ADDENDUM TO RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-04364 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His records be corrected to reflect he was the Airman of the Year at Korat AB, Thailand, 1967 to 1968 and that he served in the Republic of Vietnam. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: A similar appeal was considered and denied by the Board on 3 Aug 11. For an accounting of the facts and circumstances surrounding the applicant’s request, and the rationale for the earlier decision by the Board, see the Record of Proceedings, with Exhibits, at Exhibit E. On 24 Sep 11, the applicant requested reconsideration to have his records corrected to reflect he was selected as Airman of the Year at Korat AB, Thailand from 1967-1968 and he served in Vietnam. He contended that he was honored as the Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) of the Year in Korat. As for his request related to his Vietnam service, he was listed as crew member for flight mission sorties to Vietnam and received combat pay for at least two to three months (Exhibit F). The Board staff notified the applicant that because his request for reconsideration did not include new and/or relevant evidence that his request did not meet the criteria for reconsideration. The Board staff further advised the applicant that reconsideration is authorized only where newly discovered relevant evidence is presented which was not available when the application was originally considered (Exhibit G). In his latest submission, the applicant provides documents extracted from his personal copy of his military personnel records; in particular, a Combat Zone Certificate for Tax Exemption indicating that he was in the Combat Zone on 27 Sep 67, a letter from the Chief, Accounting and Finance Branch reflecting he received taxable income exclusions for his service in the Vietnam Combat Zone for the 1-31 Dec 67; AF Forms 626, Temporary Duty Order – Military, indicating he was on temporary duty from Korat to DaNang, Vietnam on 27 Sep 67 and Tan Son Nhut, Vietnam on 29 Dec 67, and a copy of his performance report for the period 21 Aug 67 to 18 Jan 68 which reflects he was selected as the representative for Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) as a candidate for the Air Force Association’s (AFA) 1968 Airman of the Year program. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit H. ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: After again reviewing the evidence of record in support of the applicant’s request that his records be corrected to reflect that he was the Outstanding Airman of the Year, for the period 1967 through 1968, for Korat AB, Thailand, we find insufficient evidence to override the Board’s original decision. After a thorough review of the totality of the evidence submitted by the applicant on this point, we are not convinced that corrective action is warranted. While the applicant provides a copy of his Airman Performance Report (APR) for the period in question indicating that he was selected as a nominee to the annual PACAF Air Force Association (AFA) Airman of the Year Awards Program, we do not find his assertions or the APR comments cited sufficient to conclude that this constitutes his selection as the Outstanding Airman of the Year for Korat AB, Thailand. In this respect, we note that commanders can nominate members of their command to a variety of annual award programs intended to recognize outstanding performance, but without specific information about Korat’s annual award programs, we are unable to determine if the applicant’s selection as a nominee to a recognition program sponsored by the AFA constitutes his selection as the Outstanding Airman of the Year for the nominating organization. Notwithstanding the above, sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to indicate the applicant has been the victim of an error or injustice with respect to his request for credit for Vietnam service. After a thorough review of the evidence presented, we find a preponderance of the evidence indicates the applicant served in Vietnam. In this respect, we note the applicant provided copies of temporary duty orders indicating he performed temporary duty in Vietnam, as well as a letter reflecting that he received combat zone tax exclusion for serving in the Vietnam Combat Zone. Therefore, in view of the above, we believe it appropriate to recommend the applicant’s records be corrected to the extent indicated below. ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD RECOMMENDS: The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to the APPLICANT be corrected to show that he had “boots on the ground” in the Republic of Vietnam. ________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2010-04364 in Executive Session on 8 Apr 14, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member All members voted to correct the records as recommended. The following documentary evidence was considered: Exhibit E. Record of Proceedings dated 31 Aug 11, w/Exhibits. Exhibit F. Letter, Applicant, dated 24 Sep 11. Exhibit G. Letter, AFBCMR, undated. Exhibit H. Letter, Applicant, dated 13 Jun 13, w/atchs. Panel Chair