RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-00962
            INDEX CODE:  131.00, 131.01

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________


APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His Officer Performance Reports (OPRs), closing 9 January 1999  and  9
January  2000,  be  replaced  with  the  reaccomplished  OPRs  he  has
provided.

He be considered for promotion to  lieutenant  colonel  by  a  Special
Selection Board (SSB) for the  CY99B  (30  November  1999)  Lieutenant
Colonel  Central  Selection  Board  (CSB),  with  inclusion   of   the
reaccomplished OPRs and the  missing  Air  Medals  (Fifth,  Sixth  and
Seventh Oak Leaf Clusters).
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The rater inadvertently left  out  a  command  recommendation  on  his
9 January  1999  OPR  and  a  Professional  Military  Education  (PME)
recommendation on his 9 January 2000 OPR; and, his 9 January 2000  OPR
has a typographical error in Section III, Block II, last sentence, the
word “Files” should read “Flies.”

Three Air Medals (Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Oak Leaf Clusters) were not
in his Officer Selection Record (OSR) when he met the CY99B Lieutenant
Colonel  Selection  Board.   The  Air  Medals  were  awarded  for  his
performance in April and May of 1999, prior to the  convening  of  the
board; therefore, they should have been  in  his  OSR  for  the  CY99B
selection board.

In  support  of  his  request,  applicant  submits  a  DD   Form   149
continuation sheet, reaccomplished OPRs, a statement from his rater, a
copy of his Evaluation Reports Appeal Board (ERAB) appeal and decision
and additional documents associated  with  the  issues  cited  in  his
contentions.  The applicant’s complete submission,  with  attachments,
is at Exhibit A.
_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant’s Total Active Federal Military Service Date (TAFMSD) is
14 February 1984.  He is currently serving on active duty in the grade
of major, with an effective date and date of rank of 1 July 1996.  The
following is a resume of his Officer Performance Report (OPR)  ratings
subsequent to his promotion to that grade.

            Period Ending    Evaluation

                 9 Jan 97    Meets Standards (MS)
                 9 Jan 98               MS
            *#   9 Jan 99               MS
            *##  9 Jan 00               MS
                 9 Jan 01               MS
            ### 31 May 01               MS
            ####31 May 02               MS
                 8 Apr 03               MS

*  Contested OPR

# Top report at  the  time  he  was  considered  and  nonselected  for
promotion to lieutenant  colonel  by  the  CY99B  (P0599B)  Lieutenant
Colonel Central Selection Board, which convened on 30 November 1999.

## Top report at the  time  he  was  considered  and  nonselected  for
promotion to lieutenant  colonel  by  the  CY00A  (P0500A)  Lieutenant
Colonel Central Selection Board, which convened on 28 November 2000.

### Top report at the time  he  was  considered  and  nonselected  for
promotion to lieutenant  colonel  by  the  CY01B  (P0501B)  Lieutenant
Colonel Central Selection Board, which convened on 5 November 2001.

#### Top report at the time he  was  considered  and  nonselected  for
promotion to lieutenant  colonel  by  the  CY02B  (P0502B)  Lieutenant
Colonel Central Selection Board, which convened on 12 November 2002.

The applicant was awarded the Air Medal, Fifth Oak  Leaf  Cluster,  by
Special Order GA-77, dated 27 August 1999, for meritorious achievement
while participating in aerial flight as an F-16 Fighter  Pilot  on  19
May 1999.

He was awarded the Air Medal, Sixth Oak Leaf Cluster, by Special Order
GA-32,  dated  26  March  2000,  for  meritorious  achievement   while
participating in aerial flight as an F-16  Fighter  Pilot  on  25  May
1999.

He was awarded the Air Medal, Seventh Oak  Leaf  Cluster,  by  Special
Order GA-22, dated 28 March 2001, for  meritorious  achievement  while
participating in sustained aerial flight as  an  F-16  Fighter  Pilot,
from 7 April 1999 to 13 May 1999.

A similar appeal concerning the  contested  OPRs  was  considered  and
denied by the Evaluation Report Appeal  Board  (ERAB)  on  6  December
2000.

Information maintained in the Military Personnel Data System  (MilPDS)
reveals that the  applicant  currently  has  an  established  date  of
separation of 29 February 2004.
_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATIONS:

HQ AFPC/DPPPE, recommends the application  concerning  replacement  of
the contested OPRs and SSB consideration be denied.  DPPPE  recommends
that the Board approve the request to correct the typographical  error
on the OPR closing 9 January 2000.   DPPPE  concurs  with  the  ERAB’s
ruling that evaluation reports can be changed to  be  harder  hitting;
however, the time to make these changes is before the report becomes a
matter of record.  DPPPE states that there are no errors or injustices
cited in the 9 January 1999 and 9 January 2000 OPRs.  DPPPE noted  the
rater’s letter of support and indicated that it is not clear  why  the
PME and command recommendations were not  included  when  the  reports
were initially rendered.  Retrospective views should not be used as  a
basis to change valid  performance  assessments  and  provide  another
opportunity at promotion.  The HQ AFPC/DPPPE evaluation is at  Exhibit
C.


