RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-03766 

 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 

 HEARING DESIRED: YES 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

1. The official award date for his Air Medal (AM), awarded for 
the period 9 Apr 03 to 13 Nov 09, be changed to 1 Feb 10 rather 
than 23 Mar 10. 

 

2. The official award date for the Meritorious Service Medal 
(MSM), awarded for the period 1 Jan 06 to 7 Feb 07, be changed to 
7 Mar 07 rather than 19 Oct 10, and that Special Orders be issued 
for the award. 

 

3. His corrected record, to include a corrected Officer Selection 
Brief (OSB), be considered for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel (O-
5) by a Special Selection Board (SSB) for the Calendar Year (CY) 
2010A Lieutenant Colonel Central Selection Board (CSB). 

 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

1. His AM was not awarded in a timely manner due to 
administrative oversight. 

 

2. His MSM was not timely awarded due to an administrative 
oversight and his former reserve unit was unable to upload the 
medal into virtual PC-GR and therefore was unable to obtain a 
special order number for the citation. 

 

3. Consequently, neither award was considered by the CY10 
Lieutenant Colonel CSB and, as a result, he was not selected for 
promotion. Had the awards been rendered in a timely fashion, they 
would have been highlighted in his selection record and increased 
his chances for promotion. 

 

In support of his appeal, the applicant provides copies of 
documents extracted from his military personnel records. 

 

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 (O-4). 

 

The applicant has one nonselection for promotion to the grade of 
lieutenant colonel by the CY10A Lieutenant Colonel CSB. 

 

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are 
contained in the letters prepared by the appropriate offices of 
the Air Force, which are attached at Exhibits C and D. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

AFPC/DPSIDR recommends denial, indicating there is no evidence of 
an error or injustice. The applicant contends it should not have 
taken four months to issue his AM. In accordance with AFI 36-
2803, The Air Force Awards and Decorations Programs, decoration 
recommendations are entered into official channels within two 
years and awarded within three years of the act, achievement, or 
service performed. The AM in question and accompanying Special 
Order was awarded within three years of the act or achievement. 
As for his request related to the MSM, although he contends that 
it was not awarded in a timely manner due to administrative error, 
and his former reserve unit was unable to correct the error in 
vPC-GR, there is no evidence showing that a Special Order was 
issued to award the MSM 

 

The complete AFPC/DPSIDR evaluation is at Exhibit C. 

 

AFPC/DPSOO recommends denial of the applicant’s request for an SSB 
based on the AFPC/DPSIDR recommendation and their own evaluation 
of the facts and circumstances of this case. 

 

The complete AFPC/DPSOO evaluation is at Exhibit D. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

Whether an injustice has occurred should not be based only on the 
AFI; instead, all of the facts and circumstances should be 
considered, and in particular, whether they had a negative effect 
on the service member’s career. 

 

The AM was his highest level award/decoration at the time the 
board convened and should have been available for the Board’s 
review. Additionally, the absence of the MSM made it appear as 
though he may have departed his unit under unfavorable 
circumstances. The MSM in his records will demonstrate that gap 
in his records was the result of administrative error rather than 


a professional shortcoming. At a minimum, the executed but un-
awarded citation should have been made available to the board. 

 

The applicant’s complete response, with attachments, is at 
Exhibit F. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

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 injustice regarding award 
of a MSM for the period 1 Jan 06 to 7 Feb 07. 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 office of primary responsibility and adopt its rationale 
as the basis for our conclusion the applicant has not been the 
victim of an error or injustice. Therefore, in the absence of 
evidence to the contrary, we find no basis to recommend granting 
the relief sought in this application. Notwithstanding the above, 
sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the 
existence of an error or injustice regarding award of the 
applicant’s AM. After a thorough review of the evidence of record 
and the applicant’s complete submission, including his response to 
the Air Force evaluations, we believe the applicant has raised 
sufficient doubt as to the circumstances surrounding the 
submission and approval of his recommendation for award of the AM. 
In this respect, we note the effective date of the award of the AM 
to the applicant was just days after the contested promotion board 
and the apparent delay in processing the AM precluded its 
availability for consideration by the promotion board. While it 
appears the award was rendered within the three years required by 
the governing instruction, we believe the delay in processing the 
award may have served to deny the applicant full and fair 
consideration for promotion. Therefore, we believe it would be in 
the interest of justice to resolve any doubt in this matter in 
favor of the applicant. Therefore, we recommend his records be 
corrected to the extent indicated below. 

 

5. 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(s) involved. 
Therefore, the request for a hearing is not favorably considered. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 


THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: 

 

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force 
relating to the APPLICANT be corrected to show that: 

 

 a. His Air Medal, awarded for the period 9 April 2003 
through 13 November 2009, was signed on 1 February 2010, rather 
than 23 March 2010. 

 

 b. His Officer Selection Brief (OSB) dated 1 March 2010 be 
corrected to reflect he was awarded the Air Medal on 1 February 
2010, rather than 23 March 2010. 

 

It is further directed that the corrected record be considered 
for promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel by a Special 
Selection Board (SSB) for the Calendar Year 2010A (CY10A) 
Lieutenant Colonel Central Selection Board (CSB). 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number 
BC-2010-03766 in Executive Session on 6 Oct 11 under the 
provisions of AFI 36-2603: 

 

 , Panel Chair 

 , Member 

 , Member 

 

All members voted to correct the records as recommended. The 
following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number 
BC-2010-03766 was considered: 

 

 Exhibit A. DD Forms 149, dated 30 Sep 10 and 29 Dec 10, 

 w/atchs. 

 Exhibit B. Applicant’s Master Personnel Records. 

 Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSIDR, dated 26 Apr 11. 

 Exhibit D. Letter, AFPC/DPSOO, dated 26 May 11. 

 Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 17 Jun 11. 

 Exhibit F. Letter, Applicant, dated 11 Jul 11. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair