RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  02-02750
            INDEX CODE:  131.00
            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  YES

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His Air Force Commendation Medal (AFCM) rendered for  the  period  3 Mar  97
through 1 Aug 00 be included in the 01E6 promotion cycle selection process.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

In August 2000, his supervisor informed him that he  would  be  recommending
him for an  extended  tour  AFCM.   Upon  his  supervisor's  return  from  a
deployment  in  December  2000,  he  finished  writing  the  decoration  and
attempted to order a Recommendation for Decoration Printout  (RDP).   It  is
common practice to hold off on ordering the RDP  for  extended  tour  medals
until the decoration has already been completed.  On 10 Jan 01, the RDP  was
ordered and the inclusive dates  of  March  1997  through  March  2001  were
incorrectly entered.  In February 2001, he contacted the Military  Personnel
Flight (MPF) to ensure the AFCM was reflected in  his  records  and  he  was
assured that it was.   He  never  received  a  promotion  Data  Verification
Record (DVR) with the AFCM and  was  told  by  MPF  personnel  that  it  was
because of the conversion from PC-III to MilPDS.  In June 2001, he  received
his promotion test results and discovered he had missed the cutoff  by  2.37
points.  He then realized that an Air Force Achievement  Medal  (AFAM)  that
he was previously awarded, and the AFCM were not on the  score  sheet.   The
AFAM error was easily corrected  but  he  was  told  that  the  AFCM  had  a
closeout date beyond the promotion eligibility cutoff date  (PECD)  and  was
not  eligible  for  consideration  in  the  01E6  cycle.   He  advised   his
supervisor of the problem and actions were initiated to  correct  the  error
and change the closeout date.  The closeout date on the AFCM  was  in  March
2001, 7 months after the last accomplishment mentioned in  the  AFCM.   Upon
confirmation, the wing commander approved the  change  and  amendments  were
made to correct the orders, the citation, and MilPDS.  In October  2001,  he
received word  that  he  had  a  line  number  for  promotion  to  technical
sergeant.  However, in March 2002, he noticed that his line  number  was  no
longer reflected and he contacted the MPF to find  out  why.   He  was  told
that a message dated 26 Dec 01 indicated that his medal was classified as  a
resubmitted medal and that the order date of 10 Sep  01  did  not  meet  the
promotion criteria outlined in AFI 36-2502.

The supplemental promotion board  classifies  the  medal  as  a  resubmitted
medal; however, the AFCM was never resubmitted and therefore,  it  does  not
fall into the criteria of AFI 36-2502, Promotions, Table 2.2, note 2,  which
defines a resubmitted medal.  The supplemental board states that  the  medal
must have been placed into official channels prior to  the  date  selections
were made.  The AFCM was placed into official channels  on  10  Jan  01  and
selections were made on 29 May 01.  The supplemental board  cites  that  the
special order date must be prior to the  date  selections  were  made.   The
inclusive date of the AFCM is March 1997 to August 2000, in accordance  with
AFI 36-2803,  The  Air  Force  Awards  and  Decorations  Program,  paragraph
3.4.2., the effective date of all decorations is the  closing  date  of  the
service period recognized regardless of the order  date.   The  supplemental
board states that the citation itself, as well as the  order  were  amended.
Only the inclusive dates were amended,  no  verbiage  in  the  citation  was
changed or amended.  Different command  authority  signature  constitutes  a
change of command,  not  a  resubmitted  decoration.   The  AFCM  meets  the
criteria for inclusion in the 01E6 selection process and three  points  must
be recalculated into the 01E6 cycle.

In  support  of  his  request,  applicant  provided  a  personal  statement,
documentation  associated  with   the   AFCM,   his   01E6   score   notice,
documentation  associated  with  his  request  for  supplemental   promotion
consideration, an extract from AFI 36-2502 and AFI 36-2803.
_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant contracted his initial enlistment in the Regular Air Force  on
30 Jan 92.  He has  been  progressively  promoted  to  the  grade  of  staff
sergeant, having assumed that grade effective and with a date of rank  of  1
Jul 98.