HQ AFPC/DPPPO recommends the application be denied.  DPPPO states that
the applicant’s request to include  the  Air  Medal,  Fifth  Oak  Leaf
Cluster (AM 5OLC), is untimely.  DPPPO disagrees with the  applicant’s
contention that his Air Medal, Sixth Oak Leaf Cluster (AM  6OLC),  and
Air Medal, Seventh Oak Leaf Cluster (AM 7OLC), were missing  from  his
Officer Selection Record (OSR) when it met the CY99B selection  board.
Although the closeout date of the applicant’s AM 6OLC was 25 May  1999
and the AM 7OLC was 13 May 1999, the special orders were published  on
26 March 2000 and 28 March 2001, respectively.  Thus, his  record  did
not contain these citations, nor were they reflected  on  his  Officer
Selection Brief (OSB) for the CY99B selection  board.   The  governing
Air Force instruction stipulates that decoration  recommendations  are
entered into official channels within two  years  and  awarded  within
three  years  of  the  act,  achievement  or  service  performed.   In
addition, the citations and special orders must be forwarded within 30
days of the date the special  orders  are  published.   As  such,  the
special orders and citations for the cited AMs were  processed  within
the guidelines of the governing directive and neither was due for file
until 26 April 2000 and 28 April 2001, respectively.

DPPPO agrees that the applicant’s AM 5OLC was not listed on his  CY99B
OSB, nor was the citation filed in his OSR for this  board.   However,
each officer eligible for promotion receives an  Officer  Preselection
Brief (OPB) 90-100 days prior to the  central  board  convening  date,
with  written  instructions  to  carefully  examine  the   brief   for
completeness and accuracy.  DPPPO states that the  applicant  did  not
provide any evidence  that  he  exercised  “reasonable  diligence”  in
attempting to ensure his record was correct prior to convening of  the
CY99B selection board.  The HQ AFPC/DPPPO evaluation is at Exhibit D.
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATIONS:

On 10 September 2003, the AFBCMR approved the applicant’s  2 September
2003 request to have his case temporarily withdrawn (Exhibit  F).   On
19 October 2003, the applicant’s appeal  was  reopened  in  accordance
with his letter of 4 October 2003 (Exhibit G).

The applicant reviewed the advisory opinions and indicates that, since
an officer is not entitled to see his OPR until  it  is  a  matter  of
record, he was not allowed the opportunity to make the changes  before
the report became a matter  of  record.   His  only  recourse  was  to
identify the error to his rater and request that  he  write  a  letter
stating that he made an error  in  preparing  his  OPRs.   In  further
evidence of the senior rater’s  intent  to  include  command  and  PME
recommendations,  he  has   provided   a   copy   of   the   Promotion
Recommendation Form (PRF), written just prior  to  the  November  1999
selection board and falls directly between the dates of  the  OPRs  in
question.  In submitting his application to  the  ERAB,  he  did  take
steps to  correct  the  error.   The  time  delay  in  submitting  the
application to the AFBCMR was due to guidance  he  received  from  the
local Military Personnel Flight (MPF) to delay the OPR  changes  until
he resolved the issue of the Air  Medals.   With  regard  to  the  Air
Medal, Fifth Oak Leaf Cluster (AM 5OLC), being untimely,  it  was  not
entered into his official records until October 2001.   Therefore,  he
could not appeal a medal that he did not know was  approved  prior  to
the CY99B (30 November 1999) selection board.  The 30-day  time  limit
for forwarding special orders  was  far  exceeded  since  it  was  not
entered into his official records until October 2001, after the  Sixth
and Seventh OLCs were entered into his official records  in  May  2000
and May 2001, respectively.  The medals under review were not  entered
into his records within the 30-day  time  frame.   The  special  order
awarding the AM 6OLC was published on 26 March 2000, yet  it  was  not
entered into his official records until 9 May 2000; and,  the  special
order awarding the AM 7OLC was published on 28 March 2001 and  entered
into his official records on 24 May 2001.   The  applicant’s  complete
submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit G.
_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

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

2.  The portion of the application pertaining to the applicant’s  OPR,
closing 9 January 2000, and his request for an SSB was  timely  filed.
The portion of the  application  pertaining  to  the  OPR,  closing  9
January 1999, and SSB with inclusion of the three Air Medals  was  not
timely filed; however, it is in the interest of justice to excuse  the
failure to timely file.

