RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:                       DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2007-02326
                                             INDEX CODE:  107.00
      XXXXXXXXXXXXX                     COUNSEL:  NONE

                                             HEARING DESIRED:  NO


MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  24 January 2009


________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His Permanent Change of Station (PCS) Air Force  Commendation  Medal  (AFCM)
be back-dated and included in his 2007/E-6 promotion score.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

It was the commander’s intention to close-out the AFCM with a date prior  to
the promotion eligibility cutoff (PECD) date of 31 December 2006  for  cycle
07E6.

In  August  2006,  a  Permanent  Change  of  Assignment  (PCA)   Air   Force
Achievement Medal (AFAM) DECOR-6 was ordered for his one-year assignment  to
the 2nd Medical Group (MDG), Barksdale AFB, LA, as he was PCAing to the  2nd
Maintenance Operations Squadron (MOS) at Barksdale AFB.

He subsequently received a  PCS  reassignment  to  the  12th  Medical  Group
(MDG), Randolph AFB, TX, and the AFAM was withdrawn in order  to  award  him
the AFCM for his entire tour at Barksdale  AFB.   He  was  assured  that  it
would be awarded and closed-out prior to the PECD for the  2007/E6 promotion
cycle, and would count with his score.   However,  the  DECOR-6,  which  was
ordered on 1 October 2006, was not approved until  February  2007,  and  the
AFCM was not closed out until 28 March 2007.

His supervisor sent an AFCM back-date request to AFPC which  was  not  acted
upon.  The cutoff score for the 2007/E6  cycle  was  314.52  and  he  scored
313.98, missing promotion by .54 points.   Had  the  AFAM  been  awarded  as
originally planned, he would have been promoted, and if the  AFCM  is  back-
dated, he would be eligible for promotion.

In  support  of  his  appeal,  he  has  provided  copies  of  two   personal
statements, letters from the 2nd MOS/MXOT, 12th  MDG/CC,  12th FTW/CCC,  and
12th  MDG/CCC  supporting  back-dating  his  AFCM,  Personnel   Information,
current as of 9 July 2007, Weighted Airman  Promotion  System  (WAPS)  Score
Notice as of 8 June 2007, Enlisted Data Verification Record as  of  11  July
2007, and extracts from AFI 36-2803 and AFI 36-2502.

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  SSgt  (E-
5) at Randolph AFB, TX.  His records reflect that  his  Date  Departed  Last
Duty Station (DDLDS) is 28 March 2007, his Date Arrived Station (DAS)  is  9
April 2007, and that he was awarded the AFCM  for  meritorious  service  for
the period 25 March 2005 to 28 March 2007.

The applicant’s total-weighted-promotion-score for Cycle  07E6  was  313.98,
and the score required for  selection  in  his  AFSC  was  314.52.   If  the
decoration (worth 3 points) were  counted  in  his  total  score,  he  would
become a selectee for  promotion,  pending  a  favorable  data  verification
check and the recommendation of his  commander.   Promotion  selections  for
this cycle were made on 6 June 2007, with a public release date of  14  June
2007.

AFI 36-2803, The Air Force Awards and Decorations Program, paragraph  2.3.1,
states the following as pertains to the closeout date of a  PCS  decoration:
“…If the recommendation is based on a single assignment, the  closeout  date
will not be before the member’s final MPF out-processing date…”.

________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPR recommends disapproval of changing  the  close-out  date  of  the
AFCM.  The AFCM is a valid decoration which was issued to the applicant  for
his completed tour at Barksdale AFB, LA, and his previous unit states  their
intention was to wait  and  provide  a  PCS  decoration  instead  of  a  PCA
decoration.  His tour at Barksdale was from 25 March 2005 to 28 March  2007,
which coincides with the close-out date of the decoration

The AFPC/DPPPR evaluation is at Exhibit C.

AFPC/DPSOE recommends denial.  They advise that there are two  separate  and
distinct policies  for  approval  of  a  decoration  and  the  credit  of  a
decoration for promotion purposes.  Current Air Force promotion policy,  AFI
36-2502, Airman Promotion Program, Table 2.2, Rule 5, Note 2, {sic –  should
be Rule 7} dictates that before a decoration  is  credited  for  a  specific
promotion cycle, the close-out date of the decoration must be on  or  before
the PECD, and the date of  the  DÉCOR-6,  Request  for  Decoration  Printout
(RDP), must be before the date of selections  for  the  cycle  in  question.
Each promotion cycle has an established PECD which is used to  determine  in
what AFSC the member will  be  considered,  as  well  as  which  performance
reports and decorations will be used in the  promotion  consideration.   The
PECD for cycle 07E6 was 31 December 2006.  In addition, a decoration that  a
member claims was lost, downgraded,  etc.,  must  be  fully  documented  and
verified showing that it was placed into  official  channels  prior  to  the
selection date.

