IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	    4 November 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140002975 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests correction of his record to show he was promoted to lieutenant colonel (LTC)/O-5 in 2011.  

2.  He states that due to deployments with his U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) unit and his civilian job with the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) he had to withdraw from Intermediate Level Education (ILE) on two different occasions.  This put him a year behind his year group.  He feels he should have been promoted in 2011, which would give him another year of time in grade.  He would like the Board to consider adjusting his promotion date by 12 months to reflect selection by the Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 LTC promotion selection board.  

3.  He provides:

* orders
* DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty)
* travel authorization documents

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant had prior enlisted service in the U.S. Navy and prior enlisted and commissioned service in the Army National Guard (ARNG).  On 29 November 1998, he was discharged from the ARNG, in the rank of first lieutenant/O-2, to accept an appointment in the USAR.  He has served in the USAR since that date.  
2.  Effective 8 June 2005, he was promoted to major (MAJ)/O-4.  

3.  His transaction history in the Integrated Web Services (IWS) shows that, on or about 7 August 2006, orders for ILE Phase 1 were cancelled per his request because his wife had a medical emergency.  

4.  He served on active duty in support of OEF from 20 September 2006 to 15 January 2008.  During this period of service he served in Djibouti from 28 October 2006 to 2 November 2007.  (He provides documentation showing he also performed temporary duty in Yemen for approximately 179 days during this period of service.)

5.  His transaction history in IWS shows that in June 2008 orders for ILE Phase 1 were cancelled per his request.  He stated he had decided to retire.

6.  Effective 1 October 2008, he was transferred to the Retired Reserve by reason of having completed 20 or more years of qualifying service for retired pay at age 60.  

7.  Effective 1 October 2009, he was released from the Retired Reserve and assigned to the USAR Control Group (Reinforcement) (also known as the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR)).  Effective 2 October 2009, he was released from the IRR and assigned to a unit.  

8.  On or about 30 September 2010, his reservation for ILE Phase 2 was cancelled per his request.  He stated he had decided to retire.  His records do not show that he was transferred to the Retired Reserve at that time.  

9.  A U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Diploma, dated 17 June 2011, shows he completed the ILE Common Core (ILE-CC).  

10.  Effective 1 December 2011, he was transferred to the IRR based on an irresolvable employment conflict.  

11.  Effective 16 February 2012, he was released from the IRR and assigned as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA).  Effective 6 June 2012, he was assigned to a Troop Program Unit (TPU).

12.  Effective 7 June 2012, he was promoted to LTC.



13.  He provides travel authorization documents showing, in part, that he traveled to Dubai and Afghanistan during the period 30 November 2009 to 1 March 2010 and during the period 25 March to 25 May 2010.  He also traveled to Kenya and the Sudan during the period 13 July 2011 to 14 January 2012.  

14.  On 13 May 2014, the Chief, Officer Promotions Management, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, provided an advisory opinion.  The advisory official states:

	a.  The applicant was considered and recommended for promotion to LTC by the FY 2011, Reserve Component, Army Promotion List (APL), Promotion Selection Board (PSB).  The board results were approved on 2 January 2012.  

	b.  He was assigned to the IRR from 1 December 2011 to 15 February 2012, to an IMA MAJ position from 16 February to 5 June 2012, and to a TPU MAJ position on 6 June 2012 prior to his promotion to LTC.  

	c.  His effective date of promotion to LTC was based upon achieving maximum time in grade (TIG) as established by Army Regulation 135-155 (Promotion of Commissioned Officers and Warrant Officers Other Than General Officers), paragraph 4-21(a).  Since he had not been placed in an LTC position after the approval date of the board but prior to reaching maximum TIG, he was not authorized an earlier effective promotion date as established by Army Regulation 135-155, paragraph 4-21(b)(2).  

