RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBERS:  BC-2003-00420
                    INDEX CODE 131.01  107.00  111.01
            COUNSEL:  None

            HEARING DESIRED:  No

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

She be given below-the-promotion-zone (BPZ) consideration  by  Special
Selection Board (SSB) for the  Calendar  Year  2001B  (CY01B)  Central
Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Selection Board with the Officer  Performance
Report (OPR)  for  the  period  26  Jan  through  3  Jul  01  and  the
Meritorious Service Medal, 2nd Oak Leaf Cluster (MSM  2OLC),  for  the
period 26 Jan 99 to 7 Jul 01, in her Officer Selection Record (OSR).

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

She departed Kadena AB, Japan, on 3 Jul 01. The final  OPR  from  that
assignment was not signed until 6 May 02 and  the  MSM  2OLC  was  not
signed until 19 Apr 02.  Neither item was in her OSR despite being due
three months before the board met. Her personal phone calls and emails
to the overseas unit resulted only in vague replies, while attempts to
pulse the system via formal military personnel flight  (MPF)  channels
repeatedly came up negative. In fact, the  unit  never  submitted  the
award to the MPF at all, but instead sent  it  directly  to  her.  She
fixed the award problem the day she discovered it.

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is  at  Exhibit
A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

AFI 36-2406 stipulates that OPRs on extended active duty officers  are
due at HQ AFPC no later than 60 days following the  closeout  date  of
the report.  AFI 36-2803 provides that a member’s rating chain has  up
to two years to submit a recommendation for  a  decoration  after  the
service was performed. It also  directs  that  citations  and  special
orders for decorations be filed within 30 days of the date the special
orders are published.

During the period in question, the applicant was the  XX  intelligence
flight commander with the XXX Operation Support Squadron at Kadena AB,
Japan. The applicant left Kadena on 3 Jul 01 for the Air  Command  and
Staff College (ACSC) at Maxwell AFB, AL.

The applicant was considered BPZ by the CY01B and  CY02B  LTC  boards,
which convened on 5 Nov 01 and 12 Nov 02, respectively;  however,  she
was not selected.  Both  Promotion  Recommendation  Forms  (PRFs)  had
overall recommendations of “Promote.”

The OPR in question had a closing date of 3 Jul 01,  yet  it  was  not
signed until 6 May 02, six months after the CY01B board convened.  The
report was not filed in the applicant’s  OSR  until  17  Jun  02.  The
pertinent AFI required it to be filed no later than 3 Sep  01,  before
the CY01B board convened.

The closing period for the MSM 2OLC was 7 Jul 01, but the orders  were
not published until 19 Apr 02. The award was filed in the  applicant’s
OSR on 15 May 02; the latest file-by date was 19 May 02.

As a result, the OPR and MSM 2OLC were not in her OSR when  the  CY01B
board convened. Both were in her OSR for the CY02B board.

The applicant’s performance reports as a major reflect the following:

            PERIOD ENDING               OVERALL EVALUATION
              25 Jan 00                   Meets Standards
            # 25 Jan 01                   Meets Standards
            *  3 Jul 01                   Meets Standards
              10 Jun 02                   Training Report
            ##27 Sep 02                   Training Report

#  Top report for CY01B board
*  Report in question
## Top report for CY02B board
_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPPO asserts that, although  AFI  36-2406  requires  OPRs  be
filed no later than 60 days following the closeout date, the report in
question was not signed until six months after the board convened.  As
such, the OPR was  not  a  matter  of  record  for  the  CY01B  board;
therefore SSB consideration is not  warranted.  For  the  purposes  of
including the MSM 2OLC in a board that  convened  on  5  Nov  01,  the
decoration did not yet exist and was not required to be on file  until
19 May 02. The applicant could have written to the board president  of
her accomplishments
covered in her missing OPR and MSM 2OLC. However, she did not elect to
exercise this option. While it may be argued that  the  “missing”  OPR
and MSM 2OLC were factors in the applicant’s nonselection, there is no
clear evidence that their absence negatively  impacted  her  promotion
opportunity. Denial is recommended.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant contends by regulation the OPR was required to have been
a matter of record at the time of the CY01B board. It was a  mandatory
OPR (reporting period greater than 120 days), not an optional one. Her
records were not complete when reviewed  for  promotion.  As  for  not
communicating with the board president, it never occurred  to  her  to
question the integrity of her superiors who were writing  the  report.
She was told it was in full draft when she departed Kadena  on  3  Jul
01, as was the MSM 2 OLC. She followed up through phone calls,  emails
and pinging the military personnel system and was finally told the OPR
was enroute. The evaluation contends there is no clear  evidence  that
the  absence  of  information  in  her  promotion  record   hurt   her
opportunity. Her request for review is  based  on  a  desire  to  have
conclusive results, rather than an absence of evidence.

