RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  01-00950
            INDEX CODE:  111.05, 131.01
            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  YES

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her Officer Performance Report (OPR)  rendered  for  the  period  12 Jul  96
through 11 Jul 97 be removed from her  records  and  she  be  considered  by
Special Selection Board (SSB) for  promotion  to  the  grade  of  lieutenant
colonel.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The OPR reflects a decline in duty performance that was later determined  to
have been caused by an undiagnosed, untreated medical condition that  had  a
direct impact on her duty performance.   Once  her  condition  was  properly
diagnosed and treated, she was able to perform  her  duties  at  her  normal
level.  She attempted to have the OPR  removed  by  the  Evaluation  Reports
Appeal  Board  (ERAB).   However,  the  ERAB  determined  that  the   report
accurately reflected her  performance  during  the  period  and  denied  her
request.  The  existence  of  the  report  in  her  records  made  her  less
competitive and hampered her opportunity  to  obtain  a  definitely  promote
(DP) promotion recommendation.

In  support  of  her  request  applicant  provided  a  personal   statement,
documents associated with her ERAB appeal, memorandums from her  physicians,
extracts from her medical records, OPRs rendered for the period  16  Jan  95
through 24 May 00; and, her Promotion Recommendation Forms  (PRFs)  for  the
P0599A, P0599B, and P0500A selection boards.   Her  complete  submission  is
appended at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant was appointed a second lieutenant, Reserve of the Air Force on  14
May 83.  She was voluntarily ordered to extended active  duty  (EAD)  on  25
Jul 83 and was integrated into the Regular Air Force on 7 Nov 86.   She  has
been progressively promoted to the  grade  of  major,  having  assumed  that
grade effective and with a date of rank of 1 Dec 94.

She  was  considered  and  not  selected  for  promotion  to  the  grade  of
lieutenant colonel by the Calendar Year (CY) 99A, CY99B, and  CY00A  Central
Lieutenant Colonel Selection Boards, which convened on 19  Apr  99,  30  Nov
99, and 28 Nov 00, respectively.  She currently has an established  date  of
separation (DOS) of 31 Jul 07.

Her OPR profile since promotion to the grade of major is as follows:

            PERIOD ENDING         OVERALL EVALUATION

                 15 Jan 96              MEETS STANDARDS (MS)
                 11 Jul 96                   MS
                 11 Jul 97 *                 MS
                 11 Jul 98 #                 MS
                 11 Jul 99 ##                      MS
                 24 May 00 ###                     MS

* - Contested Report
# - Top OPR for CY99A Board
## - Top OPR for CY99B Board
### - Top OPR for CY00A Board

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The BCMR Medical Consultant  reviewed  applicant's  request  and  recommends
denial.  The Medical Consultant states that records  are  clear  in  showing
she had a long history of depression from the  early  1990s  which  required
outpatient treatment and hospitalization for  control.   She  obtained  some
relief  with  antidepressant  medication,  but  subsequently   became   more
depressed and was hospitalized in June and  September  1996.   Important  to
this history are reportedly normal thyroid function tests  performed  during
the June hospitalization.  The long-standing  depression  cannot  be  traced
solely to her thyroid condition.   Aggravation  of  her  mood  disorder  may
occur with hypothyroid states which followed initiation of  lithium  therapy
but may well have resulted from an unrelated  inflammatory  process  in  the
gland.  Lithium therapy, itself,  may  lead  to  depression,  being  a  drug
primarily used in manic states, a condition not exhibited by  the  applicant
prior to initiation of therapy.  The time period covered  by  the  contested
OPR clearly cannot be linked to  the  lithium  treatment/thyroid  condition.
Hypothyroid states are  unpredictable  as  to  the  onset  and  severity  of
related effects on individuals.  To lay the entire issue of  cause  for  the
questioned report on  this  hormonal  abnormality  is  improper  and  likely
invalid.

In the rater's letter supporting the applicant's request it is  stated  that
the rater discussed the applicant's depression with her psychiatrist.   This
occurred prior to onset of lithium treatment and subsequent  development  of
hypothyroidism.  The rater states that the problems that led  her  to  write
an average OPR were caused by a medical condition over which  the  applicant
had no control.  If the rater is assuming that the applicant  suffered  from
hypothyroidism the entire period of the OPR cycle, she has been  misinformed
and has reached invalid conclusions.

The Medical Consultant states that he cannot  accept  the  premise  of  this
request despite the treating psychiatrist's and  internist's  comments  that
seem to implicate the thyroid as the sole reason for the  applicant's  long-
standing depression.  Treatment for the thyroid condition  does  not  appear
to have eliminated the depression.  On-going treatment and therapy for  this
condition has reached into the 6th  year  indicating  little  likelihood  of
resolution of this major depressive disorder (see Exhibit C).

The  Acting  Chief,  Promotion,  Evaluation,   and   Recognition   Division,
AFPC/DPPP, reviewed applicant's requests and after summarizing the facts  of
the case, recommends denial (see Exhibit D).

