RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  02-01944
            INDEX CODE:  131.01
            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He be considered for  promotion  to  the  grade  of  lieutenant  colonel  by
Special Selection Board (SSB) for the Calendar Year  2001B  (CY01B)  Central
Lieutenant Colonel Selection Board.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

When the CY01B board convened in November,  2001,  his  Meritorious  Service
Medal (MSM), second oak leaf cluster  (2OLC),  that  he  received  in  July,
2001, was not in his selection record.  Because of  a  permanent  change-of-
station move and problems with MILMOD he was not aware that  the  medal  did
not get placed in his official record.   Once  he  realized  the  error,  he
tried to get the record corrected but was unable to do so before  the  board
convened.

In support of his request, applicant provided his MSM citation  and  special
order GB-18.  His complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant is currently serving on extended  active  duty  in  the  grade  of
major.  He was considered and not selected for promotion  to  the  grade  of
lieutenant colonel by the CY00A and the CY01B lieutenant  colonel  selection
boards which convened on 28 Nov 00 and 5 Nov 01, respectively.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPO  reviewed  applicant's  request  and  recommends  denial.   DPPPO
states that although the period of award for the decoration was  through  17
Jul 01, the orders for the decoration were not published  until  9  Nov  01.
For purposes of including this decoration citation in a board that  convened
on 5 Nov 01, the decoration did not exist.  In accordance with AFI  36-2803,
the applicant's rating chain has up to two years to submit a  recommendation
for a decoration after the service  performed.   AFI  36-2803  also  directs
forwarding citations and special orders within  30  days  of  the  date  the
special orders are  published.   The  decoration  was  not  required  to  be
updated in MilPDS and on file in his record until 9 Dec 01.   As  such,  the
17 Jul 01 MSM was not a matter  of  record  at  the  time  the  CY01B  board
convened.  Although the decoration was not yet approved and on file for  the
board's review, selection board members had  his  entire  Officer  Selection
Record   (OSR)   at   their   disposal   during   promotion   consideration.
Specifically,  the  majority  of  the  achievements  mentioned  on  the  MSM
citation are also reflected in his Officer Performance  Reports  (OPRs)  for
the same period.  DPPPO is not convinced the missing decoration  contributed
to his nonselection for promotion.

The DPPPO evaluation is at Exhibit C.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant states that  since  he  had  been  awarded  the  decoration  in  a
ceremony on 17 Jul 01, it existed in his  mind  and  in  the  minds  of  his
superiors and everyone in attendance.  He referenced the MSM in  his  letter
to the selection board and therefore, he thinks it  could  have  contributed
to his nonselection by creating a "disconnect" between his  letter  and  his
record.  The absence of a decoration after a command tour has the  potential
of sending a very strong negative  statement  to  a  promotion  board.   The
applicant maintains that the medal should have been in  his  record  at  the
time of the board and that it was the intention of  base  senior  leadership
that it should have been.  The only reason the decoration  was  not  in  his
record, as was intended, was because of an administrative oversight.

In further support  of  his  request,  applicant  provided  a  copy  of  the
Recommendation for Decoration Printout  (RDP)  and  a  memorandum  from  the
former mission support squadron commander.  His  complete  submission,  with
attachments, is at Exhibit E.

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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 error or injustice.  Evidence  has  not  been  presented  which
would lead us to believe that his record was substantially  inaccurate  when
it was considered by the selection board in question.  In this  respect,  we
note that the date of the orders awarding him the MSM is after the date  the
selection board convened.  Thus, it is our opinion that the MSM  was  not  a
matter of record at the time the selection board convened  and  accordingly,
it was not required to be included in his selection record.   Therefore,  we
agree with the opinion  and  recommendation  of  the  Air  Force  office  of
primary responsibility and adopt  their  rationale  as  the  basis  for  our
conclusion that the applicant has  not  been  the  victim  of  an  error  or
injustice.  In the absence of persuasive evidence to the contrary,  we  find
no compelling  basis  to  recommend  granting  the  relief  sought  in  this
application.

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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.

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The following members of the Board  considered  Docket  Number  02-01944  in
Executive Session on 30 Oct 02, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Lawrence R. Leehy, Panel Chair
      Ms. Diane Arnold, Member
      Mr. Mike Novel, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 13 Jun 02, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPO, dated 21 Aug 02.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 30 Aug 02.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 23 Sep 02.




                                   LAWRENCE R. LEEHY
                                   Panel Chair