A complete copy of applicant’s response 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 warranting  SSB  consideration  for  the  CY01B
board with the 3 Jul 01 OPR in the applicant’s  records.  AFI  36-2406
clearly requires OPRs to be filed at HQ AFPC no  later  than  60  days
after a report’s closeout date. The OPR in question closed on 3 Jul 01
but was not signed until 6 May 02, six months after  the  CY01B  board
convened on 5 Nov 01 and eight months after the required file date  of
3 Sep 01. The Air Force makes the fatuous argument in their evaluation
that the report couldn’t be filed or considered by the selection board
because it didn’t exist until it was signed, missing  the  point  that
the report’s signature and file dates were in obvious violation of
the governing directive. While we cannot determine absolutely that the
OPR’s absence caused her nonselection, we do believe  the  applicant’s
incomplete  record  deprived  her  of  full  and  fair  consideration.
Therefore, we recommend the signature dates of the 3  Jul  01  OPR  be
changed to 3 Aug 01 and the applicant be  afforded  SSB  consideration
for the CY01B selection board with the report in her OSR.

4.    The applicant’s request to include the MSM 2OLC  in  her  record
for CY01B SSB consideration was noted. However, AFI 36-2803  allows  a
member’s rating chain up to two years after the service was  performed
to submit a recommendation for a decoration. The  Instruction  further
directs citations and special orders for decorations be  filed  within
30 days of the  special  orders’  publication  date.  The  MSM  2OLC’s
closing date was 7 Jul 01, but the orders were not published until  19
Apr 02. Although its processing  appears  protracted,  the  award  did
comply with the governing directive when it was filed four days before
the mandatory file date of 19 May 02. Therefore, the award  cannot  be
included in  the  applicant’s  OSR  for  CY01B  board’s  consideration
because it did not exist  when  the  board  convened.  Since  in  this
respect the applicant has not established that she has been the victim
of either an error or an injustice, we conclude this  portion  of  her
appeal should be denied.

_________________________________________________________________

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,  for  the  period
26 January 2001 through  3  July  2001,  be  corrected  to  reflect  a
signature date of 3 August 2001, rather than 6 May 2002 in Sections VI
and VII.

It is further recommended that she be considered for promotion to  the
grade of lieutenant colonel by  a  Special  Selection  Board  for  the
Calendar Year 2001B Central Lieutenant Colonel  Selection  Board  with
the corrected OPR in her records.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the  Board  considered  this  application  in
Executive Session on 12 June 2003 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                 Mr. Thomas S. Markiewicz, Vice Chair
                 Mr. Joseph A. Roj, Member
                 Ms. Cheryl Jacobson, Member

All members  voted  to  correct  the  records,  as  recommended.   The
following documentary evidence relating to AFBCMR  Docket  Number  BC-
2003-00420 was considered:

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 17 Jan 03, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPPO, dated 4 Mar 03.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 14 Mar 03.
   Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 6 Apr 03.





                                   THOMAS S. MARKIEWICZ
                                   Vice Chair




AFBCMR BC-2003-00420




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     , be corrected to show that the Field Grade
Officer Performance Report (OPR), AF Form 707A, for the period
26 January 2001 through 3 July 2001, be corrected to reflect a
signature date of 3 August 2001, rather than 6 May 2002, in Sections
VI and VII.

      It is further directed that she be considered for promotion to
the grade of lieutenant colonel by a Special Selection Board for the
Calendar Year 2001B Central Lieutenant Colonel Selection Board with
the corrected OPR in her records.






         JOE G. LINEBERGER

         Director

         Air Force Review Boards Agency