RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2006-03452
            INDEX CODE:  131.05

            COUNSEL:  NONE
            HEARING DESIRED:  YES

MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  7 MAY 2008

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His Date of Rank (DOR) to lieutenant colonel be adjusted to     30 Apr 06.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

At the request of the Air  Force  he  completed  a  one-year  fellowship  in
complex spinal surgery to fulfill a critical Air Force  need.   He  returned
to active duty on 12 Aug 05.  He should have met the Nov 05 Lt  Col  Medical
Corps selection board (100% selection) with a pin on date of 30 Apr 06.   He
returned to active duty less than six months prior to the  selection  board,
and now his promotion has been delayed.  This is unjust given  the  guidance
under the Defense Officer Management Personnel Act  (DOPMA),  in  which  the
law recognizes that  officers  working  in  a  small  number  of  particular
specialties are “out of the normal  promotion  stream,”  and  receive  their
grade based upon professional  education,  experience,  and  service  rather
than service in the military.  Furthermore, the objectives  of  the  officer
promotion system are, among others, to “ensure the best  qualified  officers
are selected” and to “provide for accelerated  promotion  opportunities  for
officers with exceptional potential.”

In support of his request, applicant provided a background  of  his  appeal,
Curriculum Vitae, and a  Memorandum  for  Record  –  Appeal  for  Creditable
Advanced Degree.

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

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant entered active duty on in the Air Force on 12 Aug 05  as  a  Major
with a DOR of 30 Apr 00.  He met the CY06A Lieutenant Colonel Medical  Corps
board on 13 Nov 06, which was the first board he was eligible to meet  after
his entry on active duty.  Medical Corps/Dental  Corps  (MC/DC)  boards  are
held the same time every year at the  request  of  the  Surgeon  General  to
allow better management of their force.

[EXAMINER’S NOTE:  Applicant states that he returned to active duty  12  Aug
05, when actually 12 Aug 05 was his  initial  accession  in  the  Air  Force
after completing all of his HPSP training.]

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPPO recommends the application be denied.  DPPPO states  there  is
no legal “right” or entitlement to a promotion, nor is there a  legal  right
or entitlement to an approved promotion occurring on a specified  date.   In
accordance with DoD Directive 1320.7,  paragraph  4a,  “MD/DC  officers  are
promoted on their six year anniversary of their current grade date  of  rank
or date of Senate confirmation, whichever is later.”

The CY05A Lieutenant Colonel  MC/DC  board  convened  on  14  Nov  05.   The
eligibility requirements established by the Secretary of the Air Force  were
that the officer must be on active duty 6-months as of the  board  convening
date.  Applicant was only on active duty 90 days prior  to  board  convening
date.

Applicant seems to believe his circumstances are unique and unusual.  It  is
not uncommon for officers in nonline competitive  categories  to  come  onto
active duty with large amounts of  constructive  service  credit,  therefore
making   them   overdue   for   promotion   upon   entering   active   duty.
Unfortunately, they do not have enough time to come on in the  higher  grade
and they must meet the first board scheduled for their competitive  category
to be promoted.

The DPPPO complete evaluation is at Exhibit C.
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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

DPPPO’s recommendation appears entirely based on one cited phrase  from  DoD
Directive 1320.7.  By all accounts DoD  Directive  1320.7,  29  Sep  93  was
cancelled by DoD Instruction 6000.13, dated 13 Jun 97.  He reviewed what  he
believes to be all of the current governing DoDIs and AFIs without  locating
similar wording.  What he did find consistently in all of  these  guidelines
were instructions such as:

     a.  “Promote officers of the desired quality  and  quantity  through  a
fair  and  equitable  competitive  selection  system  that  advances   those
individuals considered by boards to be best qualified.”

            b.  “Constructive  Service  Credit  –  This  credit  provides  a
person who  begins  commissioned  service  after  obtaining  the  additional
education, training, or experience required  for  appointment,  designation,
or assignment as an officer in a health profession, with a  grade  and  date
of rank comparable to that  attained  by  officers  who  begin  commissioned
service after getting a baccalaureate degree and serve  for  the  period  of
time it would take to obtain the additional education.”

            c.  “It is DoD policy that the award of service  credit  to  any
person appointed, assigned, or designated as a commissioned  officer  in  an
officer category shall be equitably determined to establish  an  appropriate
appointment grade and date of rank relative to other officers  in  the  same
competitive category.”

The Air Force  initiated  a  chain  of  events  (requested  that  he  obtain
fellowship training), directly benefited from  the  subsequent  events  (now
has a fellowship trained asset), he was prejudiced by these  actions  (would
have met the 100% selection November 2005 MC board having finished  training
as originally contracted in June 2004 and been  promoted  “on  time”  on  or
around April 2006), and would not have had any reasonable  expectation  that
the  chosen  course  of  events  would  have   had   the   actual   negative
effect/outcome  (additional  education  and  training  causing  a  loss   of
promotion opportunity).

The applicant’s rebuttal is at Exhibit E.

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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  an  error  or  an  injustice  warranting  a  change  in   the
applicant’s date of rank.   We  took  notice  of  the  applicant's  complete
submission in judging the merits of the case; however,  we  agree  with  the
opinion and recommendation of the Air Force and adopt its rationale  as  the
basis for our conclusion that the applicant has not been the  victim  of  an
error or injustice.  As noted by the Air Staff, the  Secretary  of  the  Air
Force establishes the eligibility and selection criteria for officers to  be
considered by the promotion board.  The eligibility criteria for  the  CY05A
board was that an officer had to be on extended active duty  6-months  prior
to the board convening date.   We note applicant did not have  the  6-months
of active duty prior to the board convening date; therefore, was  ineligible
to meet the CY05A Lt Col MC/DC board.  In view of this, we  do  not  believe
he has suffered from an error or an injustice and 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 issue  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  Docket  Number     BC-2006-
03452 in Executive Session on 4 April 2007, under the provisions of AFI  36-
2603:

      Mr. Thomas S. Markiewicz, Chair
      Ms. Renee M. Collier, Member
      Ms. Judith B. Oliva, Member

The following documentary evidence pertaining to Docket Number BC-2006-
03452 was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 30 Oct 06, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPO, dated 1 Feb 07.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 16 Feb 07.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 5 Mar 07, w/atchs.




                                             THOMAS S. MARKIEWICZ
                                             Chair