RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-02360
            INDEX NUMBER:  111.00; 131.00
      XXXXXXXXXXXXXX   COUNSEL:  None

      XXX-XX-XXXX      HEARING DESIRED:  No

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

The Promotion Recommendation Form (PRF), AF Form 709, prepared on him
and reviewed by the  Calendar  Year  (CY)  2002B  Central  Lieutenant
Colonel Selection Board be replaced with a revised report.

He be provided consideration for promotion to lieutenant  colonel  by
special selection board (SSB) for the above board.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The errors on his PRF, such as an incorrect duty title and removal of
stratification bullets led the  CY02B  lieutenant  colonel  promotion
board to  mischaracterize  the  scope  and  breadth  of  his  career,
responsibilities, and mission impact.

In support of his request, the  applicant  has  provided  letters  of
support from his senior rater and management level  review  president
(MLR), a signed revised PRF, and a  copy  of  his  officer  selection
record (OSR) reviewed  by  the  CY02B  lieutenant  colonel  promotion
board.

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

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant entered active duty on 27  May  87.   He  is  presently
serving on active duty in the grade  of  major.   The  applicant  was
considered and not selected for promotion to the grade of  lieutenant
colonel by the CY02B Central Lieutenant Colonel Selection Board.  His
last ten officer performance reports (OPRs) reflect  overall  ratings
of “meets standards.”

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPEB  recommends  denial  of  the   applicant’s   request   to
substitute his original PRF  with  a  revised  one.   The  Evaluation
Reports  Appeal  Board  (ERAB)  partially  approved  the  applicant’s
request to correct his PRF.  The ERAB approved the request to correct
the duty title and remove the extraneous period in Section III,  Item
2.  The applicant’s request to  completely  substitute  the  PRF  was
denied.  The ERAB also determined that the administrative  nature  of
the changes did  not  warrant  consideration  of  a  SSB.   The  ERAB
considers an evaluation report to  be  an  accurate  assessment  when
rendered; therefore, substantial evidence is required to challenge  a
report’s accuracy.  The requested changes to the top and bottom lines
in Section IV do not remove negative or add positive information that
was not previously known.  To allow the applicant the opportunity  to
change the comments at  this  point  would  be  an  unfair  advantage
against other nonselected  AF  officers  whose  senior  raters  could
perhaps reword and improve comments.

The applicant was also given a copy of his PRF approximately 30  days
before the board.  The applicant does not  address  what  actions  he
took to get corrections made to his PRF before  the  board  convened,
nor does he  provide  any  additional  new,  or  previously  unknown,
information regarding the omission of stratification bullets.

The applicant has the support of his senior rater and MLR  president.
However, the applicant’s senior rater stated in his letter,  dated  9
Apr 03,  “Although  at  the  time  of  signature,  the  PRF  appeared
exceptionally strong, in retrospect, the  wording  should  have  been
different.”  The issue is not whether the comments in Section IV were
in error or an injustice had occurred; rather, that the applicant was
nonselected for promotion and that the PRF,  after  the  fact,  could
have been written better.

The complete evaluation is at Exhibit C.

AFPC/DPPPO recommends denial of the applicant’s request for promotion
consideration by SSB.

Since the advisory prepared by AFPC/DPPPEB recommends denial  of  the
applicant’s request to substitute his PRF, SSB consideration  is  not
warranted.

The complete evaluation is at Exhibit D.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

In his response to the Air Force evaluation, the applicant  indicates
that his senior rater for the CY02B Central Lieutenant Colonel  Board
was a Navy Rear Admiral and that he had limited knowledge of the  Air
Force  promotion  system.   He  also   points   out   that   he   was
administratively assigned to a new major command six weeks before his
promotion  board  convened,  which  did  not  necessarily  help   his
promotion opportunity.  Also, since his chain of command changed, his
former senior  rater  was  not  able  to  fix  his  nonselection  for
promotion by giving him a “Definitely Promote” at his next board.

