Aviator Evaluation Boards

References:

1. Navy Personnel

2. Marine Corps Personnel

Definitions:

FNAEB - Field Naval Aviator Evaluation Board
FNFOEB - Field Naval Flight Officer Evaluation Board
FFPB - Field Flight Performance Board (for USMC Aviator and NFO's)

Purpose:
Flight performance boards are purely administrative in nature, and are designed to ensure that only those officers who can safely and competently perform their aviation duties are so assigned. These boards are not to be considered as either a forum for disciplinary or punitive action.

Aviation Designations:
The Chief, Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) confers aviation designations through the Chief of Naval Education and Training (CNATRA) to Aviators and NFO's, and NOMI, for Flight Surgeons, SNAP's and SNAEPS's. The right to wear the aviation designation insignia may be revoked by BUPERS, if such is recommended by the Board. Aviation personnel assigned to flight billets are required to maintain all physical exam, water survival, physiology training and minimum flight time requirements and in addition, perform their aviation duties safely and competently.

Flight disqualifications, Medical:

  1. NPQ because of illness or injury. May require temporary grounding, restriction to certain service groups if an aviator and may necessitate waiver.
  2. NAA in the Aeromedical sense, where the individual's ability to adjust to stressors in the aviation environment has been unsuccessful or maladaptive.

These are strictly medical considerations for termination of flight status and are not grounds for appearance before an evaluation board. In fact, the member must be found PQ and AA to appear before a board to ensure that the question of his performance is not due to a medical condition. (This does not preclude appearance while NPQ recovering from an illness or injury unrelated to performance questions).

Drug Abuse
Flight status and the right to wear the insignia are permanently revoked and the member processed in accordance with SECNAVINST 1920.6.

Voluntary termination of Flight Status:
Any designated aviation personnel who voluntarily request termination from flight status must be:

A formal request to terminate must be submitted in five days to the Commanding Officer, along with the Flight Surgeon Evaluation. This is then submitted to BUPERS, and the individual reassigned. No board is required, and the right to wear the insignia is not in question.

Evaluation Boards:
After ruling out all the above issues that may remove an individual from flight status, one other remains, the Evaluation Board.

This board is convened to evaluate the performance, motivation and behavior of an individual to determine whether he can safely and competently continue in a flight status.

Convening Authority - immediate superior in command
Reasons to convene:

Board membership:
FNAEB & FFPB's

FNFOEB's

Proceedings:
Examinee is told of the reasons for the board.

Examinee is allowed to be present at all open sessions of the board, and present information, witnesses and rebuttal.

Board members may not act as witnesses.

Medical evaluations of the examinee must be provided by a different flight surgeon from the one on the board, unless there are no other Flight Surgeons in the area. In that case, the Flight Surgeon board member may do both duties as long as the examinee waives this right in writing.

All of these principles are for the purpose of providing customary standards of fairness in administrative proceedings.

Findings of the Board:

Type A. Continuation of Flight Status

  1. At present duty assignment.
  2. Transfer to another activity within the same administrative command.
  3. Transfer to another activity.
  4. Probationary status for a definite period with consequences for failure to meet the requirements of probation.

Type B. Termination of Flight Status with:

  1. Right to wear the insignia
  2. Revocation of the right to wear the insignia. This is considered appropriate board action as a result of acts which dishonor naval aviation or there has been willful and flagrant violation of established rules, regulations and directives.

If evidence of illegal activities are uncovered during the proceedings, these issues may be referred to other bodies for additional action.

The Flight Surgeon member of the board will be expected to attend all meetings of the board, provide interpretation of all aeromedical aspects of the case, participate in all deliberations of the board and provide any other assistance as required.

Reporting:
A formal report of the Boards findings is due to the first endorser in the chain of command within 20 days of issuance of the convening order. There is little time to waste preparing the medical evaluation.

A number of documents are required in preparation of the report as outlined in PERSMAN and the ACTS Manuals, but the Flight Surgeon member shall see to presenting to the board the typed findings of the examining Flight Surgeon, with any SF88's, SF93, consultations etc. Additionally, the Flight Surgeon member's findings and opinions should include:

If the opinion of the board is not unanimous, a dissenting opinion may be submitted. There certainly have been recommendations made which were less than completely fair due to domination of the proceedings by the senior member, or the prevailing attitudes of the command at the time of the board. If you strongly disagree with the results of the board, by all means write a dissenting opinion. Please recognize that this does not give license to impune the integrity of the board, the command, the Navy or anything else. It is your opportunity to bring to bear your special understanding of human behaviors and logic applied to the aviation environment.

United States Naval Flight Surgeon Handbook: 2nd Edition 1998

The Society of U.S. Naval Flight Surgeons