RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBERS:  BC-2003-00517
            INDEX CODE 131.01
            COUNSEL:  None

            HEARING DESIRED:  No

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He be given  Special  Selection  Board  (SSB)  consideration  for  the
Calendar Year 2002B (CY02B) Major Selection  Board  with  the  Officer
Selection Brief (OSB) corrected to reflect receipt  of  three,  rather
than two, Air Force Commendation Medals (AFCM) and a  Duty  Air  Force
Specialty Code (DAFSC) of “21A3,” rather than “81T0,” for the  24  Jun
02 Assignment History entry.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The errors on his OSB contributed greatly to his nonselection  by  the
CY02B board.  After discovering the errors on his Officer Preselection
Brief (OPB), he contacted  the  military  personnel  flight  (MPF)  at
Mildenhall RAF to correct the errors. He  was  told  to  contact  AFPC
also, which he did, and discovered his  records  were  incomplete.  He
faxed a copy of his award to Officer Records at HQ AFPC on 22 Jul  02.
He followed this up with  a  phone  call  and  verified  his  fax  had
arrived. He tripled checked his records in Aug 02 and  discovered  his
records were still missing the award. He faxed  another  copy  of  his
medal  citation.  With  his  OSB  having  the  incorrect   number   of
commendation medals  and  being  the  first  document  viewed  by  the
reviewing officer, he believes a quick decision would have  been  made
that he had not received  a  medal  during  one  of  his  assignments,
thereby making his record appear substandard.  He  wants  his  records
corrected and reevaluated.

The 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 captain (Date of Rank 26 Aug 97).

On 14 May 02, the applicant was awarded the AFCM, 2nd Oak Leaf Cluster
(2OLC) for the period 4 Jul 99 to 17 May 02.

The applicant’s OPB, dated 17 May 02, reflected that he  had  received
two, rather than three, AFCMs.  The  most  recent  Assignment  History
entry was listed as “6 Jul 1999, 81T0, Asst Prof of Aerospace Studies,
Memphis.”

The citation for the AFCM 2OLC was filed in his records on 22 Aug  02.
This was his third AFCM.

The CY02B board, which convened on  3  Oct  02,  did  not  select  the
applicant for promotion. Although the AFCM 2OLC citation  was  in  his
records, the CY02 OSB reflected  award  of  two,  rather  than  three,
AFCMs. The most recent Assignment History entry on the OSB was “24 Jun
02,  81T0,  Sortie  Generation  Flt   Commander,   Mildenhall.”    The
applicant’s top Officer Performance Report (OPR), closing  15 Apr  02,
reflected a duty title of “Assistant Professor of  Aerospace  Studies”
at the University of Memphis and a  DAFSC  of  “81T0.”  The  Promotion
Recommendation Form (PRF), which  had  an  overall  recommendation  of
“Promote,” reflected the same duty title and DAFSC as the  15  Apr  02
OPR.

The applicant subsequently received an OPR for the period  16  Apr  02
through 3 Feb 03, which reflects a duty title  of  “Sortie  Generation
Flight Commander” and a DAFSC of “21A3.” This report was  not  in  his
selection folder when the CY02B board  convened  because  its  closing
date was after the board convened on 3 Oct 02. However, based on  this
OPR, the 24 Jun 02 Assignment History entry on the  CY02B  OSB  should
have had a DAFSC of “21A3” rather than the previous assignment’s  AFSC
of “81T0.”

