RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  02-00618
            INDEX CODE:  131.00

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His  record,  to  include  a  letter  with  attachment,  be  considered  for
promotion to the grade of lieutenant  colonel  by  Special  Selection  Board
(SSB) for the Calendar Year 2000A (CY00A) Selection Board.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

Due to the timing of his annual OPR cycle, his OPR, dated  8 December  2000,
closed out while the CY00A board was  in  session  and  therefore,  was  not
considered by the selection board.  He  believes  this  354-day  gap,  which
covered his most senior and responsible position to date, had an  impact  on
how his record was scored,  and  it  did  not  effectively  demonstrate  his
potential to serve in the rank of lieutenant colonel.  The  board  may  have
perceived the absence of this report as a  veiled  message.   Therefore,  he
requests the opportunity to write  to  the  board  president  and  have  his
accomplishments identified in an attachment from  his  raters  covering  the
354-day hole in his record.

In support of his appeal, the applicant provided a personal  statement,  OPR
closing 8 June 2000, letter from the  rater  and  additional  rater  of  the
contested report and other documentation.

Applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is 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 selected for  promotion  to  the  grade  of
lieutenant  colonel  by  the  CY00A  (28  November  2000)  and   the   CYO1B
(5 November 2001) Lieutenant Colonel Selection Boards.

OPR profile since 1995 follows:

           PERIOD ENDING          EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL

                  5 Aug 95              Meets Standards (MS)
                  8 Dec 95                   (MS)
                  8 Dec 96                   (MS)
                  8 Dec 97                   (MS)
                  8 Dec 98                   (MS)
                  # 8 Dec 99                 (MS)
                    8 Dec 00                 (MS)
                  7 Jun 01              Training Report (TR)

#Top Report for the CY00A Board

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPO recommended denial.  They indicated that the  applicant  contends
that the guidance for writing a letter to the board does not  say,  or  lead
one to believe that it is permissible to submit a letter with an  attachment
from the raters.  Both his  rater  and  additional  rater  provided  letters
supporting the officer’s allegations that the guidance  provided  is  vague.
They disagree.  Written instructions contained in the 5 July  2000  Military
Personnel Flight Memorandum (MPFM) attached  to  the  officer  pre-selection
brief (OPB) and given to the officer  before  the  central  selection  board
specifically instructs the  officer  to  carefully  examine  the  brief  for
completeness and accuracy.  The instructions specifically  state,  “Officers
will not be considered by  a  Special  Selection  Board  if,  in  exercising
reasonable diligence, the  officer  should  have  discovered  the  error  or
omission in his/her records and could have taken timely corrective  action.”
 Furthermore, the Instruction  Sheet  for  Review  of  Pre-selection  Brief,
“Letters on behalf of others are not permitted.  The  following  attachments
are not permitted:  those documents that can become a permanent part of  the
officer’s selection folder; i.e., Promotion Recommendation Forms  considered
by previous selection  boards,  draft  PRFs,  unsigned  Officer  Performance
Reports (OPRs) and Training Reports (TRs)  or  decoration  narratives.”   It
does not state that an officer cannot write a letter to the  board  with  an
attachment from his  evaluators.   Although  the  applicant  was  under  the
impression that an attachment from his evaluators was  not  permissible,  he
still should have written  a  letter  explaining  the  354-day  gap  in  his
record, and he should have contacted HQ AFPC/DPPPO for clarification  as  to
the type of documentation that  was  permissible  to  submit  to  the  board
before it convened.

It is unclear whether the applicant is also requesting SSB consideration  to
include his 8 December 2000 OPR.  Technically, the report did not  exist  at
the time the board met, as it did not close out until 8 December 2000.   AFI
36-2406, Officer and Enlisted Evaluation Systems, 1 July  2000,  Chapter  3,
paragraph 3.8.5.6, states, “OPRs are due for file at HQ AFPC no  later  than
60 days following closeout of the report.”  Thus the OPR  was  not  required
to be filed until 8 February 2002, well after the P0500A board  convened  on
28 November 2000.  Adding the report  to  the  applicant’s  folder  for  SSB
consideration would be unfair to all other officers who were considered  for
promotion and had OPRs close out after the board convened, but did  not  get
them considered.  Without  evidence  to  the  contrary,  they  maintain  the
report was accomplished  in  accordance  with  applicable  regulations,  and
should not meet an SSB.

The evaluation, with attachments, is attached at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant reviewed the evaluation and provided a  response  that  is  at
Exhibit E.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.    The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing  law  or
regulations.

2.    The application was timely filed.

3.    Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate  the
existence of an error or an injustice.  We took notice of  the  applicant's
complete submission in judging the merits of the case;  however,  we  agree
with the opinion and recommendation  of  the  Air  Force  and  adopt  their
rationale as the basis for our conclusion that the applicant has  not  been
the victim of an error or an injustice.  If the applicant desired to submit
a letter, with attachment,  to  the  CY00A  board  president,  it  was  his
responsibility to contact the appropriate officials for clarification.   We
find insufficient evidence showing that the applicant intended to submit  a
letter or that he tried to obtain information on this issue  prior  to  the
convening of the selection board in  question.   Therefore,  based  on  the
evidence of record, we find no compelling basis to recommend  granting  the
relief sought in this application.

_________________________________________________________________



THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified that the evidence presented  did  not  demonstrate
the existence of material error  or  injustice;  that  the  application  was
denied without a personal appearance; and that the application will only  be
reconsidered upon the submission of newly discovered relevant  evidence  not
considered with this application.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number  02-00618
in Executive Session on 20 June 2002, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                  Mr. Jackson A. Hauslein, Panel Chair
                  Mr. James W. Russell III, Member
                  Mr. John E. B. Smith, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 29 January 2002, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPO, dated 7 May 2002, w/atchs.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 17 May 2002.
   Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 30 May 2002.




                                JACKSON A. HAUSLEIN
                                Panel Chair