Is there any way to determine who was on this board?
Would this be something done by executive order?
Only via in his service jacket, unless the convening Flag officers have their own records, and release them. (I have copies of all official corresponds I signed, including evaluations, Fitness Reports, and MAST proceedings. Some officers keep nothing, as was the apparent case of Bush's National Guard C.O.. I honestly never met anyone of the sort of character as the Barnett guy who obviously forged documents in an attempt to impune Bush's record and integrity.)
This information is priviledged, and the officers (regardless of their political pursuasion) will do their duty and keep it that way, unless Kerry signs the Form 180.
Would this be something done by executive order?
Yes. The board was apparently convened by Executive Order. The President's order would probably dictate the terms of the Board, i.e. if Carter's general amnesty did not cover Kerry, he most certainly would have written rules for the Board to follow that would have favored Kerry's case. Much as the JAG guys (i.e. lawyers) say "Don't ask a question if you do not already know the answer", President Carter would not have ordered the board convened unless he was certain of the result.
By the way, speaking as a ex-Senior Navy Officer, a board covened by Executive order is simply unheard of. The Secretary of the Navy might order boards for numerious reasons (i.e. to correct errors, right "wrongs" to a POW's record during captivity, etc.). The President gets directly involved, over the head of his appointed cabinet head, when there's a matter of urgent national security, or political patronage involved.
Figure it out.
SFS