3.  Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the
existence of error or injustice concerning the contested OPRs, closing
9 January 1999 and 9 January 2000, and consideration  by  SSB.   After
reviewing the evidence of record, the Board majority is persuaded that
the contested Officer Performance Reports  (OPRs)  do  not  accurately
reflect the rater’s overall assessment.  In this  respect,  the  Board
majority notes the statement provided from the senior rater indicating
his oversight and that it was his  intent  and  desire  to  include  a
recommendation on the cited OPRs for both SSS in residence and  for  a
command.  Based on the above statement and in the absence of  a  basis
to question his integrity, the Board majority recommends the contested
OPRs be replaced with  the  reaccomplished  OPRs  submitted  with  the
application.  It was  also  noted  that  the  typographical  error  in
Section III of the contested OPR, closing 9  January  2000,  has  been
corrected in the reaccomplished OPR; therefore,  no  Board  action  on
this issue is necessary.  In view of the foregoing, and  in  order  to
offset any possibility of an injustice,  the  Board  majority  further
recommends that the applicant be considered for promotion to the grade
of  lieutenant  colonel  by   Special   Selection   Board   with   the
reaccomplished OPRs in his records.

4.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented  to  demonstrate
the existence of an error or injustice warranting  SSB  consideration,
with inclusion of the Air Medals Fifth, Sixth  and  Seventh  Oak  Leaf
Clusters (AM 5OLC, 6 OLC and  7OLC).   The  Board  took  note  of  the
applicant’s contentions concerning the omission of his  aforementioned
Air Medals when he was considered for promotion by the CY99B selection
board.  However, since the special order  awarding  the  AM  5OLC  was
dated 27 August 1999, we are unpersuaded by the evidence provided that
the applicant took reasonable and timely  steps  to  ensure  that  his
records concerning the AM 5OLC were correct prior to the convening  of
the CY99B Lieutenant Colonel Central Selection Board.  With regards to
the AM 6OLC and 7OLC, we note that the orders awarding the medals were
published subsequent to the convening of the  CY99B  selection  board.
In addition, we have seen no evidence to indicate that the  cited  AMs
were not processed within the guidelines of the  governing  Air  Force
instruction.  In view of the above, we  agree  with  the  opinion  and
recommendation of the Air Force and adopt the rationale  expressed  as
the basis for our decision that the applicant has  failed  to  sustain
his burden that he has suffered  either  an  error  or  an  injustice.
Therefore, in the absence of evidence to  the  contrary,  we  find  no
compelling basis to recommend approval of the applicant’s request  for
SSB, with inclusion of the cited Air Medals.
_________________________________________________________________

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 Reports (OPRs), AF Forms 707A,  rendered  for  the
periods 10 January 1998 through 9 January 1999  and  10  January  1999
through 9 January 2000, be declared void and removed from his records,
and the reaccomplished OPRs be accepted for file in their place.

It is further recommended that his record be considered for  promotion
to the grade of lieutenant colonel by Special  Selection  Board  (SSB)
for the Calendar Year 1999B Lieutenant Colonel  Selection  Board,  and
any subsequent boards for which the now reaccomplished OPRs were not a
matter of record.
_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the  Board  considered  this  application  in
Executive Session on 30 October 2003, under the provisions of AFI  36-
2603:

                  Mr. Richard A. Peterson, Panel Chair
                  Ms. Dorothy P. Loeb, Member
              Mr. Charlie E. Williams Jr., Member

Mr. Peterson and Ms. Loeb voted to  correct  the  contested  OPRs  and
grant promotion consideration by an SSB; however, they voted  to  deny
the applicant’s request for SSB, with only the inclusion of the  cited
AMs.  Mr. Williams voted to deny the applicant’s  stated  request  but
did not desire to submit a minority report.  The following documentary
evidence was considered in connection with AFBCMR  Docket  Number  BC-
2003-00962.

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 21 Feb 03, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPPE, dated 29 May 03.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPPO, dated 29 Jul 03.
   Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 8 Aug 03.
   Exhibit F.  Letter from Applicant, dated 2 Sep 03.
   Exhibit G.  Letter from Applicant, dated 4 Oct 03, w/atchs.




                                   RICHARD A. PETERSON
                                   Panel Chair



AFBCMR BC-2003-00962




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 the Field Grade
Officer Performance Reports (OPRs), AF Forms 707A, rendered for the
periods 10 January 1998 through 9 January 1999 and 10 January 1999
through 9 January 2000, be, and hereby are, declared void and removed
from his records, and the reaccomplished OPRs be accepted for file in
their place.

      It is further directed that his record be considered for
promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel by Special Selection
Board (SSB) for the Calendar Year 1999B Lieutenant Colonel Selection
Board, and any subsequent boards for which the now reaccomplished OPRs
were not a matter of record.




            JOE G. LINEBERGER
                                        Director
                                        Air Force Review Boards Agency

Attachment
Reaccomplished OPRs, closing 9 Jan 99 and 9 Jan 00