The RDP printout was requested on 8 Jan 01 and  signed  by  the  applicant's
commander and placed in official channels on  10  Jan  01.   The  order  was
published on 25 Jan 01 and the certificate/citation was signed on 2 Feb  01.
 On 10 Sep 01, the order was published amending the closeout date to  1  Aug
00.

His total promotion score for the  01E6  cycle  was  310.10  and  the  score
required for selection in his  Air  Force  specialty  was  311.47.   If  the
decoration were counted in his total score,  he  would  become  a  selectee.
Promotion selections for this cycle were made on 29 May  01  with  a  public
release date of 7 Jun 01.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPR reviewed applicant's request and states that the  decoration  was
submitted into official channels and awarded  within  the  time  constraints
required by AFI 36-2803.  When the applicant found he missed promotion to E-
6 in June 2001, he contacted the MPF and  was  informed  that  the  closeout
date  (March  2001)  was  after  the  PECD  (31  Dec  00).   He  then   used
administrative channels to have the closeout date changed to  1 Aug  00,  so
that the closeout date would be prior to the PECD  and  the  AFCM  could  be
used for supplemental  promotion  consideration.   There  are  no  technical
errors or injustices regarding the applicant's AFCM.  The  DPPPR  evaluation
is at Exhibit B.

AFPC/DPPPWB reviewed applicant's  request  and  recommends  denial.   DPPPWB
states that current Air  Force  promotion  policy  dictates  that  before  a
decoration is credited for a specific promotion cycle, the closeout date  of
the decoration must be on or before the PECD, and the date of the RDP,  must
be before the date of selections for the cycle in question.  Each  promotion
cycle has an established PECD which is used  to  determine  what  Air  Force
Specialty Code (AFSC) the member will be considered  for  promotion  in,  as
well as which performance reports  and  decorations  will  be  used  in  the
promotion consideration.  The PECD  for  cycle  01E6  was  31  Dec  00.   In
addition, a decoration that a member  claims  was  lost,  downgraded,  etc.,
must be fully documented and verified  that  it  was  placed  into  official
channels  prior  to  the  selection  date.  This  policy  was  initiated  to
specifically  preclude  personnel   from   subsequently   (after   promotion
selections)  submitting  someone  for  a  decoration  with   a   retroactive
decoration effective date (close out) so as to put them over  the  selection
cutoff score.  Exceptions to the above policy are only considered  when  the
airman can support a previous submission with  documentation  or  statements
including conclusive evidence that the recommendation was officially  placed
in military  channels  within  the  prescribed  time  limit  and  conclusive
evidence  the  recommendation  was  not   acted   upon   through   loss   or
inadvertence.

