RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2004-02368
            INDEX CODE:  131.01, 107.00
      XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX COUNSEL:  NONE

      XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX      HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

1. His records be corrected by  replacing  the  Air  Force  Form  709,
  Promotion Recommendation Form (PRF) that met the CY98B Major Central
  Selection Board (CSB), with a corrected PRF.

2. He be directly promoted to the grade of  major  with  an  effective
  date as if he had been selected and  promoted  by  the  CY98B  Major
  Central Selection Board.
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

1.  His PRF that met the CY98B Major CSB was influenced by the AF Form
707B, Company Grade Officer Performance Report (OPR), closing  out  on
17 November 1992, which was removed from his records in  May  2001  by
the AFBCMR.

2.  The senior rater on the OPR  closing  out  on  17  November  1992,
acknowledged the OPR influenced his overall promotion recommendation.

3.  The OPR closing out on 17 November 1992  directly  influenced  his
official record for nine years.

4.  The only person who could truly judge his potential  without  bias
is the senior rater and the senior rater recommends a definite promote
on the revised PRF.

In  support  of  his  request,  the  applicant  submitted  a  personal
statement, Evaluation Reports Appeal Board (ERAB)  application,  dated
6 April 2004, AF  Form  948,  Application  for  Correction/Removal  of
Evaluation Reports, AF Form 709, Promotion Recommendation, AF Form 77,
Supplemental  Evaluation  Sheet,  Air  Force  Review   Boards   Agency
Directive AFBCMR  01-00212,  a  letter  from  the  Senior  Rater,  and
Department  of  the  Air  Force,  Pacific  Air  Forces  letter,  dated
10 September 2003.

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

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant is currently serving on  extended  active  duty  in  the
grade of captain.  Applicant  was  considered  and  not  selected  for
promotion to the grade of major by the  CY  96A,  CY97C,CY98B,  CY99A,
CY00A, CY00B, CY01A, CY02A, CY02B, CY03A, CY03B and the CY04B  Central
Selection Boards.

On 13 April 2001, the AFBCMR directed that the OPR closing out  on  17
November 1992, be declared void and removed  from  his  records.   The
Board further directed, the applicant be considered for  promotion  to
the grade of major by a Special Selection Board (SSB)  for  which  the
OPR was a matter of record.  He was then  considered  and  nonselected
for promotion by an SSB on 20 August 2001 for theCY96A (P0496),  CY97C
(P04097C), P0498B, P0499A, P0400, and P0400B Major CSBs.

On 26 February 2004 the applicant submitted an application to the ERAB
to correct the P0498B PRF.  On 6 April 2004,  the  ERAB  returned  the
application without action informing him  that  the  requested  change
required the support of both the senior rater and the management level
review (MLR) president.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPE recommends denial.  In regards to the  applicant’s  request
for direct promotion, both Congress and  DoD  have  made  clear  their
intent that when errors are perceived to ultimately affect  promotion,
they should be addressed and resolved through the use SSBs.  When many
good officers are competing for a limited number of promotions, it  is
extremely competitive.  Without access to all  the  competing  records
and an appreciation of their content, DPPPE believes the  practice  of
sending cases to SSBs is the fairest and best practice.  In the  past,
and hopefully in the future, the AFBCMR will consider direct promotion
only in the most extraordinary circumstances where  SSB  consideration
has been deemed to be totally unworkable.  The applicant’s record does
not warrant direct promotion, nor does it warrant SSB consideration.

DPPPE  concludes  by  stating  they  recommend  the  AFBCMR  deny  the
applicant’s  request  to  upgrade  the   overall   recommendation   to
“Definitely Promote” on his P0498B PRF and  direct  promotion  to  the
grade of major.  However, if the AFBCMR decides  to  grant  relief  by
substituting the PRF, then DPPPE recommends the applicant’s record  be
considered by an SSB, as opposed to direct promotion.

The DPPPE complete evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________




APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant states that the sixth sentence of the advisory  did  not
mention information as to the competitive process  that  substantiated
his  new  promotion  recommendation.   He  argues  that  it  would  be
unethical for the senior rater to share specific information regarding
the competitive process.  He  could  find  no  reference  stating  the
original form must be used.

This PRF is not submitted strictly due to error.  The  AFBCMR  removed
an OPR from his record due to an injustice/error.  He believes an  SSB
is not the best route for  determining  his  selection  for  promotion
under the circumstances.  It would be hard for  any  board  member  to
miss the voided OPR, which in turn leads to  closer  scrutiny  by  the
promotion board members.  He  lost  out  on  many  leadership,  career
advancement, and job opportunities over a nine-year period as a result
of the bad OPR.  If  he  were  selected  for  a  couple  of  the  high
visibility assignments, jobs, or schools, he would be more competitive
for promotion.  It is impossible to determine how many times  the  bad
OPR affected his career.

In regards to the last paragraph  of  the  advisory,  he  states  that
although a “DP” would send a strong signal to  the  SSB,  there  is  a
chance he could be non-selected due to closer scrutiny of  his  record
and the lack of facts and circumstances.

He  never  contemplated  encountering  discrimination,  prejudice  and
injustice during his career, but found out early in  his  career  that
these things do exist in the Air Force.  He could have turned his head
when his rater unfairly treated his subordinate, but instead  executed
moral courage and confronted what he perceived to be wrong.  This  led
to the bad OPR.  He  now  asks  the  Board  to  right  this  wrong  by
approving the corrected PRF and to provide direct promotion  to  major
and favorable consideration for further promotion advancement.

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 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.  After a  thorough  review  of
the evidence of record and the  documentation  provided,  we  are  not
persuaded that the applicant has  been  the  victim  of  an  error  or
injustice.  We are not persuaded by the evidence presented,  that  the
applicant was denied  the  opportunity  to  compete  successfully  for
promotion on a fair and equitable basis.   Changing  the  overall  PRF
recommendation to a DP rating must be  fully  justified  and  requires
concurrence of both the senior rater and the MLR President.  We  note,
that after the MLR President reviewed the applicant’s record  and  his
request for PRF reaccomplishment, he decided  the  applicant’s  record
was not strong enough to earn an overall DP recommendation on his PRF.
 In  regards  to  the  applicant’s  request  that  he  receive  direct
promotion to the grade of major,  we  believe  that  direct  promotion
should only be considered in  extraordinary  circumstances  where  SSB
consideration has been deemed to be totally unworkable.   We  find  no
such  showing  here.   Therefore,  we  agree  with  the  opinions  and
recommendations of the Air Force offices of primary responsibility and
adopt its rationale as the basis for our conclusion that the applicant
has not been the victim of an error or injustice.  In the  absence  of
evidence to the contrary, we find no  compelling  basis  to  recommend
granting the relief sought in this application.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The  applicant  be  notified  that  the  evidence  presented  did  not
demonstrate the existence of probable  material  error  or  injustice;
that the application was denied without  a  personal  appearance;  and
that the application will only be reconsidered upon the submission  of
newly  discovered  relevant  evidence   not   considered   with   this
application.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered Docket  Number  BC-2004-
02368 in Executive Session on 8 February 2005, under the provisions of
AFI 36-2603:

            Ms. Barbara J. White-Olson, Panel Chair
            Mr. Barbara R. Murray, Member
            Ms. Janet I. Hassan, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

      Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 28 Jun 04, w/atchs.
      Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPPPE, dated, 4 Nov 04.
      Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 10 Nov 04.
      Exhibit E. Letter, Applicant, dated 4 Dec 04.





                                   BARBARA J. WHITE-OLSON
                                   Panel Chair