Major Joe, a good friend and wiser in the ways of the military than I at that time, just laughed at me:
"But Al", he said, "of course it will approved."
When I asked how he could possibly believe that, he replied wisely:
"Al, the (civilian) lawyer at the AF Counsel's office who is reviewing the request IS (a) 'Lieutenant Mark'." (By which he meant that, in the Clintoon-appointee era, the individual recommending thunbs up or down was probably a weenie who identified more with the young LT than with the military.)
Sure enough, wise old Major Joe was right.