Opinion ID: 787298
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Downgraded March 1984 OER

Text: 52 Paragraph 3-14 of AFR 36-10 states that certain material is inappropriate and must not be considered in the evaluation process or included in comments in evaluation reports or indorsements to them. Among the matters prohibited from consideration in the preparation of an OER are [c]harges preferred, investigations, reviews by boards of evaluation or inquiry ... that are not complete as of the closeout date.... AFR 36-10, ¶ 3-14(a). Mr. Roth presented unrebutted evidence to the Board that the rating under Item 9 of the Professional Qualities category on his March 1984 OER was lowered as a result of the AFOSI investigation, which was not completed until July 6, 1984, despite the fact that he was ultimately absolved of all allegations against him. 53 In his initial appeal to the Board in 1989, Mr. Roth presented statements signed by all three of the raters on his March 1984 OER that their decision to downgrade Item 9 was the result of the AFOSI investigation, the AFOSI interviews of Mr. Roth's coworkers, and the existence of allegations and rumors concerning his behavior. Colonels William Coward, Dieter Satz, and David Sawyer each averred that Mr. Roth's evaluation was written during the heat of this controversy, and [they] based [their] evaluation upon the best information [they] had available at the time. (Board R. 15, 17, 20) 54 During the proceedings in Mr. Roth's 1989 appeal to the Board, each of these three raters was also forwarded the AFMPC's recommendation, which was to deny Mr. Roth the correction of his March 1984 OER. In response, Colonel Satz stated in a letter to the Board that during a phone call from higher headquarters that addressed both the investigation and the March 1984 OER, [t]he option provided to Colonel Coward and I at that time was to downgrade at least one block in Captain Roth's OER or else.... In the absence of the above, Captain Roth would not have been downgraded in Block 9, Professional Qualities. (Board R. 28) Colonel Sawyer likewise stated, It was precisely because the investigation was ongoing and serious accusations were being made against Captain Roth that I was directed to downgrade block 9. I had originally marked the block `well above standards,' but was directed by Colonel Satz and Colonel Coward to reaccomplish the OER because we could not ignore the accusations. (Board R. 33) Colonel Coward confirmed this sequence of events: 55 The Ninth Air Force Commander and I had a discussion about the allegations.... The Ninth Air Commander and I agreed that the OER on Captain Roth should be rewritten and block nine should reflect the apparent off duty indiscretions of Captain Roth. The rating and reviewing officials agreed with this decision, and the OER was rewritten.... I know that the decisions concerning Captain Roth were honestly but poorly made and based solely on unsubstantiated allegations. 56 (Board R. 35) It is clear that AFR 36-10, paragraph 3-14(a) was violated when Item 9 of the Professional Qualities category was downgraded to Meets Standard on Mr. Roth's March 1984 OER. 57 As noted above, the Board did grant Mr. Roth relief for this violation in 1989. In the Matter of Roth (Oct. 31, 1989). The Board recommended that Item 9 on Mr. Roth's March 1984 OER be corrected to reflect a Well Above Standard rating, that certain negative comments be deleted, and that the comment Behavior and bearing were exemplary be inserted. Id. at 3. The Board further recommended that Mr. Roth be considered for promotion to major by an SSB for each selection board in which the corrections it had ordered were not a matter of record. Id. 58 The Court of Federal Claims determined that the Board failed to afford Mr. Roth complete relief, however. Thus, it upgraded the indorsement levels on three of his OERs; ordered the removal of the notation Corrected Copy from his March 1984 OER; ordered that recommendations for approval of an end-of-tour decoration for his service at Shaw AFB be forwarded for consideration; and ordered that an end-of-tour decoration be awarded for his service at Ramstein AFB. The court also ordered the insertion of an AF Form 77 in Mr. Roth's record explaining the lack of an OER for the eleven months prior to his separation from the Air Force in 1989, and the insertion of an AF Form 475, Training Report, to reflect AFIT sponsorship of his attendance at a graduate school program during the period that he was involuntarily separated. In addition, the court voided Mr. Roth's 1993 and 1994 nonselections for promotion to lieutenant colonel. We address these record corrections in turn. 59