RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2004-00137
            INDEX NUMBER: 131.03

      XXXXXXX    COUNSEL:  NONE

      XXXXXXX    HEARING DESIRED:  NO


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He be considered for promotion to the grade of major by  the  February  2004
major board.

_________________________________________________________________

THE APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was erroneously advised by the Air Reserve Personnel Center  (ARPC)  that
since his break in service was more than two years, his date of  rank  (DOR)
would be adjusted and he would be considered for promotion to the  grade  of
major by the February 2004 major board.  However, he was considered and  not
selected by the 2002 and 2003 major boards.   He  and  his  chain-of-command
were never notified that he would be considered by the 2002 major board.

His commander received an informal email in late  November  2002  requesting
that an Officer Performance Report (OPR) be prepared for the  February  2003
major board.  Although they believed this was  an  error,  they  prepared  a
promotion package.  This was the only  communication  he  or  his  chain-of-
command received concerning his meeting any major board.

After being notified that he would be discharged from the Reserves based  on
two promotion nonselections to the grade of major, he  contacted  ARPC.   He
was told by ARPC that Admissions Liaison Officer (ALO) promotions were  rare
and that the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) and his commander  were
to blame for the miscommunication concerning the 2002 major board.

In support of the appeal, applicant submits copies of emails concerning  his
promotion considerations and nonselections.

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

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant was commissioned in the Regular Air Force on 29 May 1991.   He
was released from active duty on 29 September  1997,  and  assigned  to  the
Obligated Reserve Section (OSR), effective 30 September 1997,  with  a  date
of rank (DOR) to captain of 29 May 1995.  Based on the completion of his  8-
year Military  Service  Obligation  (MSO),  he  was  assigned  to  the  Non-
obligated/Non-participating Ready Personnel Section (NNRPS) on 29 May 1999.

On 10 January 2000, he  obtained  an  assignment  in  the  Individual  Ready
Reserve (IRR) with the 9001st Air Reserve Squadron as an Admissions  Liaison
Officer (ALO) as part of the other than selected Reserve (OTSR).

He was considered and not selected for promotion to the grade  of  major  by
the Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 (FY03 &  FY04)  Line  and  Health  Professions
Major (OTSR) Selection Boards that convened in February  2002  and  February
2003, respectively.  Since he was a member of the OTSR, he was not  eligible
for continuation.  Since the Air Force Commendation Medal (AFCM) awarded  on
30 January 2003 was not available for  the  FY04  board,  ARPC  granted  him
Special Selection Board (SSB) consideration for the FY04 board; however,  he
was not selected.  Although not filed  in  time  to  be  considered  by  the
original FY04 board, the 5 November 2002 OPR was filed in his  records  when
he was considered by the SSB.  He completed Squadron  Officer  School  (SOS)
non-residence in February 2003; however, since he completed  SOS  after  the
FY04 board convened, ARPC denied his request that his completion of  SOS  be
available to the SSB.

Based on his two nonselections for promotion to  the  grade  of  major,  his
mandatory separation date (MSD) was established as 1 October 2003.

      PERIOD ENDING    OVERALL EVALUATION

         2 Jul 92      Training Report (TR)
         2 Jul 93      Meets Standards (MS)
        30 Apr 94                 MS
        26 Sep 95                 TR
        26 Sep 96                 MS
        15 Apr 97                 MS
    16 Apr 97 - 9 Jan 00  No report required IAW AFI 36-2406
         9 Jan 01                 MS
      * 13 Nov 01                 MS
            #  5 Nov 02                 MS
               5 Nov 03                 MS

* Top report for the FY03 & FY04 Boards

# Top report for the SSB for the FY04 Board

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

ARPC/DPB recommends the application be denied and states, in part, that  the
applicant was considered on time by the FY03 and FY04 major  boards.   Since
he is no longer a member of the Air Force Reserve as a  result  of  the  two
nonselections, he is not eligible for consideration by a  Reserve  promotion
board.  Most officers complete their MSO  while  on  active  duty  and  once
released, spend no more than two years in NNRPS before being  reassigned  to
the Inactive Status List Reserve Section (ISLRS), where they are  ineligible
for  promotion  and  must  wait  at  least  one  full  calendar  year  after
reassignment to a participating assignment before they  are  considered  for
promotion.  It appears he may have been advised  that  since  he  left  more
than two years before his  assignment  as  an  ALO,  his  Reserve  promotion
opportunity would be set back by at least a year; however, since he did  not
have an  ISLRS  assignment,  he  incurred  no  break-in-service  that  would
readjust his promotion eligibility.

ARPC/DPB notes the promotion opportunity for OTSR officers at the  FY03  and
FY04 boards was 15% of  the  in-the-promotion-zone  (IPZ)  officers  meeting
these boards.  This translated to a selection rate of approximately  7%  for
FY03 and 12% for FY04.  The largest  discriminator  for  selections  by  the
FY03 board was  completion  of  SOS.   All  of  the  officers  selected  for
promotion by the FY03 board had  completed  SOS  and  94%  of  the  officers
selected by the FY04  board  had  completed  SOS.   The  applicant  had  not
completed SOS prior to either  board.   The  applicant  received  non-select
counseling after the results  of  the  FY04  board  were  released  and  was
advised that his AFCM, awarded on 30  January  2003,  was  unavailable;  the
lack of SOS probably played a significant role  in  his  non-selection;  and
the lack of participation from 1997 to  2000  leaves  a  question  in  board
members’ minds concerning the officer’s status and intent.  As a  result  of
the non-select counseling, they granted an SSB for the  FY04  board  because
the AFCM was not available for the FY04  board  to  review.   The  applicant
wrote a letter to the SSB explaining he was enrolled in SOS and expected  to
complete the course in August 2003.  However, he did not address the gap  in
his participation from 1997 to 2000.

The ARPC/DPB evaluation is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT’S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

While the evaluation seems to indicate that he  contacted  ARPC  before  the
FY03 and FY04 boards, he only contacted them once in January  2000,  shortly
after his assignment as an  ALO.   At  no  time  was  he  or  his  commander
notified of his eligibility for the FY03 board.  He never  received  a  pre-
selection notice  to  prepare  his  records,  never  received  a  non-select
notice, and was never contacted by a non-select  counselor.   His  commander
expedited his OPR and decoration within the deadlines for inclusion  in  his
records for the FY04 board; however, these documents were  not  included  in
his records that met the board.  He has not been  able  to  determine  which
organization is responsible for  him.   Apparently  the  Military  Personnel
Flight at ARPC is directly  responsible  for  originating  all  information;
however, as an ALO, the USAFA  MPF  is  responsible  for  disseminating  the
information from ARPC.  Neither organization has produced any  documentation
or  information  concerning  his  being  notified  of  his  eligibility  for
consideration by the FY03  board.   Both  organizations  have  solidly  laid
blame on the other for his miscue.  Furthermore,  the  nonselect  counseling
he received was very brief and focused solely on his lack of  SOS.   Had  he
known he would be considered by the FY03  board,  he  certainly  would  have
immediately completed SOS.  He had always planned to  complete  SOS  in  the
summer prior to his first promotion consideration to major.   He  has  never
left his professional fate to chance.  He graduated from the USAFA  in  1991
and graduated from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1995.

Applicant’s complete 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 or injustice.  After thoroughly  reviewing  the  evidence
of record and noting the applicant’s contentions, we believe he  was  denied
fair and equitable consideration for promotion to the grade  of  major.   In
this respect, we note that most officers complete their MSO while on  active
duty and once released, spend no more than two years in NNRPS  before  being
reassigned to the ISLRS, where they are ineligible for  promotion  and  must
wait at least one full calendar year after reassignment to  a  participating
assignment before they are considered for  promotion.   In  the  applicant’s
case, he was released from active duty two years prior to completion of  his
MSO and assignment as an ALO.  ARPC/DPB states that apparently  he  was  led
to believe he would not be considered for Reserve promotion for at  least  a
year.  We find this is evident in that neither he  nor  his  commander  were
notified of his eligibility for the FY03 board.  The applicant  states  that
had he known he would be considered by the FY03 board,  he  certainly  would
have immediately completed SOS, as he had always planned to complete SOS  in
the summer prior to his first promotion consideration to major.   Given  his
record  of  academic  achievement,  we  find  no  basis  to  question   this
contention.  While we cannot determine whether the above circumstances  were
the reason for his nonselection for promotion, we do believe that it  served
to deprive him of fair and equitable consideration,  and  placed  him  at  a
distinct disadvantage.  Based on a totality of the  evidence  presented,  we
believe his nonselections by the FY03 and FY04 selection  boards  should  be
set aside and that he  should  be  considered  for  promotion  by  the  next
Reserve major board.  While we do not  usually  set  aside  an  individual’s
promotion nonselections prior to receiving the results of  the  supplemental
promotion  process,  in  an  effort  to  provide  the  applicant   equitable
promotion consideration, with the completion of SOS in his records, we  must
do so in this case.  Therefore, we  recommend  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:

      a.  He was not considered for promotion by the Fiscal Years  2003  and
2004 (FY03 & FY04) Line and Health Professions Major  (Other  Than  Selected
Reserve (OTSR)) Selection Boards.

      b.  He was not discharged from the  Air  Force  Reserve  on  1 October
2003, but was continued in his Reserve assignment.

      c.  He be considered for promotion to the grade of  major  by  Special
Selection Board for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Air Force Reserve (OTSR)  Line
and Health Professions Major Promotion Selection Board (W04005A).

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered  Docket  Number  BC-2004-00137
in Executive Session on 12 May 2004, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                       Mr. David C. Van Gasbeck, Panel Chair
                       Ms. Jean A. Reynolds, Member
                       Mr. James A. Wolffe, Member











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

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 26 Jan 04, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, ARPC/DPB, dated 13 Feb 04.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 20 Feb 04
    Rxhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 13 Mar 04, w/atch.




                                   DAVID C. VAN GASBECK
                                   Panel Chair

AFBCMR BC-2004-00137




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 XXXXXXX, XXXXXXX, be corrected to show that:

            a.  He was not considered for promotion by the Fiscal Years
2003 and 2004 (FY03 and FY04) Line and Health Professions Major (Other Than
Selected Reserve (OTSR)) Selection Boards.

            b.  He was not discharged from the Air Force Reserve on
1 October 2003, but was continued in his Reserve assignment.

            c.  He be considered for promotion to the grade of major by
Special Selection Board for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Air Force Reserve
(OTSR) Line and Health Professions Major Promotion Selection Board
(W04005A).





JOE G. LINEBERGER

Director

Air Force Review Boards Agency