RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  01-00850
            INDEX CODE:  131.01

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

1.  His Officer Selection Brief (OSB)  be  corrected  to  reflect  his
correct academic education.

2.  He be considered for promotion to the grade of lieutenant  colonel
by  Special  Selection  Board  (SSB)  for  the  Calendar  Year   2000A
Lieutenant Colonel (LAF) Central Selection Board.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

His OSB for the 2000A Lt Col Selection Board  was  incomplete  in  the
area of academic education.  The OSB  did  not  include  his  master’s
degree in mechanical engineering,  and  instead  listed  his  master’s
degree  in  economics.   Since  his  AFSC  is  62E4  (engineer),   the
appropriate degree to list would be the  one  related  to  his  career
field, the master’s in engineering.  He states that he should  not  be
punished for obtaining additional education.

Applicant's complete submission is attached at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant is currently serving on  extended  active  duty  in  the
grade of major.

Applicant was considered and not selection for promotion to the  grade
of lieutenant colonel by the CY00A Lieutenant  Colonel  (LAF)  Central
Selection Board.

OPR profile since 1991, follows:

       PERIOD ENDING              EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL

         21 Apr 91      Meets Standards (MS)
         21 Apr 92              MS
         21 Apr 93              MS
         21 Apr 94              MS
         21 Apr 95              MS
         21 Apr 96              MS
         21 Apr 97              MS
         21 Apr 98              MS
         30 Aug 99      Education/Training Report (TR)
         30 Aug 00              TR

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The Dean,  Civilian  Institution  Programs,  AFIT/CI,  confirmed  that
applicant received a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering  from
the University of Tennessee at Knoxville on 11 August 1989.

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

The Chief, Officer  Promotion  and  Appointment  Branch,  AFPC/DPPPOO,
reviewed  the  application  and  states  that  eligible  officers  are
provided an OPB approximately 100 days prior to  the  board  convening
date.   Along  with  the  OPB,  eligible  officers  are  provided   an
instruction sheet for review of the brief  outlining  how  to  correct
discrepancies prior to the board convening date.  In applicant’s case,
the education data on his OPB would have reflected a  MA+  (Enrollment
in a doctorate program) and a completed master’s degree in  Economics.
The  instruction  sheet  provided  to  the  member  advised  him  that
enrollment in a doctorate (MA+) degree program would not be  reflected
on the OSB and non-reflection of this program may cause other academic
degrees that have been awarded to be displaced  or  dropped  from  the
OSB.  They also recommend the eligible officer contact AFIT to  obtain
a letter detailing their academic history/credentials,  which  can  be
used as an attachment to a letter to the board president.

They note AFI 36-2501, paragraph 6.3.2.2, specifically states, “Do not
have 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”.  In this case,
applicant  has  not  provided  proof  that  he  exercised   reasonable
diligence to correct this  perceived  error  prior  to  his  promotion
board.  Therefore, they recommend disapproval of applicant’s request.

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

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

He states, first AFPC states  that  he  did  not  exercise  reasonable
diligence,  since  the  information  was  available  in  his   Officer
Preselection Brief (OPB) 100 days prior to the  promotion  board.   He
states, while this may generally be true, in his specific case he  did
not receive any such document.  While an AFIT student  at  a  civilian
institution, he did not have ready access to many of the  normal  USAF
services/processes.  Although not mentioned by AFPC, this  information
would also be on the OSB, which he  requested  approximately  45  days
prior to the board, along with a complete copy of his records.  He was
sent a copy of his records without the OSB (which  is  only  available
much closer to the actual board date).  So there is a serious question
as to reasonable diligence, a standard he believed he met.

AFPC’s second reason for failing to support his request is that  there
is no clear  evidence  that  the  lack  of  his  degree….impacted  his
promotion opportunity.  While this is  undoubtedly  true  (because  no
individual details are ever released), it is also impossible  to  know
which factors each board member subjectively considered.  All  we  can
know for certain is that according to Air Force Pamphlet 36-2506,  the
board members should have considered this fact.

He  further  states,  additional  discussion   may   demonstrate   the
relevancy.  First, at his promotion to major, he was  selected  as  an
ISS candidate, indicating performance in at least the top third of his
year group (as well as having Definitely Promote ratings both two  and
one year BPZ, indicating top  10%  performance).   Subsequent  to  his
promotion, he taught two years at the Air Force  Academy,  doing  well
enough to be selected for a Ph.D.  assignment,  where  he  made  great
progress (now completed).  Therefore his record undoubtedly was in the
gray area.  So any small change might have been enough of a factor  to
influence a decision.  Further, in all  his  counseling  by  AFPC  and
others since his nonselection, the  overwhelming  conclusion  was  the
decision to leave his  primary  career  field  at  that  juncture  was
critical.  Giving that reasoning, an education record  that  does  not
reflect the contribution to his primary career field  can  only  hurt.
As to whether it would  have  made  a  difference,  one  cannot  know,
neither AFPC nor himself.  That is a main reason for SSBs,  to  either
validate or  overturn  a  nonselection  upon  discovery  of  incorrect
records.

So in summary, AFPC does not dispute the centrality of his claims, nor
does their reasoning fit in his particular situation.   Therefore,  he
request that his corrected record be considered by SSB.

Applicant's complete response is attached 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.   The  applicant  has
indicated that his Officer  Selection  Brief  (OSB),  as  it  met  the
selection board in question, was missing one of his advanced education
degrees in  the  Academic  Education  section.   While  it  cannot  be
conclusively determined  whether  or  not  the  missing  line  of  his
academic information was the sole reason for applicant’s  nonselection
for promotion by the Board in question, we do believe that  it  served
to deprive him of  full  and  fair  consideration.   In  view  of  the
foregoing and in an effort to remove any possibility of  an  injustice
to the applicant,  we  recommend  that  his  record,  to  include  his
corrected  OSB  reflecting  both  lines  of  academic  education,   be
considered for promotion,  to  the  grade  of  lieutenant  colonel  by
Special Selection Board (SSB) for the CY00A 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
reflecting in the Academic Education  section  the  entry  “LVL:   MS,
SPECIALTY/SCHOOL:  Mechanical Engineering, University of Tennessee  at
Knoxville” be considered for promotion  to  the  grade  of  lieutenant
colonel by Special Selection Board (SSB) for the Calendar  Year  2000A
Lieutenant Colonel (LAF) Central Selection Board.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the  Board  considered  this  application  in
Executive Session on 24 July 2001, under the  provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

                  Mr. Richard A. Peterson, Panel Chair
                  Mr. Michael V. Barbino, Member
              Mr. William H. Anderson, Member

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

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 22 Mar 01.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhitit C.  Letter, AFIT/CI, dated 2 May 01.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPOO, dated 21 May 01.
   Exhibit E.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 15 Jun 01.
   Exhibit F.  Applicant's Response, dated 20 Jun 01.




                                   RICHARD A. PETERSON
                                   Panel Chair




AFBCMR 01-00850
INDEX CODE:  131.01



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, to include an Officer Selection Brief reflecting in
the Academic Education section the entry “LVL:  MS, SPECIALTY/SCHOOL:
Mechanical Engineering, University of Tennessee at Knoxville,” be
considered for promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel by Special
Selection Board (SSB) for the Calendar Year 2000A Lieutenant Colonel
(LAF) Central Selection Board.





            JOE G. LINEBERGER
            Director
            Air Force Review Boards Agency