A review of the applicant’s record indicates that  this  decoration  closes-
out well after the  PECD,  rendering  it  ineligible  for  promotion  credit
during Cycle 07E6.  There is no evidence to indicate the applicant tried  to
change the close-out date of the decoration until 15  June  2007,  which  is
after selections were announced on 14  June  2007,  when  he  discovered  he
missed promotion by  less  than  one  point.   He  petitioned  the  Enlisted
Promotion Management Section at AFPC  through  the  administrative  process,
and his request was disapproved by the Chief of Enlisted  Promotions  on  28
June 2007.   The  supporting  documentation  (letters  from  supervisor  and
commander) was not written until 15 June 2007 and 13 July 2007.

AFPC/DPPPR has reviewed this  case  and  recommended  that  the  applicant’s
request to change the close-out date of the AFCM be denied.  The intent  was
to provide the applicant with a PCS  decoration  (AFCM)  which  covered  his
complete tour, 25 March 2005 to 28 March 2007, at Barksdale AFB, LA.

The AFPC/DPSOE evaluation is at Exhibit D.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant responded in a letter dated 23 September  2007,  stating  that
the recommendation and comments made by the OPRs are incorrect and unjust.

He states that his supervisor while at Barksdale AFB understood the AFI  and
completed all actions to have the  decoration  back-dated.   His  supervisor
sent a back-date request to AFPC on 1 January 2007; however, the  OPR  never
corrected the error making him eligible for promotion.   He  does  not  have
the original letter as the OPR never returned it to him or  his  supervisor.
His supervisor did, however, write a new letter, dated 15 June  2007,  after
hearing that he missed being promoted due to the  decoration.   This  letter
also states he sent the original letter on 1 January 2007,  and  he  is  not
sure if the AFPC OPR reviewed this signed statement from his supervisor.

The OPR has stated that he never tried to fix  the  decoration  until  after
the promotion selections were made; however,  he  has  a  signed  memorandum
from a SMSgt stating that he sent the  original  back-date  request  to  the
appropriate OPR at AFPC on  1 January  2007,  well  before  selections  were
made.  He not only sent the memorandum  from  his  supervisor  at  Barksdale
AFB, but also sent memorandums  signed  by  his  current  Group  CMSgt,  his
current Group Commander, and his current Wing Command  CMSgt.   All  parties
reviewed and investigated his case before he sent this correction package.

Applicant’s complete response, with attachments, 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.   We  took  notice  of  the  applicant's
complete submission in judging the merits of the  case;  however,  we  agree
with the opinions and recommendations of the Air Force  offices  of  primary
responsibility and adopt their rationale as the  basis  for  our  conclusion
that the applicant has not  been  the  victim  of  an  error  or  injustice.
Although  the  Board  is  sympathetic  to  the  applicant’s  near-miss   for
promotion, evidence has been presented that  his  losing  unit  intended  to
award him a PCS decoration in lieu of a PCA  decoration,  and  AFI  36-2803,
The Air Force Awards  and  Decorations  Program,  paragraph  2.3.1,  clearly
states that if the award recommendation is based  on  a  single  assignment,
the close-out date will not be before the member’s final Military  Personnel
Flight out-processing date.  Since his records reflect  that  his  DDLDS  is
28 March 2007, the closeout date of his AFCM  appears  to  be  correct,  and
since the PECD for Cycle 07E6 was 31 December 2006, it is not  eligible  for
inclusion in his promotion score for that cycle.  Therefore, 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 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-2007-02326
in Executive Session on 25 October 2007, under the  provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

                       Ms. Kathleen F. Graham, Panel Chair
                       Ms. Karen A. Holloman, Member
                       Mr. Wallace F. Beard, Jr., Member


The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 12 Jul 07, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPR, dated 30 Aug 07.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPSOE, dated 15 Aug 07.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 23 Sep 07, w/atchs.
    Exhibit F.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 14 Sep 07.




                                   KATHLEEN F. GRAHAM
                                   Panel Chair