After he retrained into his career field, Staff Sgt. James Seegel noticed that three of his class members were removed from Enlisted Retention Board eligibility. The members were erroneously labeled as entering their 5-level training after Jan. 1, 2013 — the cutoff date for the June 16 board.
Seegel wasn't so lucky. His file also had the wrong date for his retraining course, but the error didn't help him because it was still before the cutoff date. But the error in his file, and his knowledge that the three other airmen should have had the same dates in their files, didn't make sense.
He soon learned that two other airmen he had retrained with were taken off the Enlisted Board eligibility list. That's when Seegel, along with leadership from Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, started to inquire about the ERB selection process.
"Had these members stayed on the ERB list, I might have had a better chance," Seegel told Air Force Times. "These members did not have to meet in front of the board for them to be chosen, so the pool got smaller."
Seegel was ranked eighth in his squadron but two members who ranked lower were selected by the board to stay in the Air Force. One of the members even failed a PT test, he said.
When the board results came in at the end of July, Seegel — who received 5s on his enlisted performance reports — was notified he was not selected for retention. The following month, he submitted a complaint to the Inspector General, which ended up in the hands of the Air Force Personnel Center IG.
As a result of the review, 50 airmen who were told that they must separate by Jan. 31 have been offered the option of remaining on active duty, Air Force officials announced Oct. 24. The review found 36 airmen who should have been considered by the board were not because of a coding error, but the Air Force determined 50 airmen were affected by the error.
But the review didn't help Seegel. Even after his status was reconsidered, he was notified Oct. 23 that he was still not selected for retention. He will separate in December.
Who can stay
The Personnel Services Delivery Memorandum for retention boards — a memo outlining who would be eligible for the boards and how they would work, which was obtained by Air Force Times — shows that the Air Force Personnel Center mixed up crucial dates and eligibility requirements.
For example, the level of training, in this case labeled as "5-level upgrade training," should not have been considered for board eligibility or exclusion, according to the PSDM. Members are ineligible if they "have retrained within the past year (1 Jan 2013) or have approved retraining prior to the board convening date," it says.
AFPC also used members' skills level entry date instead of using their retrain graduation date. Other airmen were taken off the board roster because their date of rank was wrong.
Seegel and his leadership took these findings to the IG.
"None of the other 5 personnel should have been removed based on their approved retraining date," wrote Seegel's unit manager to his first sergeant in an email. The Air Force asked that members of Seegel's chain of command and his career field not be identified.
"The bigger issue is that official instructions were not adhered to, unofficial/arbitrary criteria was used, and dates used to establish criteria were wrong. How many others AF-wide were unfairly selected while others were incorrectly deemed ineligible[?]" the manager said.
Air Force officials looked at all cases where other airmen may have been impacted and found 50 airmen who could have been affected during the ERB.
AFPC added the 36 excluded airmen to the bottom of the rankings — commonly called an Order of Merit — in each of their Air Force Specialty Codes. As a result, 50 airmen who previously were below the quota line moved up to either above or at the quota line. Those airmen were offered the option to stay, Air Force spokeswoman Rose Richeson said.
"Adding these records resulted in an equal number of records moving upward in the order of merit and crossing above the AFSC/Grade retention quota line," Richeson said.
The 36 airmen who were eligible for and should have met the board will not be affected.
Retention boards for junior and senior enlisted airmen met in June and selected 1,421 airmen for separation or retirement.
The retention boards are a central part of the Air Force's force management program, which is cutting the ranks to help it reduce overmanning and deal with budget cuts. The Air Force's original matrix outlining potential retention board cuts, released in January, identified 18,336 enlisted airmen as overmanned and likely to be cut. But over the next few months, the Air Force reconsidered — partly because many airmen were approved for voluntary retirement or separation — and reduced the number of retention board cuts considerably.
Master sergeants and senior master sergeants who were not selected for retention must retire Dec. 1, senior airmen through technical sergeants who were not retained — like Seegel — must separate Jan. 31.
Looking for extra help
The Air Force thanked Seegel "for bringing this situation to our attention and giving us the opportunity to correct it," according to a report sent to him from the Director of Personnel Services office. But Seegel did not score well enough to earn one of the additional retention quotas, it said.
In addition to his first sergeant — who Seegel said has been mentoring him throughout the process — and other members in his chain of command, Seegel sent letters to his home state congressman, Jeff Miller, R-Fla., and Congressman Steven Horsford, D-Nev.
"We did not receive a response to our original inquiry because the IG was already underway," wrote military liaison for Miller's office Stevan Davis on Oct. 29. "We have submitted a new inquiry ... but I do not want to get your hopes up without cause."
Seegel said he also submitted a record package to the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records for review.
But even with a disappointing outcome, Seegel still wants to serve.
"I'm looking to go into the Reserves," he said. "I'm leaving some options open ... I want to still pursue serving my country and hopefully finish out my career that way." Seegel said he's also considering moving to Belgium where his wife is stationed.
"This whole process has been very stressful for me and my family, but I had full support from my chain of command," Seegel said. "Even though my IG inquiry did not work out for me, I am glad that the process worked and I was able to help out the 50 airmen that were given the chance to stay in the Air Force."
Staff writer Stephen Losey contributed to this story.
