RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2004-03447
            INDEX CODE:  131.09

            COUNSEL:  WILLIAM S. ARAMONY

            HEARING DESIRED:  YES

MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  9 May 06

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

She be directly promoted to the grade of lieutenant colonel as  though
selected  by  the  Calendar  Year  1998B  (CY98B)  Lieutenant  Colonel
Selection Board.

If the Board does not promote directly, she requests the Board fashion
a remedy to correct her record as best as  can  be  done  to  get  her
promoted.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

Her Officer Performance Report  (OPR)  closing  30  Jan  98  that  was
removed from her record in Dec 99 was identified as the error  in  her
record that caused her initial passover in Jun 98.  By the time it was
removed, she was above-the-promotion zone  (APZ)  and  was  forced  to
compete during the next two boards in that status.  After meeting  two
Special Selection Boards (SSBs), despite the removal of the  OPR,  she
was not selected for promotion.   She  believes  the  removal  of  the
report, its removal then being  reflected  in  the  records  as  being
removed, and the increasing number  of  APZ  years  negated  any  real
chances of her  promotion.   However,  she  believes  there  is  every
indication she should have been promoted by the CY98B board.

In  support  of  her  appeal,  the  applicant  provided  documentation
pertaining to her appeal under the provisions of AFI 36-2401, personal
statements,  supportive  statements,  and  numerous  other   documents
associated with matter under review.

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

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Information extracted from the Personnel Data System  (PDS)  indicates
the applicant is currently serving on active  duty  in  the  grade  of
major, having been promoted to that grade  on  1 Oct  94.   Her  Total
Active Federal Military Service Date (TAFMSD) was 1 Jan 83.

Applicant's OPR profile since 1994 follows:

      PERIOD ENDING    EVALUATION

         30 Jan 94     Meets Standards
         30 Jan 95     Meets Standards
         30 Jan 96     Meets Standards
         30 Jan 97     Meets Standards
       # 30 Jan 98             Removed by Order of Chief of Staff
      ## 30 Jan 99     Meets Standards
      ### 1 Sep 99     Meets Standards
          2 Jan 00     Meets Standards
     #### 2 Jun 00     Meets Standards
    ##### 2 Jun 01     Meets Standards
   ###### 2 Jun 02     Meets Standards
  ####### 8 Apr 03     Meets Standards
 ######## 8 Apr 04     Meets Standards

       # Top Report at the  time  the  applicant  was  considered  and
nonselected for promotion to the grade of lieutenant  colonel  by  the
CY98B Lieutenant Colonel Board.

      ## Top Report at the  time  the  applicant  was  considered  and
nonselected for promotion to the grade of lieutenant  colonel  by  the
CY99A Lieutenant Colonel Board.

     ### Top Report at the  time  the  applicant  was  considered  and
nonselected for promotion to the grade of lieutenant  colonel  by  the
CY99B Lieutenant Colonel Board.

    #### Top Report at the  time  the  applicant  was  considered  and
nonselected for promotion to the grade of lieutenant  colonel  by  the
CY00A Lieutenant Colonel Board.

   ##### Top Report at the  time  the  applicant  was  considered  and
nonselected for promotion to the grade of lieutenant  colonel  by  the
CY01B Lieutenant Colonel Board.

  ###### Top Report at the  time  the  applicant  was  considered  and
nonselected for promotion to the grade of lieutenant  colonel  by  the
CY02B Lieutenant Colonel Board.

 ####### Top Report at the  time  the  applicant  was  considered  and
nonselected for promotion to the grade of lieutenant  colonel  by  the
CY03A Lieutenant Colonel Board.

######## Top Report at the  time  the  applicant  was  considered  and
nonselected for promotion to the grade of lieutenant  colonel  by  the
CY04B Lieutenant Colonel Board.

As a result of a decision by the ERAB to remove her OPR closing 30 Jan
98, the applicant was considered by SSBs on 10 Jan 00 and 15  May  00,
respectively, for promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel by  the
CY98B and CY99A Lieutenant Colonel Boards.  She was not  selected  for
promotion by the SSBs.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPO noted the Evaluation Reports Appeal Board  (ERAB)  approved
removing the applicant’s OPR closing 30 Jan 98 in 1999.  As a  result,
she was  granted  SSB  consideration  by  both  the  CY98B  and  CY99A
Lieutenant Colonel Boards.  Despite the removal of the  OPR,  she  was
still nonselected for promotion by these boards.

AFPC/DPPPO indicated that during the CY98B SSB, the board members  had
before  them  a  corrected  Officer  Selection  Record   (OSR)   which
documented her accomplishments and recognitions for her entire  career
preceding her original in-the-promotion zone  (IPZ)  promotion  board.
It appears the applicant instead focused on one  year  of  her  entire
career as the  single  underlying  factor  for  her  nonselection  for
promotion.  They have every reason to believe the board  results  from
her SSBs were based on a complete review  of  the  applicant’s  entire
selection  record,  assessing  whole  person  factors  such   as   job
performance, professional qualities, depth and breadth of  experience,
leadership, and education.  And although qualified for promotion,  she
was not the best qualified of other eligible officers in the  judgment
of a selection board vested with discretionary authority to make  such
selections.

