RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:                       DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2006-02361
                                             INDEX CODE:  131.00

                                             COUNSEL:  NONE

                                             HEARING DESIRED:  NO



MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  3 FEBRUARY 2008


________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

The Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM) he was awarded on 26 Jul 05 be  included
in his Officer Selection Record (OSR)  for  the  P0506A  Lieutenant  Colonel
Central Selection Board.

He be considered for  promotion  to  the  grade  of  lieutenant  colonel  by
special selection board (SSB) for  the  P0506A  Lieutenant  Colonel  Central
Selection Board (CSB).

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

Before commencement of  the  P0506A  Lt  Col  Central  Selection  Board,  he
exercised reasonable diligence  to  ensure  the  accuracy  of  his  official
record.  In Sep 2005, upon his redeployment from Iraq, he  provided  a  hard
copy of his ARCOM to the Decorations  Section,  in  his  Military  Personnel
Flight (MPF).  However, after submitting the ARCOM documentation, a  failure
occurred during the transmission of the documentation from the  MPF  to  his
official record at AFPC/DPP.  As such the ARCOM was never inserted into  his
official record, resulting in the P0506A  Lt  Col  Central  Selection  Board
reviewing an incomplete official record  for  his  promotion  consideration.
Additionally, in Nov 2005, he physically traveled to Randolph  AFB  to  meet
with AFPC/DPP  officials  to  review  his  official  record.   However,  DPP
officials could not locate his official record and  the  review  never  took
place.  Furthermore, his MPF Promotions Section indicated  that  there  were
no discrepancies with his official record during  a  phone  conversation  in
early 2006.

In support of his request, applicant provided copies of his ARCOM  citation,
and the recommendation form.

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

________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant is currently serving on active duty in  the  grade  of  major.
His Total Active Federal Military Service Date (TAFMSD) is 16 May  86.   The
applicant was considered and not selected for  promotion  to  the  grade  of
lieutenant colonel by the CY06A (13  Mar  06)  (P0506A)  Lieutenant  Colonel
Central Selection Board.  A review  of  his  last  ten  Officer  Performance
Reports (OPRs) indicates overall ratings of “Meets Standards.”

[Examiner’s Note:  Officers either meet or do not meet standards.]

________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPO  recommends  denial  of   the   applicant’s   request   for   SSB
consideration with the copy of the ARCOM citation.  Although the  decoration
was not reflected in his OSR, the ARCOM was  available  on  the  applicant’s
P0506A Officer Selection Brief (OSB).  Therefore,  the  board  members  were
able to factor it into the promotion process.  Including a hardcopy  of  his
ARCOM would not introduce any new information not already considered by  the
Board.

Furthermore, to ensure the contents of the  actual  OSR  were  correct,  the
applicant would have had to request a copy of his  record  from  AFPC/DPPBR1
(Records Section), as directed in the instructions attached to  the  Officer
Preselection Brief (OPB) that each eligible officer for  promotion  receives
prior to CSBs.  If he had  done  so,  he  would  have  noticed  the  missing
citation, and taken corrective action at that time.  He did not provide  any
documentation demonstrating that he exercised due diligence in ensuring  the
correct citation was filed in his OSR  prior  to  convening  of  the  P0506A
Board.  It is the officer’s responsibility to ensure  the  accuracy  of  his
record prior to the board convening date, not after he has been  nonselected
for promotion.  We also stand by AFI 36-2501, para 6.3.3., that  states  “Do
not have an SSB if, by exercising reasonable diligence, the  officer  should
have discovered the error  or  omission  and  could  have  taken  corrective
action before the originally scheduled board convened.”

