RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2005-00223
            INDEX CODE 131.01, 107.00
            COUNSEL:  None

            HEARING DESIRED:  No

MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  22 Jul 06

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He be given  Special  Selection  Board  (SSB)  consideration  for  the
Calendar Year 2003B (CY03B) Major Central Selection Board  (CSB)  with
the Air Force Commendation Medal (AFCM) for the period  23 Sep  93  to
23 Sep 96 included in his Officer Selection Record (OSR)  or,  in  the
alternative, void his first nonselection and make the  next  promotion
board be his first consideration for major.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The omission of the basic AFCM from his  official  record  created  an
unjust disadvantage when considered by the major promotion board.   He
did not discover the error until he visited HQ AFPC on 20 Dec 04.

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

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The pertinent AFCM for the period 23 Sep 93 to 23 Sep 96  was  awarded
to the applicant by Special Order GB-0236, dated 25 Apr 97.  He was  a
Reservist at the time and did not enter  extended  active  duty  (EAD)
until 5 Jul 00.

The applicant is a Reservist currently serving on EAD as a  Protestant
chaplain in the grade of captain with a date of rank (DOR)  of  27 May
96.  He is presently stationed at Elmendorf AFB, AK.

By Special Order GA-207, dated 12 Sep 03, the  applicant  was  awarded
the AFCM for the period 13 Jul 00 to 15 Jun 03.  The order incorrectly
indicated this award was the applicant’s first  AFCM.   As  a  result,
Special Order GA-246, dated 30 Oct 03, corrected the original order to
reflect he was awarded the AFCM 1st Oak  Leaf  Cluster  (1OLC),  or  a
second AFCM.

The CY03B Major CSB convened on 8 Dec 03.  The citation and/or special
order for the basic AFCM was not in the applicant’s OSR when the board
convened; however, the Officer Selection Board (OSB)  for  that  board
reflected  receipt  of  2  AFCMs  in  the  Decorations  Section.   The
applicant was considered but not selected for promotion to  the  grade
of major.

SAF/MRBR informally advised via email that discrepancy reports are not
kept on any permanent file and are not filmed with  the  OSB  after  a
board.  If there ever was a discrepancy letter in the applicant’s OSR,
it is no longer there as a copy of the awarding order, in  lieu  of  a
citation, was filed on 3 Feb 05.

OPR profile since 2001 follows:

           PERIOD ENDING          EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL

                 3 Jul 01         Meets Standards
                 3 Jul 02         Meets Standards
                 3 Jul 03         Meets Standards
                 3 Jul 04         Meets Standards

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPPO advises that, to ensure  the  contents  of  an  OSR  are
correct, a member should request a copy of the OSR from HQ AFPC/DPPBR1
(Records Section) as directed in  the  instructions  attached  to  the
Officer  Preselection  Brief  (OPB)  that  each  eligible  member  for
promotion receives prior to CSBs.  Had the applicant done so, he would
have noticed the missing citation and taken corrective action  at  the
time.  He did not provide any documentation demonstrating he exercised
due diligence in ensuring the correct citations were filed in his  OSR
prior to the CSB convening.  It is  the  officer’s  responsibility  to
ensure the accuracy of his record  prior  to,  not  after,  the  board
convening date.  Further, the CSB had knowledge of  the  AFCM  by  its
entry on the OSB.  Denial is recommended because the applicant did not
exercise reasonable diligence.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant provides details regarding his efforts to ensure his OSR
was correct for the CY03B board.  He  points  to  the  confusion  that
possibly resulted from the Special  Order  for  the  AFLC  1OLC  being
duplicated.  He  does  not  know  if  the  promotion  board  made  its
evaluation based solely on the medal information contained on the  OSB
or if they  reviewed  the  actual  citations/special  orders  as  they
appeared in his OSR.  In the latter case, the board  would  have  seen
that one was a duplicate, which might have caused them  to  grant  him
less credit.  He was unable to travel to AFPC before the board because
he had just been assigned to Elmendorf AFB and  was  preparing  for  a
deployment to Iraq in  Mar  04.   When  he  queried  AFPC  for  verbal
verification of the contents of his records, a technician confirmed he
had two AFCMs in his record.  He had no reason to believe this was one
AFCM Special Order copied twice and the basic AFCM Special  Order  was
not included.

A complete copy of the rebuttal 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  to  warrant   amending   the
applicant’s CY03B OSB and granting SSB consideration.  After carefully
considering the available evidence and the applicant’s contentions, we
are persuaded he made  reasonable  attempts  to  ensure  his  OSR  was
correct before the CY03B board convened, and sufficient confusion  may
have resulted from the apparent duplication of the AFCM  1OLC  Special
Order.  While we cannot determine with certainty whether  the  missing
Special Order for the basic AFCM  resulted  in  his  nonselection,  we
believe any possibility of an injustice should be offset  by  granting
the applicant’s request and affording SSB consideration.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the  Department  of  the  Air  Force
relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that he be considered  for
promotion to the grade of major by Special  Selection  Board  for  the
Calendar Year 2003B Major Central Selection  Board  with  the  Special
Order GB-0236, dated 25 April 1997, for  the  Air  Force  Commendation
Medal awarded for the period 23 September 1993 to  23 September  1996,
included in his Officer Selection Record.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the  Board  considered  this  application  in
Executive Session on 8 June 2005 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                 Mr. Michael K. Gallogly, Panel Chair
                 Ms. Dorothy P. Loeb, Member
                 Mr. Clarence D. Long III, Member

All members  voted  to  correct  the  records,  as  recommended.   The
following documentary evidence relating to AFBCMR  Docket  Number  BC-
2005-00223 was considered:

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 13 Jan 05, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPPO, dated 22 Feb 05.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 2 Mar 05.
   Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 14 Mar 05, w/atchs.




                                   MICHAEL K. GALLOGLY
                                   Panel Chair

AFBCMR BC-2005-00223




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     , be corrected to show that he be considered for
promotion to the grade of major by Special Selection Board for the
Calendar Year 2003B Major Central Selection Board with the Special
Order GB-0236, dated 25 April 1997, for the Air Force Commendation
Medal awarded for the period 23 September 1993 to 23 September 1996,
included in his Officer Selection Record.





   JOE G. LINEBERGER

   Director

   Air Force Review Boards Agency