In response to AFPC/DPPPEB’s question of what actions  the  applicant
took to correct his PRF prior to his promotion board,  the  applicant
indicates that he discussed his concerns  over  the  removal  of  the
stratification statements with his senior rater.  However, his senior
rater, after discussing the  situation  with  several  other  general
officers, believed that his record would compete well.

The  applicant  questions  the   value   of   making   administrative
corrections to his PRF, as indicated by AFPC/DPPPEB, yet denying  him
an SSB.  To resolve any doubts over his qualification for  promotion,
applicant submits copies of his two most recent  OPRs  and  indicates
that since his nonselection for promotion, he has been rated  the  #1
major by his branch and division on three consecutive OPRs.

The applicant’s complete response, with attachments, is at Exhibit F.

_________________________________________________________________

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 regarding the applicant’s request
for  consideration  for  promotion  by  SSB  for  the  CY02B  Central
Lieutenant Colonel Selection Board with a corrected PRF.  However, we
believe that the PRF with corrections only as previously approved  by
the ERAB should be considered.  In reaching  this  determination,  we
considered the additional changes  requested  by  the  applicant  and
supported by his senior rater and MLR president.  While  the  support
of the rating chain is often a decisive factor  in  granting  similar
requests, we do not  believe  that  the  requested  changes  in  this
instance correct material  errors.   Instead,  the  proposed  changes
appear to be an after the fact effort to improve the PRF and  do  not
add stratification bullets that the  applicant  asserts  are  missing
from the original.  Although the Air  Force  denied  the  applicant’s
request for SSB on the grounds that the changes approved by the  ERAB
were minor and did not warrant an SSB, we disagree.  It is our belief
that replacing the incorrect  duty  title  is  a  significant  enough
change to warrant an  SSB.   Regardless,  we  share  the  applicant’s
apparent view that to make changes to the PRF without granting an SSB
is of no value.  Therefore, we recommend that the applicant’s records
be 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  Promotion
Recommendation Form, AF  Form  709,  prepared  for  the  CY02B  Central
Lieutenant Colonel Selection Board,  as  corrected  by  the  Evaluation
Reports  Appeal  Board,  reflecting  the  duty  title  “Branch   Chief,
USSPACECOM Mobile Consolidated Command and Control Center  (MCCC)”  was
accepted for file in the applicant’s officer  selection  record  on  or
before 1 November 2002.

It is further recommended that he be considered for promotion to  the
grade of lieutenant colonel by Special Selection Board (SSB) for  the
CY02B (12 November 2002) Central Lieutenant Colonel  Selection  Board
with the corrected record.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered Docket Number  BC-2003-
02360 in Executive Session on 3 December 2003, under  the  provisions
of AFI 36-2603:

      Ms. Charlene Bradley, Panel Chair
      Ms. Michelle Grace, Member
      Mr. Christopher Carey, Member

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

     Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 13 Jul 03, w/atchs.
     Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
     Exhibit C.  Memorandum, AFPC/DPPPEB, dated 14 Aug 03,
                 w/atch.
     Exhibit D.  Memorandum, AFPC/DPPPO, dated 26 Sep 03.
     Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 17 Oct 03.
     Exhibit F.  Letter, Applicant, dated 31 Oct 03, w/atchs.




                                   CHARLENE BRADLEY
                                   Panel Chair


AFBCMR BC-2003-02360


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 XXXXXXXXXXX, XXX-XX-XXXX, be corrected  to  show  that  the
Promotion Recommendation Form, AF Form  709,  prepared  for  the  CY02B
Central  Lieutenant  Colonel  Selection  Board,  as  corrected  by  the
Evaluation Reports Appeal Board,  reflecting  the  duty  title  “Branch
Chief,  USSPACECOM  Mobile  Consolidated  Command  and  Control  Center
(MCCC)” was accepted for file  in  the  applicant’s  officer  selection
record on or before 1 November 2002.

      It is further directed that he be considered for promotion to
the grade of lieutenant colonel by Special Selection Board (SSB)
for the CY02B (12 November 2002) Central Lieutenant Colonel
Selection Board with the corrected record.






            JOE G. LINEBERGER
            Director
            Air Force Review Boards Agency

Atch
Corrected PRF