Date: 201510
Local time of day: 1801-2400
Location: ZSE.ARTCC, WA
Light: Night
Aircraft: B767-200
Operator: Government
Operating under: Part 91
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Refueling
Flight phase: Cruise
Airspace: Class A ZSE
ATC / advisory: Center ZSE
Second aircraft: Fighter
Reporter organization: Government
Reporter function: Enroute
Reporter qualification: Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Human factors: Situational Awareness; Training / Qualification; Workload; Confusion
Anomaly: ATC Issue All Types; Conflict Airborne Conflict; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance
Detector: Person Air Traffic Control
Result: Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance
Contributing factors: Human Factors; Procedure
Primary problem: Procedure

Narrative: Breaking up Aircraft X (military contract; MARSA authorized) with Aircraft Y currently in a block altitude to go to a tanker following them below. I had just gotten to work on my Monday and was sitting down to a complex situation that I have only done a few times in my career and not for several years. During the event; I told the Aircraft X to report vertical separated. I could have sworn up and down that he had reported it but upon reviewing the tapes was proven wrong. I told Aircraft Y to maintain 29;000 feet and Aircraft X to maintain 30;000 feet. I failed to recognize that Aircraft X was non-RVSM so this clearance would not have been sufficient either way. However when I gave the altitude assignments and terminated MARSA; I saw on the Mode C and from the pilot report that Aircraft X was only at FL294. I apparently also failed to give Aircraft Y a lower clearance to join with the tanker at 25;000 feet. I did have the tanker report MARSA and joined them up from there and forced Aircraft X up to 30;000 feet.There was Radar Assist training going on and was bogging me down as well as he was slow to get me the flight plan info of Aircraft Y. I can't remember the conversations off frequency exactly but think that I may have been going off of what they thought they heard as well.I was also frazzled from the get-go; even telling the controller I relieved (who was also my radar trainer) that I wasn't 100% sure how to do it correctly. I was blown off; though I think his intention was that I could handle it which I should have been able to do. I got caught up in the moment and did not follow through with my clearances or to verify that I had all the information I needed before breaking up the flight.DON'T MAKE FLIGHT BREAKUPS SO COMPLICATED! I know I'm not the first to suggest this but for someone who does this very infrequently; I know I was over thinking it because of how complex it is just to get two planes apart that are already separating themselves. Did I have a loss of standard separation? Yes. Were these guys who were already separating themselves ever in any danger because of my giving them what they wanted? No way.I'll kick myself for saying this but situations like this that are infrequent in my area should be added to our refresher training.




Synopsis: A controller was working a flight of aircraft blocking altitudes. The aircraft were MARSA. The aircraft requested to terminate MARSA and a flight break up. The controller terminated MARSA (Military Authority Responsible for Separation) but the aircraft were non-RVSM and only separated by 1;000 feet vertically when 2;000 feet vertically is required. Also the flight lead never reported vertically separated prior to MARSA termination.