The Chief, Officer  Promotions,  Appointments,  and  Selective  Continuation
Branch, AFPC/DPPPO, reviewed applicant's request; agrees with  the  findings
of the ERAB and DPPP; and, recommends denial (see Exhibit E).
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant responded and states that the Air Force position  in  this  matter
has consistently been that “evaluation reports are considered accurate  when
written” regardless of any underlying  reason  for  that  performance.   She
reiterates her contentions and  states  that  the  BCMR  Medical  Consultant
mistakenly claims that she continues to take anti-depressant medications  to
this date.  This statement is false, she has not taken  any  anti-depressant
medications since March 1999.  He emphasizes the  existence  of  “reportedly
normal thyroid function tests” in  June  1996  and  refutes  the  idea  that
hypothyroidism could exist when laboratory tests are normal.   She  provided
a letter from her  physician  which  explains  the  existence  of  “subacute
hypothyroidism” in which a patient has a low-functioning thyroid  even  when
the blood tests appear normal, which was true in her case.   His  conclusion
that  the  depression  was  unrelated  to  thyroid  disease  and  that   the
depression was the cause  of  decreased  performance  during  the  reporting
period is internally inconsistent in the context of his overall  evaluation.
 Applicant asks the Board to carefully review the medical opinions that  she
submitted with her request in contrast with the BCMR Medical Consultant  who
with no factual basis proclaims that not only  does  she  continue  to  take
anti-depressants  but  that  her  condition  is  so  severe   that   medical
evaluation board (MEB) processing is warranted.

With regards to the DPPP advisory, she states that when  she  submitted  her
application to the ERAB  she  requested  a  statement  from  her  additional
rater.   He  stated  that  he  thought   the   most   important   supporting
documentation was the letter  from  the  rater  and  that  he  believed  her
package was sufficiently strong enough to warrant relief  without  a  letter
from him.  At the time of the OPR in question, the  reviewer  did  not  even
know her.  He served as reviewer at the Air Force Judge  Advocate  General’s
School but she never had any interaction with him.  When she later moved  to
the Air University, he became her additional rater for the  OPR  immediately
following the contested OPR and lauded her performance.

In further support of her request applicant provided additional  memorandums
from her physicians.  Her complete submission is appended at Exhibit G.

_________________________________________________________________

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  injustice.   Notwithstanding  the  fact  that   the
contested Officer Performance Report (OPR) was  an  accurate  assessment  of
her performance during the period in question,  we  believe  that  favorable
consideration of her request is  warranted.   In  this  respect,  given  the
unequivocal support from senior Air Force officers who were in  position  to
directly observe her performance; and, the disparity between  the  contested
OPR when compared with her  previous  and  subsequent  OPRs,  we  believe  a
reasonable doubt  has  been  established  as  to  whether  or  not  the  OPR
accurately portrayed her ability to  serve  in  the  next  higher  grade  to
selection board members.  Evidence provided  has  led  us  to  believe  that
there was a misdiagnosis of her medical condition that impacted her  rater’s
ability to prepare an  OPR  that  fairly  reflected  an  assessment  of  her
abilities and performance.  In consideration of all of the circumstances  of
this case it is our opinion that the benefit of any  doubt  in  this  matter
should be resolved  in  her  favor.   Accordingly,  we  recommend  that  her
records be corrected to the extent indicated below.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air  Force  relating
to APPLICANT be corrected to show that the Field Grade  Officer  Performance
Report (OPR), AF Form 707a, rendered for the period 12 July 1996 through  11
July 1997, be declared void and removed from her records.

It is further recommended that she be considered for promotion to the  grade
of lieutenant colonel by Special Selection  Boards  for  the  Calendar  Year
1999A (CY99A) Central  Lieutenant  Colonel  Selection  Board,  and  for  any
subsequent board for which the OPR closing 11 July  1997  was  a  matter  of
record.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered this application in  Executive
Session on 26 Sep 01, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Gregory H. Petkoff, Panel Chair
      Mr. George Franklin, Member
      Mr. Albert F. Lowas, Member

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

     Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 2 Apr 01, w/atchs.
     Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
     Exhibit C.  Letter, BCMR Medical Consultant, dated 15 May 01.
     Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPPP, dated 12 Jul 01.
     Exhibit E.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPO, dated 12 Jul 01.
     Exhibit F.  Letter, SAF/MIBR, dated 27 Jul 01.
     Exhibit G.  Letter, Applicant, dated 30 Aug 01, w/atchs.




                             GREGORY H. PETKOFF
                                             Panel Chair

AFBCMR 01-00950




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 APPLICANT, be corrected to show the Field Grade Officer
Performance Report (OPR), AF Form 707a, rendered for the period 12 July
1996 through 11 July 1997, be, and hereby is, declared void and removed
from her records.

      It is further directed that she be considered for promotion to the
grade of lieutenant colonel by Special Selection Board for the Calendar
Year 1999A (CY99A) Central Lieutenant Colonel Selection Board, and for any
subsequent board for which the OPR closing 11 July 1997 was a matter of
record.









  JOE G. LINEBERGER

  Director

  Air Force Review Boards Agency