The decoration does not  meet  the  criteria  for  credit  during  the  01E6
process because it closed out after the  PECD.   The  decoration  was  later
amended to change the closeout date to 1 Aug 00.   This  amended  decoration
does not meet the criteria  for  promotion  credit  during  the  01E6  cycle
because it was not amended until 10 Sep 01, well after selections were  made
and he discovered he missed promotion by 1.37 points.  His request  to  have
the decoration included in the 01E6 promotion process as  an  "exception  to
policy" was disapproved by AFPC/DPPPWM in  December  2001.   DPPPWB  concurs
with that decision.  The DPPPWB evaluation, with attachments, is at  Exhibit
C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant states that the AFCM was initiated well prior to  the  PECD.   His
performances warranting the award of the AFCM  were  accomplished  prior  to
the PECD.  Yet, he is being told it would  be  unfair  to  award  the  three
points earned for those  accomplishments  in  that  same  time  frame.   His
squadron, group, and wing commander readdressed the dates of the  medal  and
found it to be clear that  the  incorrect  dates  had  been  placed  on  the
original citation.  The credible  evidence  is  reflected  in  the  citation
itself in that the achievements cited for  award  of  the  medal  were  well
prior to the PECD.  It is not plausible to believe that a  supervisor  would
write an AFCM and tell the  individual  that  the  award  would  be  counted
toward promotion criteria and decide to  purposefully  place  the  incorrect
dates on the citation in order for the decoration to  be  disallowed.   This
is obviously not what was intended as supported by documentation  previously
provided.  This is not the instance where an individual is  trying  to  push
an after-the-fact decoration in order to earn points to exceed  the  cutoff.
His decoration was placed into official channels as of 10 Jan  01.   For  an
individual to actually try to submit a decoration after the date  selections
were made would produce an RDP  reflecting  a  date  after  the  PECD.   His
complete submission 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.  Sufficient relevant evidence  has  been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence of error or injustice.  In this respect, the RDP for the  original
AFCM was prepared on 8 Jan 01.  The inclusive dates  of  the  original  AFCM
were from 3 Mar 97 through 2 Mar 01.  On 25 Jan  01,  orders  were  prepared
awarding the original AFCM and the decoration was signed on 2 Feb 01.   Thus
it appears that he was awarded the AFCM for  meritorious  service  during  a
period that had not yet occurred.  It is our opinion that credible  evidence
has been provided in support of his appeal which would lead  us  to  believe
that because of an administrative error, the close-out date of the AFCM  was
incorrectly annotated on the  RDP  as  2  Mar  01.   Given  the  unequivocal
support from the senior officers involved, and having no basis  to  question
their integrity, it is our opinion that the benefit of doubt in this  matter
should be resolved in favor of the applicant.  Therefore, we recommend  that
his 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  Recommendation  for  Decoration
Printout, for the award of the Air Force Commendation  Medal,  covering  the
period 3 March 1997 through 1 August 2000, was signed by  the  commander  on
10 January 2001.

It is further recommended that he  be  provided  supplemental  consideration
for promotion to the grade of technical sergeant for all appropriate  cycles
beginning with cycle 01E6.

If AFPC discovers any adverse factors during or subsequent  to  supplemental
consideration that are separate and  apart,  and  unrelated  to  the  issues
involved in  this  application,  that  would  have  rendered  the  applicant
ineligible for the  promotion,  such  information  will  be  documented  and
presented to the  Board  for  a  final  determination  on  the  individual’s
qualifications for the promotion.

If  supplemental  promotion  consideration  results  in  the  selection  for
promotion to  the  higher  grade,  immediately  after  such  promotion,  the
records shall be corrected to show that he was promoted to the higher  grade
on the date of rank established by the supplemental promotion  and  that  he
is entitled to all pay, allowances, and benefits of such grade  as  of  that
date.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board  considered  Docket  Number  02-02750  in
Executive Session on 4 Dec 02, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Michael K. Gallogly, Panel Chair
      Mr. Thomas J. Topolski, Jr., Member
      Ms. Martha Maust, Member

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

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 21 Aug 02, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Letter, AFPC.DPPPR, dated 16 Sep 02.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPWB, dated 16 Sep 02, w/atchs.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 4 Oct 02.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 16 Oct 02, w/atchs.




                             MICHAEL K. GALLOGLY
                                             Panel Chair

AFBCMR 02-02750




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 APPLICANT, be corrected to show that the Recommendation for
Decoration Printout, for the award of the Air Force Commendation Medal,
covering the period 3 March 1997 through 1 August 2000, was signed by the
commander on 10 Jan 2001.

      It is further directed that he be provided supplemental consideration
for promotion to the grade of technical sergeant for all appropriate cycles
beginning with cycle 01E6.

      If AFPC discovers any adverse factors during or subsequent to
supplemental consideration that are separate and apart, and unrelated to
the issues involved in this application, that would have rendered the
applicant ineligible for the promotion, such information will be documented
and presented to the Board for a final determination on the individual’s
qualifications for the promotion.

      If supplemental promotion consideration results in the selection for
promotion to the higher grade, immediately after such promotion, the
records shall be corrected to show that he was promoted to the higher grade
on the date of rank established by the supplemental promotion and that he
is entitled to all pay, allowances, and benefits of such grade as of that
date.









  JOE G. LINEBERGER

  Director

  Air Force Review Boards Agency