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPPO advises that the AFCM 2OLC  was  not  reflected  on  the
applicant’s OSB but a copy of the citation was filed  in  his  Officer
Selection Record (OSR) on 22 Aug 02, a month and a half prior  to  the
board convening on 3 Oct 02. SSB consideration is not warranted  since
the board members had a copy of the citation to review and were  aware
of the level of  the  award.  The  Instruction  Sheet  for  Review  of
Preselection Brief, enclosed with the  applicant’s  appeal,  indicates
that updates to the current duty information, with  the  exception  of
the current duty  title,  must  first  be  approved  by  his  HQ  AFPC
assignment manager before it can be updated on the brief.  The updates
to the assignment history can be directly updated by  the  applicant’s
MPF; however, source documentation is required before any  updates  to
the assignment history can take place. The Instruction also  explained
the process of communicating directly  with  the  board  president  by
letter. There is no clear evidence that the  OSB  negatively  impacted
the  applicant’s  promotion  opportunity.  SSB  consideration  is  not
warranted and the appeal should be denied.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A complete copy of the Air  Force  evaluation  was  forwarded  to  the
applicant on 21 Mar 03 for review and comment within 30 days.   As  of
this date, this office has received no response.

_________________________________________________________________

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 to warrant affording the applicant
SSB consideration for the CY02B selection board with an  amended  OSB.
The Air Force office of primary responsibility contends  the  omission
of the AFCM 2OLC from the applicant’s CY02B OSB is immaterial  because
the award’s citation was in his selection folder. This is  a  reversal
of their usual argument that a citation’s omission  from  a  selection
folder is immaterial as  long  as  a  decoration  is  reflected  on  a
member’s OSB. Given the importance an OSB’s quick overview provides to
a promotion board, we believe the incorrect number of decorations  and
the AFSC discrepancy for the 24  Jun  02  assignment  entry  may  have
deprived the applicant of an equitable promotion opportunity. We  note
the OSB went so far as to have the correct title for  the  24  Jun  02
entry, but erroneously included the AFSC from the applicant’s previous
assignment. While the closing date of the 16 Apr 02 -  3  Feb  03  OPR
disallowed its inclusion in the CY02B selection folder, its  beginning
date verifies that the applicant’s AFSC for the 24 Jun  02  assignment
entry should have been “21A3,” rather than “81T0.”  Most  importantly,
the applicant did exercise due diligence with his repeated efforts  to
have  his  record  corrected  in  time  for   the   selection   board.
Accordingly, we recommend the applicant’s appeal be  granted  and  his
records corrected as 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 Officer Selection
Brief (OSB) for the Calendar Year 2002B (CY02B) Major Selection  Board
reflected under Decorations receipt of his third, rather than  second,
Air Force Commendation Medal in 2002,  rather  than  1996,  and  under
Assignment History he had an  Air  Force  Specialty  Code  of  “21A3,”
rather than “81T0,” for the 24 June 2002 entry.

It is further recommended that he be considered for promotion  to  the
grade of major by Special Selection Board  for  any  and  all  boards,
beginning with the CY02B board, for which  the  above  amended  errors
were a matter of record.
_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the  Board  considered  this  application  in
Executive Session on 8 July 2003 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                 Mrs. Barbara A. Westgate, Chair
                 Mr. Roscoe Hinton, Jr., Member
                 Ms. Carolyn J. Watkins-Taylor, Member

All  members  voted  to  correct  the  records,  as  recommended.  The
following documentary evidence relating to AFBCMR  Docket  Number  BC-
2003-00517 was considered:

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 27 Jan 03, w/atch.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPPO, dated 6 Mar 03.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 21 Mar 03.





                                   BARBARA A. WESTGATE
                                   Chair




AFBCMR BC-2003-00517




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 Officer
Selection Brief (OSB) for the Calendar Year 2002B (CY02B) Major
Selection Board reflected under Decorations receipt of his third,
rather than second, Air Force Commendation Medal in 2002, rather than
1996, and under Assignment History he had an Air Force Specialty Code
of “21A3,” rather than “81T0,” for the 24 June 2002 entry.

      It is further directed that he be considered for promotion to
the grade of major by Special Selection Board for any and all boards,
beginning with the CY02B board, for which the above-amended errors
were a matter of record.





   JOE G. LINEBERGER

   Director

   Air Force Review Boards Agency