RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	  


	BOARD DATE:	  12 July 2007
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060017662 


	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  


Ms. Catherine C. Mitrano

Director

Mr. Paul Wright

Analyst


The following members, a quorum, were present:


Mr. James E. Anderholm

Chairperson

Mr. Jose A. Martinez

Member

Mr. William F. Crain

Member

	The Board considered the following evidence: 

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion, if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests, in effect:

	a.  An educational waiver for the requirement to complete 50% of the Command and General Staff Officer Course (CGSOC); and

	b.  Consideration for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) using the criteria for the Calendar Year (CY) 2005, LTC Reserve Components Selection Board (RCSB).

2.  The applicant states, in effect:

	a.  He was promoted to Major (MAJ) with a erroneous date of rank (DOR) of 3 August 2001.  On 21 June 2006, his DOR was corrected to 3 January 2000.

	b.  A 3 January 2000 DOR to MAJ made him eligible for promotion consideration by the CY 2005 LTC RCSB; however the tardiness in establishing his correct DOR precluded his consideration by that board.

	c.  His adjusted DOR to MAJ does not provide sufficient time for him to meet the military educational requirement for promotion to LTC.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of a Memorandum, dated 3 August 2001, from U.S. Army Reserve Personnel Command; a copy of Orders B-06-604300, dated 21 June 2006; a copy of a Biographical Summary, dated 8 July 2006; and a copy of a Memorandum, dated 1 July 2004, from U.S. Army Human Resources Command.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  On 20 February 1987, the applicant was appointed as a Second Lieutenant, Field Artillery in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR).

2.  On 24 January 1989, the applicant was promoted to First Lieutenant.

3.  On 3 July 1991, the applicant was promoted to Captain (CPT).

4.  In March 2000, the records of the applicant, then a CPT, went before the CY 2000 MAJ RCSB.  He was selected for promotion and the list was published in late 2000.  On 3 August 2001, he was promoted to MAJ, Quartermaster Corps, USAR, with a date of rank of 3 August 2001.
5.  As the result of a "Special Board" that adjourned on 13 November 2003, the applicant's DOR to MAJ was adjusted to 3 January 2000.  Orders B-06-604300, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, St. Louis, MO, dated 21 June 2006, notified the applicant of his adjusted DOR to MAJ.

6.  On 7 May 2004, the applicant enrolled in the non-resident CGSOC through the Command and General Staff College's School of Advanced distributed Learning (SAdL).  Later the course curriculum was deemed to be obsolete and, on 12 October 2005 (some 18 months later), he was disenrolled by the College.  At disenrollment, he had made almost no progress; had he been close to completing the course, he would have been permitted to continue and receive his diploma.

7.  The applicant did not re-enroll in the non-resident CGSOC when the updated curriculum was introduced.

8.  On 12 June 2006, the applicant, in preparation for the CY 2006 LTC RCSB, requested a military educational waiver for the CGSOC.

9.  On 28 August 2006, the applicant was notified by U.S. Army Human Resources Command that he was not educationally qualified for promotion to LTC because he lacked the military educational requirement of 50% completion of the CGSOC.

10.  On 13 September 2006, the Chief, Office of Promotions Reserve Components, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, St. Louis, MO notified the applicant that his request for an educational waiver was denied for the CY 2006 LTC promotion board.  The notification stated his request was received after the "board convene time cut-off period."  He was advised that since this was his first board consideration, he still had sufficient time to meet the educational requirements prior to the 2007 promotion board.

11.  Army Regulation 135-155 (Promotion of Commissioned Officers and Warrant Officers Other Than General Officers) prescribes the policies and procedures for promotion of Reserve officers.  This regulation specifies that an officer who has been recommended for promotion to the next higher grade must be in the zone of consideration before being promoted in the Reserve Components.  Promotion from MAJ to LTC required completion of a minimum of 4 years or a maximum of 7 years in the lower grade and completion of fifty percent of the CGSOC.  To qualify for selection, commissioned officers must complete the military education requirements not later than the day before the selection board convene date.

