RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-00887
            INDEX CODE:  134.01

            COUNSEL:  CHRIS SMITH

            HEARING DESIRED: YES

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Officer Performance Report (OPR) closing 26 Feb  01,  be  removed  from  his
record and that he be considered for promotion to  the  grade  of  major  by
Special Selection Board (SSB) for the  FY02  and  FY03  Air  National  Guard
(ANG) Major Selection Boards.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He received a Letter of Reprimand (LOR)  and  consequently  a  referral  OPR
from the Air Force Reserve (AFRES) that he believes led to his  nonselection
by the FY02 Majors Board.  He transferred soon  after  to  the  Wyoming  Air
National Guard (WY ANG) where he met  the  FY03  promotion  board.   He  was
nonselected by the FY03 board and was labeled a first time  failure.   When,
in fact, he was twice passed over to major (FY02 nonselect  by  the  Reserve
Major Board) and is now facing involuntary  separation.   He  contends  that
had his AFRES rating chain known that the LOR and  Referral  OPR  would,  in
effect, be a catalyst for the end of  his  career,  they  would  have  found
another way to document the behavior that instigated the  LOR  and  Referral
OPR.

Applicant contends that due to a 9-month deployment in support of  Operation
Enduring Freedom in  Southeast  Asia,  he  was  denied  the  opportunity  to
prepare for the FY03 promotion board to major.  He was not  able  to  review
his Officer Selection Folder (OSF) and  therefore  not  able  to  officially
request to have the LOR and Referral OPR  removed  in  preparation  for  the
board.  He contends that the FY03 Board was  unaware  that  he  was  already
once passed over.

In support of his appeal, he submits statements  from  his  AFRES  chain  of
command that recommend removal of the Referral OPR and  several  letters  of
support from his ANG chain of command including the official request by  his
commander to have the LOR removed.

His complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________



STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant is currently a member of  the  Wyoming  ANG.   He  received  a
Letter of Reprimand (LOR) and a subsequent Referral OPR during the period  1
May 2000 through 26 February 2001 while a member of AFRES.  He met the  FY02
Major Selection Promotion Board prior to leaving AFRES  for  appointment  to
the ANG and was non-selected.  He was non-selected again  when  he  met  the
FY03 ANG Major Selection Promotion Board.  Consequently, he  is  now  facing
involuntary separation.  Applicant’s five (5) OPR’s prior  to  the  Referral
OPR were all rated  “Meets  Standards.”   Applicant’s  two  (2)  OPR’s  post
Referral OPR were both rated “Meets Standards.”

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFRC/DPM reviewed this application and recommended denial of the request  to
remove the Referral OPR from the applicant’s record.   They  note  that  the
Evaluation Reports Appeal Board (ERAB) disapproved the  applicant’s  request
to have the referral report removed from his  record  and  that  they  agree
with the ERABs conclusion.  DPM states that there  is  no  evidence  present
nor any given that the report was in error.

DPM does recommend however, that based  on  the  applicant  not  having  the
opportunity to review his Officer Selection Folder prior  to  the  FY03  ANG
Major Selection Board, that the applicant have the opportunity  to  meet  an
SSB since the LOR in his record has been removed.

DPM’s complete evaluation is at Exhibit B.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on  2  May
2003 for review and comment within 30 days.  As of this  date,  no  response
has been received by this office.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

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

2.  The application was not timely filed; however, it is in the interest  of
justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

3.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence of an error or injustice in regard  to  applicant’s  request  that
his referral Officer Performance Report (OPR) for  the  period  1  May  2000
through 26 February 2001 be removed  from  his  record.   After  a  thorough
review of the documentation provided  in  support  of  his  appeal  and  the
evidence of record, it is our opinion that no evidence has been provided  to
show that the referral report did not accurately reflect his performance  at
that time.   Therefore,  in  the  absence  of  persuasive  evidence  to  the
contrary, we find no compelling  basis  to  recommend  the  removal  of  the
referral OPR.

4.  Notwithstanding the aforementioned,  we  note  that  the  applicant  did
suffer an injustice in that he did not  have  sufficient  time  to  properly
prepare for the  FY03  ANG  Major  Promotion  Selection  Board  due  to  his
participation in a combat deployment to Southeast Asia.   Consequently,  the
applicant’s record included a Letter of Reprimand  (LOR)  that  should  have
been removed from his record prior to the convening of the  FY03  ANG  Major
Promotion Selection Board but was not.  We  believe  that  it  would  be  an
injustice for him to continue to  suffer  the  adverse  effects  of  a  non-
selection  for  promotion  to  major  because  of  an   inaccurate   record.
Accordingly, we recommend that  his  records  be  corrected  to  the  extent
indicated below.

5.  The applicant's case is adequately documented and it has not been  shown
that a personal appearance with or without counsel will  materially  add  to
our understanding of the issues involved.  Hence, the request for a  hearing
is not favorably considered.

______________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air  Force  relating
to [applicant], be corrected to show that he be considered for promotion  to
the Reserve grade of major by Special Selection Board for  the  Fiscal  Year
2003 ANG Major Promotion Selection Board.

______________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered this application in  Executive
Session on 17 July 2003, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Ms. Patricia D. Vestal, Panel Chair
      Mr. Clarence D. Long, III, Member
      Ms. Sharon Seymour, Member

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







    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 26 Feb 03, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Letter, AFRC/DPM, dated 8 Apr 03.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 2 May 03.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, Applicant, dated 3 May 03.



                                   PATRICIA D. VESTAL
                                   Panel Chair

                         DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
                                WASHINGTON DC




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Office Of The Assistant Secretary





AFBCMR BC-2003-00887




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 APPLICANT, be corrected  to  show  that  he  be  considered  for
promotion to the Reserve grade of major by Special Selection Board  for  the
Fiscal Year 2003 ANG Major Promotion Selection Board.








JOE G. LINEBERGER

Director

Air Force Review Boards Agency