific  personnel  data
contained on  the  OSB,  periodic  reviews  are  conducted  by  the
Selection Board Secretariat to determine  rationale  and  continued
use of the personnel items the brief contains.  The last review  of
the data was approved by HQ USAF/DP in Feb 97.  Also, prior to each
promotion board, eligible officers are  provided  an  Officer  Pre-
selection Brief (OPB) which mirrors the data that will be displayed
on the OSB reviewed by the Board.  Instructions for  reviewing  the
OPB were  also  provided  to  each  eligible  officer  in  Military
Personnel Flight Memorandum (MPFM) 37-99, issued by HQ AFPC/DPP, on
10 Sep 99.  The instructions provided to the officer  are  in  bold
print and state, “An established DOS and DOS reason  are  displayed
on the Officer Selection Brief  if  approved  prior  to  the  board
convening date.”

___________________________________________________________________

ORIGINAL AFBCMR CONSIDERATION:

Upon considering all the evidence  of  this  case,  the  Board  was
persuaded that the  applicant’s  DOS  on  her  OSB  constituted  an
injustice.  Although  Air  Force  and  DOD  Instructions  regarding
officer promotions allow the DOS to be on the applicant’s  records,
the Board believed by showing the DOS on her OSB  the  CY00A  Board
members were  alerted  to  the  fact  that  the  applicant  had  an
established DOS.  Moreover, it appeared to the Board that  she  was
advised during a counseling session by personnel at the  Air  Force
Personnel Center (AFPC) that a “DOS is a significant detractor in a
record and may  result  in  nonselection.”   The  Board  could  not
determine whether the presence of the DOS was the sole  reason  for
applicant’s nonselection for promotion, but believed it did deprive
her of fair and equitable consideration.   Accordingly,  the  Board
recommended that the applicant’s records be amended by deleting the
DOS and the reason  for  separation  from  her  OSB  and  providing
reconsideration for promotion to major for the CY00A Central  Major
Selection Board by an SSB (See pages 3 and 4 of Exhibit AA).

___________________________________________________________________

ORIGINAL REVIEW BY SAF/MIB:

Upon reviewing the case, the  Director,  Air  Force  Review  Boards
Agency, noted that the recording of dates of separation on OSBs was
an established Air Force practice, and that there was  no  evidence
that this practice was contrary to  prevailing  directives.   Given
the fact that the potential to serve  in  the  higher  grade  is  a
consideration in the selection process,  the  Director,  Air  Force
Review Boards Agency, was also not convinced that the  DOS  was  an
inappropriate consideration.  More significantly, he found no basis
to question the integrity of the selection  board  members  charged
with  the  duty  of  assessing  the  applicant’s  records   without
prejudice or partiality.  He, therefore, concluded that it might be
helpful to obtain some statistical data from AFPC to determine  how
other officers who had established dates  of  separation  on  their
OSBs faired in promotion competition.  If a DOS, in and by  itself,
was a “kiss of death” to  an  officer’s  chance  of  selection  for
promotion, the Director, Air Force Review Boards  Agency,  believed
that it could easily be confirmed by the statistical data.  On  the
other hand, the  data  could  also  support  the  proposition  that
although the applicant may have a superior record  of  performance,
selection board members -- vested with discretionary  authority  to
assess her record against those of her peers -- did not  score  her
record sufficiently high to attain the cutoff score for  selection.
Accordingly, the Director, Air Force Review  Boards  Agency,  asked
that upon receipt of the statistical data from AFPC,  the  case  be
referred back to the Board panel for  further  evaluation  (Exhibit
GG).

___________________________________________________________________

STATISTICAL DATA FROM AFPC:

Statistical data extracted from the Major 2000A board  (applicant’s
board) reveals, among other things, that officers having  dates  of
separation who,  like  the  applicant,  received  a  “P”  promotion
recommendation had a selection rate of  14.6%.   However,  officers
who did not have a date of separation and received a “P”  promotion
recommendation had a selection rate of 70.6%.

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT’S REVIEW OF SAF/MIB MEMORANDUM AND STATISTICAL DATA  FROM
CY00A CENTRAL MAJOR SELECTION BOARD:

Upon reviewing the memorandum from the Director, Air  Force  Review
Boards  Agency,  and  the  additional  data  received  from   AFPC,
applicant  elected  to  confine  her  comments  primarily  to   the
statistics concerning her promotion zone (IPZ).  She states that on
her board (2000A), there was an 85%  overall  selection  rate  IPZ.
Those individuals with a “P” without a DOS were selected at a  rate
of 70.6%, while those with  a  “P”  and  an  established  DOS  were
selected at a rate of only 14.6%.  Overall,  during  the  last  six
years, those with a “P” were selected at a rate of 57.9%  (no  DOS)
and 5.9% (DOS) while those with a DP were selected  at  a  rate  of
99.4% (no DOS) and 38.7% (DOS).  She thinks that  establishes  that
the DOS is indeed the “kiss of death.”  Stated another way,  it  is
interesting to note that the board agreed  with  a  senior  rater’s
recommendation (via the DP award) over 99% of the time  unless  the
member had a DOS then the senior raters were wrong over 60% of  the
time.

In summary, applicant continues  to  argue  that  the  DOS  is  not
pertinent information in deciding a member’s potential to serve  in
the next higher grade.  She also believes that the only  definitive
way  to  answer  the  question  on  whether  a  DOS  is   a   valid
discriminator is to grant the supplemental evaluation and have  her
records scored with her peers without the DOS (Exhibit JJ).

___________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.  We have carefully considered  all  the  circumstances  of  this
case, including the memorandum from the Director, Air Force  Review
Boards Agency, the statistical data from the CY2000A Central  Major
Selection Board which did not select the  applicant  for  promotion
and  the  applicant’s  response  to  the  additional  documentation
submitted.   Based  on  a   more   in-depth   evaluation   of   the
documentation submitted and of record, we are  not  persuaded  that
the reflection of the applicant’s date of separation on her OSB was
the sole and exclusive reason for  her  failure  of  selection  for
promotion to major notwithstanding  our  earlier  decision  to  the
contrary.  In this respect, we note that the CY2000A Central  Major
Selection Board selected 6  out  of  41  officers,  who,  like  the
applicant, had an established DOS on their OSB and a “P”  promotion
recommendation.  Since some officers with dates  of  separation  on
their OSBs were selected for promotion, it is self-evident that the
DOS, in and by itself, did not foreclose any possibility  of  being
selected for promotion.  More significantly, the applicant has  not
shown that the prevailing Air Force policy lacks a rational  basis.
Nor has  she  shown  that  this  policy  constitutes  an  abuse  of
discretionary authority on the part of the Air  Force.   Therefore,
in the absence of substantial evidence to the  contrary,  the  fact
that an approved DOS is a matter of record, in and  by  itself,  is
not a basis to warrant reconsideration for promotion.

2.  Notwithstanding the above, there are mitigating factors in this
case that  reach  to  the  injustice  aspect  of  our  recommending
authority.  Specifically, the applicant asserts that she  was  told
by a promotion expert at AFPC that he could not determine why  such
an exceptionally strong record had not been promoted; that the  DOS
is a significant detractor in a record and may  have  improved  her
chances; and, that she should have submitted a letter to the  board
explaining why  she  established  the  DOS  and  advised  that  she
intended to stay in the total force.  She also argues, among  other
things,  that  if  the  staff  at  AFPC  is  aware  of  this,  such
information should have been available to her during her DOS or PRF
process.  Lastly, the applicant adds that at no  time  during  this
separation process did anyone explain to her the  ramifications  of
establishing her DOS when  she  did,  in  spite  of  her  questions
regarding the separation process and its affects on  her  selection
board.  She states that AFPAM 36-2506, designed to educate officers
on the promotion board process, doesn’t even mention DOS.   Had  it
been explained to her before the fact, as it was so  readily  after
the fact, she clearly would have taken alternative steps.   If  she
had  been   made   aware   of   the   use   of   the   DOS   as   a
discriminator/determinant for her ability to perform  in  the  next
higher grade, she would have elected to: (1) establish  an  earlier
DOS, making her ineligible for the board,  rather  than  jeopardize
her Reserve follow-on assignment as a one-time deferred captain; or
(2) delayed establishing her DOS and incurred a  short-term  family
separation to gain fair and equitable consideration.

3.  The Office  of  Primary  Responsibility  (OPR)  does  not  take
exception to the applicant’s assertions or  observations.   To  the
contrary, the OPR tends to primarily focus on  the  appropriateness
and/or legality  of  having  an  established  DOS  and  DOS  reason
displayed on the OSB.  In view of all of the circumstances of  this
case and in recognition of the compelling arguments raised  by  the
applicant, we believe that her OSB for the  CY2000A  Central  Major
Selection Board should be amended to show that the reason  for  her
established DOS was  to  enter  into  the  active  Reserves  as  an
exception  to  Air  Force  policy,  and  that   she   be   provided
reconsideration for promotion  to  the  grade  of  major  for  that
selection board.

__________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the  Air  Force
relating to APPLICANT,  be  corrected  to  show  that  her  Officer
Selection Brief for the CY 2000A Central Major Selection  Board  be
amended to show, as an exception to policy, the reason for her Date
of Separation (DOS) was to enter into the active Reserves, and that
her corrected record be reconsidered for promotion to the grade  of
major for that selection board.

___________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered this  application  in
Executive Session on 19 January 2001, under the provisions  of  AFI
36-2603:

      Mr. Benedict A. Kausal, IV, Panel Chair
      Ms. Dorothy P. Loeb, Member
      Mr. Richard A. Peterson, Member

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

     Exhibit AA.  Record of Proceedings, dated 6 Nov 00, w/atchs.
     Exhibit GG.  Letter, SAF/MIB, dated 10 Nov 00.
     Exhibit HH.  Statistical Data.
     Exhibit II.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 17 Nov 00.
     Exhibit JJ.  Letter, Applicant, dated 2 Dec 00.




                                   BENEDICT A. KAUSAL IV
                                   Panel Chair


AFBCMR 00-01726




MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF OF STAFF

      Having received and considered the recommendation of the Air
Force Board for Correction of Military Records and under the
authority of Section 1552, Title 10, United States Code (70A Stat
116), it is directed that:

      The pertinent military records of the Department of  the  Air
Force relating to, be corrected to show that her Officer  Selection
Brief for the CY 2000A Central Major Selection Board be, and hereby
is, amended to show, as an exception to policy, the reason for  her
Date of Separation (DOS) was to enter into the active Reserves, and
that her corrected record be  reconsidered  for  promotion  to  the
grade of major for that selection board.








       JOE G. LINEBERGER

       Director


       Air Force Review Boards Agency