DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 
Application for Correction of 
the Coast Guard Record of: 
 
                                                                                     BCMR Docket No. 2006-168 
 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx   

 

 
 

FINAL DECISION 

 
AUTHOR:  Andrews, J. 
 
 
This is a proceeding under the provisions of section 1552 of title 10 and section 425 of 
title 14 of the United States Code.  The Chair docketed the case on September 1, 2006, upon 
receipt of the applicant’s request for correction. 
 
 
appointed members who were designated to serve as the Board in this case. 

This  final  decision,  dated  May  31,  2007,  is  approved  and  signed  by  the  three  duly 

APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS 

 

 
 
The applicant alleged that his military performance record as a lieutenant, junior grade 
(LTJG) contains an impermissible gap in his officer evaluation reports (OERs).  He stated that he 
has one OER covering the period February 1, 2001, through August 31, 2001; nothing covering 
the period September 1, 2001, through January 31, 2002, during which time he was attending 
college  as  duty  under  instruction  (DUINS);  and  another  OER  covering  the period February 2, 
2002, through August 12, 2002.  The applicant asked that a new semi-annual OER be created to 
cover the period September 1, 2001, through January 31, 2002.   
 

The applicant also noted that his OER for the period February 2, 2002, through August 
12, 2002, fails to show his “A” grade and 3 credit hours for a philosophy course that he took in 
the  fall  semester  of  2001  and  fails  to  reflect  marks  of  “not  observed”  in  all  the  performance 
categories in sections 3 through 8, as required by the Personnel Manual. 
 
 
In support of his allegations, the applicant submitted copies of his OERs, which show the 
errors he alleged.  His OER for the period February 1, 2002, through August 12, 2002, shows that 
he was attending college on DUINS and includes his coursework and grades for the fall semester 
of 2001.  In addition, none of the performance categories in that OER have been marked “not 
observed,” and his grade and credit hours for a course denoted as PHIL101 Intro to Philosophy 
are not included with his other grades for the fall semester of 2001. 
 

VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 

On January 3, 2007, the Judge Advocate General of the Coast Guard recommended that 
the Board grant relief in this case.  In so doing, he adopted the findings and analysis provided in a 
memorandum on the case by the Coast Guard Personnel Command (CGPC).   

 
CGPC  stated  that  under  Article  10.A.5.a.  of  the  Personnel  Manual,  the  submission 
schedule  for  officers  on  DUINS  is  supposed  to  be  coordinated  with  routine  breaks  in  the 
academic schedule and that for ensigns and LTJGs, OERs must be submitted at least twice each 
year.    CGPC  further  stated  that  Article  10.A.5.b.3.  requires  the  marks  in  the  performance 
categories on a DUINS OER to be “not observed” and requires the officer’s course titles, grades, 
and grade point average for each semester to be included in the OER. 

 
CGPC recommended that the applicant’s request be granted. CGPC noted that the errors 
could not be fixed simply by advancing the start date of the applicant’s last DUINS OER from 
February  1,  2002,  to  September  1,  2001,  because  such  a  correction  would  violate  policy  by 
extending  the  reporting  period  of  that  OER  beyond  182  days  and  would  fail  to  provide  the 
applicant with two OERs per year as a LTJG. 

APPLICANT’S RESPONSE TO THE COAST GUARD’S VIEWS 

 

 

On January 16, 2007, the applicant responded to the views of the Coast Guard by stating 

 
that he agreed with CGPC’s recommendations for corrective action. 
 

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS 

2. 

1. 

The Board makes the following findings and conclusions on the basis of the applicant's 

 
 
military record and submissions, the Coast Guard's submission, and applicable law: 
 

The Board has jurisdiction concerning this matter pursuant to section 1552 of title 
10 of the United States Code.  The application was timely under Detweiler v. Pena, 38 F.3d 591, 
598 (D.C. Cir. 1994) (holding that section 205 of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act of 
1940 “tolls the BCMR’s limitations period during a servicemember’s period of active duty”). 
 
 Article 10.A.4.c.1.j. of the Personnel Manual requires all periods of an officer’s 
 
active duty to be evaluated on an OER.  The applicant’s record impermissibly contains no OER 
for the period September 1, 2001, to January 31, 2002.   
 
 
Article  10.A.5.a.1.a.  states  that  “[w]hen  a  Reported-on  Officer  is  assigned  PCS 
duty  under  instruction  to  a  civilian  institution  …  OER  submission  will  be  coordinated  with 
routine breaks in the school’s academic schedule.  For lieutenants (junior grade) and below, at a 
minimum OERs shall be submitted twice a year. For lieutenants and above, at a minimum OERs 
shall be submitted once a year.”  Therefore, the applicant’s record should be corrected by adding 
a new DUINS OER, prepared in accordance with Article 10.A.5., to cover his schoolwork from 
September  1,  2001,  through  January  31,  2002.    All  of  the  applicant’s  coursework  and  grades 
during  the  fall  semester  of  2001,  including  the  grade  and  credit  hours  for  the  Introduction  to 
Philosophy course shown on his transcript, should be included in section 3 of the new OER, as 
required under Article 10.A.5.c.3.b. 
 

3. 

5. 

6. 

4. 

Article 10.A.4.f.11. prohibits an OER from including information about an offi-
 
cer’s performance that occurred outside of the evaluation period.  Therefore, the applicant’s OER 
for the period February 1, 2002, through August 12, 2002, should be corrected by removing the 
information about his coursework for the fall semester of 2001.   
 
 
Article 10.A.5.c.3.a. of the Personnel Manual requires the “not observed” circle to 
be filled in for all marks in sections 3 through 8 of a DUINS OER.  The applicant’s OER for the 
period  February  1,  2002,  through  August  12,  2002,  is  not  properly  completed  as  the  “not 
observed” circles are not filled in.  Therefore, the Coast Guard should be ordered to fill in the 
empty “not observed circles.” 
 
Accordingly, the applicant’s request should be granted by adding a new DUINS 
 
OER for the period September 1, 2001, through January 31, 2002, and by making the corrections 
to the his OER for the period February 1, 2002, through August 12, 2002, described in findings 4 
and 5 above.   
 
 
 
 
 

[ORDER AND SIGNATURES APPEAR ON FOLLOWING PAGE] 

 

ORDER 

1. 

The  application  of  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,  USCG,  for  correction  of  his  military 

 
 
record is granted as follows:  
 
 
A new DUINS OER covering his coursework from September 1, 2001, through 
January 31, 2002, shall be prepared in accordance with Article 10.A.5. of the Personnel Manual 
and entered in his record.  Section 3 of the new OER shall be prepared in accordance with Article 
10.A.5.c.3.b.  to  include  his  classes,  credit  hours,  and  grades  for  the  fall  semester  of  2001  as 
shown in his official transcript, including those for his Introduction to Philosophy class. 
 

His  OER  for  the  period  February  1,  2002,  through  August  12,  2002,  shall  be 

2. 

corrected by   

 
(a) filling in all of the “not observed” circles in sections 3 through 8; and 
(b) removing  from  section  3  all  of  the  information  about  his  coursework  in  the  fall 

semester of 2001. 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

  

 
 Patrick B. Kernan 

 

 

 
 Donald A. Pedersen 

 

 

 
 Kenneth Walton