Despite the applicant’s noted assertions,  absent  clear-cut  evidence
she would have been a selectee for promotion by the CY98B  board  with
or without the OPR,  AFPC/DPPPO  believes  a  duly  constituted  board
applying the complete promotion criteria is in the  most  advantageous
position to render this  vital  determination.   In  their  view,  the
sanction of the board to do so should  not  be  negated  except  under
extraordinary circumstances.

AFPC/DPPPO stated that after a careful review  of  this  appeal,  they
were unable  to  substantiate  that  an  error  or  injustice  existed
regarding the applicant’s record.  Therefore, they recommended  denial
of the applicant’s request for  direct  promotion.   They  noted  that
counsel has provided a list of alternatives  should  the  Board  agree
with  their  recommendation.   They  evaluated  each  alternative  and
concluded that all requests  deviate  considerably  from  current  Air
Force policies.  As such, they believe the  most  fair  and  practical
remedy for the Board to grant is SSB consideration by the CY98B  board
with inclusion of a letter to the board in her selection  record  that
complies with the letter writing guidelines in effect at the  time  of
the original board.

A complete copy of the AFPC/DPPPO evaluation, with attachment,  is  at
Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant reviewed the  advisory  opinion  and  furnished  a  response
indicating the advisory did not address the fundamental  injustice  in
her case.  The removed report, although properly handled  and  briefed
in the promotion reconsideration process, left her record void of  its
initial standing and competitiveness present prior to the  removal  of
the report, never to gain  that  position  again.   Additionally,  the
absence  of  numerous  contributions  made  during  that  same  period
prejudiced the results and  call  undue  attention  to  the  “flagged”
missing report.  This prejudice is a direct result of the AFPC  action
taken to correct the record.  She believes her case is  not  the  norm
and involves elements that demand  further  review  before  drawing  a
conclusion.   By  AFPC  granting  consideration  by  another  SSB,  it
indicates that there is a “material error” in the  record  and/or  the
process.  A substantial change to the record is required in  order  to
get approved for SSB consideration.  She has every confidence  in  the
system and trusts the Board will see the injustice, recognize that the
normal personnel process has exhausted all avenues to correct it,  and
that it cannot, within its current system, correct the injustice,  and
award her a direct promotion to lieutenant colonel.

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.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented  to  demonstrate
the  existence  of  error  or  injustice.   The  applicant’s  complete
submission was thoroughly  reviewed  and  her  contentions  were  duly
noted.  However, we do not find her assertions and  the  documentation
provided in support of her appeal  sufficient  to  warrant  corrective
action.  In this respect, we are cognizant that the use  of  selection
boards to select officers for promotion  is  a  highly  sensitive  and
discretionary function and their actions cannot be presumed.   In  the
selection process, officers compete  for  promotion  under  the  whole
person concept whereby OPRs are but one of many  factors  assessed  by
selection boards.  An officer may be qualified but, in the judgment of
a  duly  constituted  selection  board,  vested   with   discretionary
authority to score his or her record, may not receive  a  high  enough
score to warrant selection for promotion simply because of the limited
number of promotion vacancies.  We believe that in order to justify  a
Secretarial promotion, there must be evidence the officer has suffered
an error or  an  injustice,  and  there  is  persuasive  evidence  the
officer's record cannot be fairly considered  by  a  duly  constituted
selection board.  After our careful analysis of this case, we are  not
persuaded the applicant's  case  is  so  exceptional  the  SSBs  which
considered her record after the removal of her OPR closing 30  Jan  98
could not reach a fair decision regarding  the  applicant’s  promotion
potential, and the extraordinary solution of a directed  promotion  is
warranted.  Based on the foregoing, we are not inclined to  usurp  the
discretionary authority of a duly constituted selection board.  In our
estimation, placing the applicant’s corrected record before  the  SSBs
was the appropriate course of action, and that she has  been  afforded
proper and fitting relief.  Therefore, in  the  absence  of  clear-cut
evidence indicating the applicant  was  not  afforded  full  and  fair
consideration for promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel by duly
constituted SSBs, or she was treated differently than other  similarly
situated  individuals,  we  find  no  compelling  basis  to  recommend
granting the relief sought in this application.

4.  The applicant's case is adequately documented and it has not  been
shown  that  a  personal  appearance  with  or  without  counsel  will
materially  add  to  our  understanding  of   the   issues   involved.
Therefore, the request for a hearing is not favorably considered.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The  applicant  be  notified  that  the  evidence  presented  did  not
demonstrate the existence of 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  this  application  in
Executive Session on 25 May 05 and 9 Jun 05, under the  provisions  of
AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Joseph G. Diamond, Panel Chair
      Mr. Charles E. Bennett, Member
      Mr. Michael J. Maglio, Member

The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket  Number
BC-2004-03447 was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 30 Oct 04, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPO, dated 1 Mar 05, w/atch.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 11 Mar 05.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, applicant, dated 16 Mar 05.




                                   JOSEPH G. DIAMOND
                                   Panel Chair