15.  On 10 September 2014, the applicant submitted a letter in response to the advisory opinion.  He stated he was confused by the advisory official's comments.  He stated he is asking the Board to amend his date of rank (DOR) for LTC based on the fact that had he not been deployed several times he would have been able to complete ILE and would have been considered for promotion by the FY 2010 LTC PSB.  On three different occasions he was forced to withdraw from the course due to deployments as a Reservist and as a civilian.  It is for this reason that he is asking to have his DOR adjusted, not because he held a higher-grade position prior to his current DOR.  Had he been able to finish ILE as he had planned, he would have been promoted with his peers in FY 2010. 

16.  As an attachment to his response to the advisory opinion, he provides e-mail correspondence between him and the point of contact (POC) for the advisory opinion.  The POC informed him that the FY 2010 LTC APL PSB considered him for promotion below the zone and that, to be recommended for promotion below the zone, he would have had to be educationally qualified.  The POC noted that there is no waiver [of military education requirements] for below the zone consideration.  
17.  Military Personnel Message Number 10-180, title:  FY 2010, LTC, APL, ARNG of the United States (ARNGUS), USAR Active Guard Reserve (AGR), and USAR Non-AGR Competitive Categories, PSBs, dated 30 June 2010, provided the criteria for consideration for promotion to LTC in the aforementioned categories and stated the subject boards would be held in October 2010.  

	a.  The primary zone of consideration consisted of USAR and ARNGUS officers with a DOR for MAJ in the period 1 April 2004 through 31 March 2005.  USAR officers with a DOR for MAJ in the period 1 April 2005 through 31 March 2006 were to be considered for promotion below the zone.  The message noted that few officers would be selected below the zone.  

	b.  The message stated military education requirements were to be completed no later than the day before the boards convened and evidence of completion of the required military education was to be in each officer's board file.  The basic military education requirement was 50 percent completion of the legacy Command and General Staff Officer Course (CGSOC) or completion of the ILE-CC.  

	c.  The message stated a military education waiver could be granted for officers being considered in or above the primary zone of consideration if they had served 12 or more cumulative months of documented deployment outside of the continental United States (OCONUS) within the 36 months preceding the convening date of their mandatory promotion board.  These officers must have completed the first two phases of ILE-CC.  

	d.  The message did not authorize a military education waiver for officers being considered below the zone.  

18.  Army Regulation 135-155 provides policy for selecting and promoting commissioned officers of both the ARNGUS and the USAR and warrant officers of the USAR.

	a.  Table 2-1 provides the TIG requirements for promotion of commissioned officers.  The maximum TIG for promotion from MAJ to LTC is 7 years. 

	b.  Table 2-2 lists the military education requirements for promotion.  A MAJ is required to complete 50 percent of CGSOC (or ILE-CC as noted above).

	c.  Paragraph 4-21(a) (Promotion of non-unit officers) states the effective date and date of promotion will be no earlier than the approval date of the board, the date of Senate confirmation (if required), or the date the officer meets maximum TIG, whichever is later.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  If the applicant had been in the primary zone of consideration for the FY 2010 PSB, he may have been eligible for a military education waiver based on his OCONUS service.  He was not authorized a military education waiver because he was below the primary zone of consideration.  

2.  He contends that deployments as a USAR officer and as an employee of the U.S. Department of State adversely affected his ability to complete ILE in a timely manner.  While this may be true, the record also shows that he requested cancellation of ILE orders on two occasions and he was assigned to the Retired Reserve for 1 year.  These choices certainly had as much to do with how long it took him to complete ILE as his deployments.  Based on the available evidence it appears that, had he chosen to do so, he could have completed ILE before the FY 2010 PSB convened.  

3.  Very few officers are selected for promotion below the zone.  Even if he had completed ILE before the FY 2010 PSB, that would not have guaranteed his selection.  

4.  On or about 17 June 2011, he completed ILE-CC.  He was subsequently selected for and promoted to LTC, and, in accordance with the applicable regulation, his DOR and the effective date for his promotion to LTC were established as 7 June 2012, the date he reached his maximum TIG as a MAJ.  

5.  In the absence of evidence showing error, inequity, or injustice in the DOR and effective date of his promotion to LTC, there is no basis for granting the requested relief.  

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____X____  ___X_____  ___X_____  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.



      _______ _   _X______   ___
               CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140002975



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140002975



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