The complete evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit B.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

In his response to the Air Force evaluation, applicant  disagrees  with  the
evaluation and addresses the following three reasons:

         a.  AFI  36-2501  requires  officers   to   exercise   “reasonable”
diligence in ensuring the accuracy of their OSR prior to a promotion  board.
 He physically traveled to Randolph AFB  to  review  his  record  with  AFPC
officials.   Clearly,  by  traveling  to  AFPC  he  exercised   “reasonable”
diligence to the utmost degree.  Through no fault of his own, he was  denied
the opportunity to review his OSR because AFPC officials  could  not  locate
his record.  He promptly provided his ARCOM citation to his MPF  immediately
after his redeployment from Iraq.  He reviewed his OSR prior to the  13  Mar
06 promotion board and was advised that no discrepancies existed.

        b.  During the 13 Mar 06 CSB, his ARCOM was listed  on  his  Officer
Promotion Brief (OPB) (OSB).  However, his OPB only indicated  that  he  was
awarded an ARCOM.  His OPB did not specifically  indicate  what  actions  he
performed  to  warrant  the  award.   As  such,  this  information  was  not
available to the CSB since the citation was not included.  His OSR  did  not
contain a written evaluation  of  his  deployment  since  the  last  Officer
Performance Report (OPR) included in his OSR closed  out  before  his  Iraqi
deployment.  Clearly, the exclusion of  the  ARCOM  citation  from  his  OSR
diminished his promotion chances since deployment performance is a  critical
promotion factor.

        c.  DPPO recommended denial  of  his  request;  however,  they  also
recommended the placement of his ARCOM citation into his OSR if his  request
is subsequently approved.   This  contradicts  their  assertion  that  board
members were able to factor in the ARCOM for promotion consideration  during
the board.  If AFPC believes the ARCOM was factored  in  during  the  Board,
why would they recommend inclusion of the ARCOM citation into  his  OSR  for
the SSB?  To make such a recommendation, AFPC must recognize the  ARCOM  was
not fully factored in during the Board.  

Applicant’s complete response is at Exhibit G.

________________________________________________________________

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 regarding the applicant’s Army  Commendation
Medal (ARCOM) citation in his  Officer  Selection  Record  (OSR).   The  Air
Force indicated the ARCOM was listed on the  applicant’s  Officer  Selection
Brief (OSB), and that the board members were able  to  factor  it  into  the
promotion  process.   The   Board   recognizes   it   is   the   applicant’s
responsibility to ensure that his records are correct, and they  believe  he
did so.  The Board noted he provided  a  hard  copy  of  his  ARCOM  to  his
Military  Personnel  Flight  (MPF)  Decorations  Section.   In  addition  he
physically  traveled  to  Randolph  AFB  to  review  his  record  with  AFPC
officials, although, through  no  fault  of  his  own,  he  was  denied  the
opportunity to review his OSR because AFPC officials could  not  locate  his
record.  Finally he checked with his MPF Promotions Section  who,  during  a
phone  conversation  in  early  2006,   indicated   that   there   were   no
discrepancies with his official record.  In view of this, it is the  Board’s
opinion that the applicant exercised reasonable diligence  with  regards  to
his OSR.  Therefore, in order to provide the applicant  fair  and  equitable
relief and to preclude any possibility of an injustice, his  records  should
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  the  Officer  Selection  Record
(OSR), prepared for consideration by calendar year 2006A (CY06A)  Lieutenant
Colonel Selection Board, be  corrected  to  include  his  Army  Commendation
Medal citation.

It is further recommended that he be considered for promotion to  the  grade
of lieutenant colonel by Special Selection Board for  the  CY06A  Lieutenant
Colonel Selection Board.

________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number  BC-2006-
02361 in Executive Session on 28 September 2006,  under  the  provisions  of
AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. James W. Russell, III, Panel Chair
      Mr. Alan A. Blomgren, Member
      Mr. Grover L. Dunn, Member

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

     Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 2 Aug 06, w/atchs.
     Exhibit B.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPO, dated 10 Aug 06.
     Exhibit C.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 18 Aug 06.
     Exhibit D.  Memorandum, Applicant, 24 Aug 06.




                                   JAMES W. RUSSELL, III
                                   Panel Chair



AFBCMR BC-2006-02361




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 the Officer Selection
Record, prepared for consideration by P0506A Lieutenant Colonel Central
Selection Board, be corrected to include his Army Commendation Medal
citation.

      It is further directed the corrected record be considered for
promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel by Special Selection Board for
the P0506A Lieutenant Colonel Central Selection Board.




            JOE G. LINEBERGER
            Director

                      Air Force Review Boards Agency