12.  Army Regulation 135-155 further specifies that promotion reconsideration by a Special Selection Board (SSB) may only be based on erroneous non-consideration or material error, which existed in the records at the time of consideration.  Material error in this context is one or more errors of such a nature that, in the judgment of the reviewing official (or body), it caused an individual’s non-selection by a promotion board and, that had such error(s) been corrected at the time the individual was considered, a reasonable chance would have resulted that the individual would have been recommended for promotion.  The regulation also provides that boards are not required to divulge the proceedings or the reason(s) for non-selection, except where an individual is not qualified due to non-completion of required education.

13.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 600-3 (Commissioned Officer Professional Development and Career Management) is intended as a professional development guide for individual officers.  It includes chapters relating to officer education, general promotion policies, and officer evaluations.  In pertinent part, it states that officers in many respects are ultimately their own career managers.  The key is to be involved in career development by making informed, logical decisions and acting on them.  One important element of an officer's involvement is the accurate reflection of capabilities in the Official Military Personnel File (OMPF).  The OMPF and the Career Management Individual File (CMIF) contain the date from which important career development decisions are made for selection, advancement, assignment, and retention.  Officers should review, update, and maintain these records throughout their careers.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant requests a military education waiver for CGSOC and promotion consideration for LTC under the criteria established for the CY 2005 selection board.  His rationale for making these requests is that his DOR to MAJ was changed from 3 August 2001 to 3 January 2000.  The earlier DOR places him in the CY 2005 zone of consideration for promotion to LTC and also disadvantages him in his efforts to complete CGSOC – a prerequisite for promotion – through the Command and General Staff College's School of Advanced distributed Learning (SAdL) by giving him insufficient time to complete the course work.

2.  The US Army Command and General Staff College educates and develops leaders for full-spectrum joint, interagency and multinational operations; acts as lead agent for the Army’s leader development program; and advances the art and science of the profession of arms in support of Army operational 

requirements.  The mission of the CGSOC is to educate officers in the values and attitudes of the profession of arms and in the conduct of military operations during peace, conflict, and war, with emphasis at the division and corps levels.

3.  The applicant became a CPT-promotable in late 2000.  As such, he was eligible to participate in the Command and General Staff College's distance learning programs via SAdL.  He has had from 2001 through June 2007 – 7 1/2 years – to complete 50% of a vital 18-month non-resident course of instruction.  He waited until May 2004 to enroll in the non-resident CGSOC, then did almost nothing until disenrolled 18 months later in October 2005.  There is no excuse for the applicant not having completed this critical educational requirement.  His argument that, because of a DOR re-calculation, he does not have sufficient time to complete his educational requirement is not persuasive.

4.  The applicant was informed by the Chief, Office of Promotions Reserve Components, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, St. Louis, MO that he was not educationally qualified for promotion in 2006.  In September 2006, shortly before the CY 2006 LTC RCSB convened, the Chief, Office of Promotions Reserve Components denied his request for an educational waiver.  He was subsequently not selected for promotion by the CY 2006 board.

5.  The applicant's request for consideration for promotion under the criteria established for the CY 2005 selection board is not favorably considered.  The applicant still lacks the mandatory military educational requirement for promotion to LTC; without it, or the waiver which has not been favorably considered, he would receive a second promotion passover.

6.  In order to justify correction of a military record, the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy this requirement.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__jea___  __jam___  __wfc___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned.



							James E. Anderholm
______________________
          CHAIRPERSON



INDEX

CASE ID
AR20060017662
SUFFIX

RECON

DATE BOARDED
20070712
TYPE OF DISCHARGE

DATE OF DISCHARGE

DISCHARGE AUTHORITY

DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
(DENY)
REVIEW AUTHORITY

ISSUES         1.
131.0900
2.

3.

4.

5.

6.