RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2004-02899
            INDEX CODE:  131.00, 107.00
            COUNSEL:  Mr. Barry P. Steinberg

            HEARING DESIRED:  YES

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His Officer Selection Records (OSR) prepared  for  the  21  Sep  04  Special
Board be corrected to include the Aerial Achievement Medal (AAM)  first  oak
leaf cluster (1OLC) awarded for the period 16 May 92 through 27 May 92;  and
the AAM (2OLC) awarded for the period 2 Sep 91 through 7 Nov 91.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The AAMs were awarded to the applicant on 3 Feb 93 and  27  Feb  93  out  of
chronological order.  This was  the  result  of  delays  in  processing  the
awards.  As a consequence, his records were considered by  the  Fiscal  Year
1993 Reduction in Force (RIF) Board without the awards in his  records  even
though the service for which they were awarded had already  been  performed.
It is fundamentally unfair to have his potential and  performance  evaluated
absent relevant commendations for superior performance.

In  support  of  his  request,  applicant  provided  his  counsel's   brief,
documentation pertaining to award of the AAMs, and his  OSR  contents.   His
complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant was appointed a second lieutenant Reserve of the Air Force  on  25
Jan 85.  He was progressively promoted  to  the  grade  of  captain,  having
assumed that grade effective and with a date of rank of 28 Feb 89.   He  was
considered and not selected for retention in the Air Force by the  FY93  RIF
board, which convened on 20 Jul 92.  He was separated from  active  duty  on
31 Dec 92.  He is currently serving in the Air Force Reserves in  the  grade
of major.  Pursuant to the  court  ordered  settlement  in  the  Berkley  v.
United States case he is being reconsidered for retention  by  the  Calendar
Year 2004 Special Board on 21 Sep 04.

On 27 Jan 93, applicant was awarded the AAM (2OLC) for the period 16 May  92
through 27 May 92 and on 3 Feb 93, he was awarded the  AAM  (1OLC)  for  the
period 2 Sep 91 through 7 Nov 91.

Applicant's complete OPR profile prior to the RIF  board  reflected  overall
assessments of "Meets Standards."

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPO recommends denial.  DPPPO states  although  the  periods  of  the
AAMs were prior to the convening of the RIF board, they  were  not  approved
until after the board convened.   Inclusion  of  decorations  that  did  not
exist at the time of the board significantly departs from Air Force policy.

The DPPPO evaluation is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Counsel states the award of the AAMs were both made with extreme  tardiness,
to the detriment of the applicant.  The corrections are entirely proper  and
fair, considering that  the  delays  are  in  no  way  attributable  to  the
applicant  and  the  objective  is  to  assure  a  full  evaluation  of  his
performance and potential by the Special Board.

His 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.  Applicant contends that  as  a  result  of
delays in processing of his Aerial Achievement Medal, first and  second  oak
leaf clusters, his records that were presented before the RIF board did  not
accurately portray his performance and potential.  It is  our  opinion  that
even though the medals were processed in  accordance  with  the  established
timelines, given the significance of the board results  on  the  applicant's
career and the fact that any little addition to his record may  have  had  a
profound influence on the outcome of the RIF board, we believe  the  benefit
of the  doubt  should  be  resolved  in  his  favor.   Moreover,  since  the
applicant was competing for an opportunity to be  retained  on  active  duty
and the award  was  for  sustained  meritorious  achievement  prior  to  the
convening date of the RIF board, we believe it should be a matter of  record
as  an  exception  to  policy.   Therefore,  we  recommend  his  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.  The Aerial Achievement Medal (1OLC) for the period 16 May 1992 through
27 May 1992, was approved on 1 July 1992, rather than 3 February 1993  and
was accepted for file in his Officer Selection Record on 5 July 1992.

b.  The Aerial Achievement Medal, (2OLC) for the period  2 September  1991
through 7 November 1991, was approved on  5  July  1992,  rather  than  27
January 1993 and was accepted for file in his Officer Selection Record  on
7 July 1992.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered  Docket  Number  BC-2004-02899
in Executive Session on 20 Sep 04, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Charles E. Bennett, Panel Chair
      Mr. Edward H. Parker, Member
      Mr. Christopher D. Carey, Member

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

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 3 Sep 04, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPO, dated 13 Sep 04.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 16 Sep 04.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, Counsel, dated 15 Sep 04.




                             CHARLES E. BENNETT
                                             Panel Chair
AFBCMR BC-2004-02899




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:

            a.  The Aerial Achievement Medal (1OLC) for the period 16 May
1992 through 27 May 1992, was approved on 1 July 1992, rather than 3
February 1993 and was accepted for file in his Officer Selection Record on
5 July 1992.

            b.  The Aerial Achievement Medal, (2OLC) for the period 2
September 1991 through 7 November 1991, was approved on 5 July 1992,
rather than 27 January 1993 and was accepted for file in his Officer
Selection Record on 7 July 1992.








  JOE G. LINEBERGER

  Director

  Air Force Review Boards Agency