RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-04004 

 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 

 HEARING DESIRED: NO 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

She be granted supplemental promotion consideration to the grade 
of technical sergeant (E-6) for promotion cycle 12E6. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

Her Air Force Achievement Medal (AFAM) for the period 15 April 
2011 to 30 December 2011 should be considered for supplemental 
promotion consideration. It was the intent of the approval 
authority for her AFAM to be a matter of record before the 
promotion eligibility cutoff date (PECD) for the promotion cycle 
12E6. 

 

She performed a data verification review prior to testing and 
everything was accurate. However, she later discovered that she 
had been recommended for an AFAM which was not included for 
promotion consideration. As a result, she missed promotion to 
technical sergeant (E-6) by one point during the promotion cycle 
12E6. 

 

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

 

_________________ ______________________________________________ 

 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

The applicant is currently serving in the Regular Air Force in 
the grade of staff sergeant (E-5). 

 

On 20 June 2012, a Recommendation For Decoration Print-out 
(RDP), was requested on behalf of the applicant. 

 

On 21 June 2012, the promotion selections to technical sergeant 
(E-6) were released. The applicant was considered and non-
selected for promotion to E-6 during promotion cycle 12E6. She 
received a total weighted promotion score of 319.16 points and 
the score required for selection in her Air Force Specialty Code 
(AFSC) was 320.16. 

 


On 29 June 2012, the applicant was awarded the Air Force 
Achievement Medal for the period 15 April 2011 to 30 December 
2011, which was not considered during the promotion cycle. 

 

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are 
contained in the letter prepared by the Air Force office of 
primary responsibility, which is attached at Exhibit C. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

AFPC/DPSOE recommends denial, indicating the applicant has 
provided no supporting documentation or conclusive evidence that 
the decoration was in official channels prior to selections and 
release for promotion cycle 12E6. 

 

In accordance with Air Force Instruction 36-2502, Airman 
Promotion Program, before a decoration is credited for a 
specific promotion cycle, the close-out date of the decoration 
must be on or before the promotion eligibility cutoff date 
(PECD), and the date of the RDP must be before the date of 
selections for the cycle in question. In addition, in 
accordance with Air Force Instruction 36-2803, Air Force Awards 
and Decoration Program, a decoration is considered to have been 
placed into official channels when the RDP is signed by the 
initiating official and indorsed by a higher official in the 
chain of command. In this case, the PECD was 31 December 2011, 
the selection date for promotion was 5 June 2012, and the RDP 
was prepared on 20 June 2012. The RDP provided by the applicant 
had not been completed/signed and was not prepared until 20 June 
2012. As such, it could not have been approved and placed into 
official channels prior to cycle 12E6 and cannot be credited 
during the cycle 12E6. 

 

The applicant’s request to have the decoration included in the 
supplemental promotion process for cycle 12E6 was disapproved by 
AFPC/DPSOE, Enlisted Promotions Management Section, at the Air 
Force Personnel Center on 31 July 2012. 

 

A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSOE evaluation is at Exhibit C. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

The applicant fully understands the policy that governs 
decorations; however, she feels it is an injustice to prevent 
her the opportunity for promotion because of a processing delay 
of the RDP. She reiterates that it was the approving 
authority’s intent for the decoration to be finalized prior to 
the close-out date for cycle 12E6. She does not believe she 
should be penalized for something that she has no control over. 

 


The applicant’s complete submission 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 an error or injustice. The 
applicant contends that processing delays resulted in her 
recommendation for award of the Air Force Achievement Medal 
(AFAM) not being placed into official channels in time to be 
credited during the contested promotion cycle. While we note 
the comments of AFPC/DPSOE indicating the decoration should not 
be credited as it was not placed in official channels prior to 
selects being run, we believe it to be in the interest of 
justice to grant the requested relief. In this respect, we note 
the applicant has provided statements from her chain of command 
attesting to the fact the recommendation for decoration was 
initiated well prior to the selects for the promotion cycle 
being run; however, its submission into official channels was 
inadvertently delayed due to mission requirements which limited 
their availability during the matter under review. We also note 
that once the decoration was processed, it was approved within 
10 days of the date the RDP was prepared. In view of this and 
given the unequivocal support provided by the applicant’s chain 
of command, and having no reason to question their integrity in 
this matter, we recommend the applicant’s records be corrected 
to the extent indicated below. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: 

 

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air 
Force relating to the APPLICANT be corrected to show that the 
recommendation for decoration print-out for the Air Force 
Achievement Medal (AFAM), was prepared on 4 June 2012 and was 
placed into official channels. 

 

It is further recommended that she be granted supplemental 
promotion consideration to the grade of technical sergeant (E-6) 
for promotion cycle 12E6. 

 

If AFPC discovers any adverse factors during or subsequent to 
supplemental consideration that are separate and apart, and 
unrelated to the issue involved in this application, that would 
have rendered the applicant ineligible for this promotion, such 
information will be documented and presented to the Board for a 


final determination on the individual’s qualifications for the 
promotion. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2012-04004 in Executive Session on 23 April 2013, 
under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: 

 

 Panel Chair 

 Member 

 Member 

 

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

 

 Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 21 August 2012, w/atchs. 

 Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. 

 Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSOE, dated 3 October 2012. 

 Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 9 November 2012. 

 Exhibit E. Letter, Applicant, dated 20 November 2012 

 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair