RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2009-04595 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 HEARING DESIRED: NO 

 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

His DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active 
Duty, Item 12, Foreign Service, be corrected to reflect seven 
months, rather than three months and four days. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

His four months of foreign service at Aviano AB, Italy, for 
which he earned the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 
Medal, are not reflected on his DD Form 214. 

 

In support of his appeal, the applicant provides copies of his 
DD Form 214, Contingency Exercise and Mobility (CEM) order, and 
excerpts of his college transcripts. 

 

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at 
Exhibit A. 

 

_________________ ______________________________________________ 

 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

The applicant’s military personnel records indicate he enlisted 
in the Regular Air Force on 7 Mar 94 and was progressively 
promoted to the grade of senior airman (E-4), effective and with 
a date of rank of 7 Sep 96. 

 

On 6 Mar 98, the applicant was honorably discharged at the 
completion of his required active service and was credited with 
four years of total active service. 

 

On 18 Mar 10, AFPC/DPAPP requested additional information from 
the applicant regarding the matter under review. In response, 
he provided a copy of his AF Form 623a, On-The-Job Training 
Record Continuation Sheet, and an expanded statement indicating 
his entitlement to the NATO Medal, in addition to all the other 
evidence provided, should be sufficient to substantiate his 
contentions. 

Item 13 of the applicant’s DD Form 214 reflects his entitlement 
to the NATO Medal. 


 

In accordance with DoD 1348.33-M, Manual of Military Decorations 
and Awards, the NATO Medal was approved for U.S. military 
personnel who served under NATO command or operational control 
in direct support of NATO operations in the former Republic of 
Yugoslavia (FRY), or as designated by Supreme Allied Commander, 
Europe from July 1, 1992 - Oct. 12, 1998. 

 

In accordance with HQ CINCUSAREUR guidance during the period in 
question, qualifying periods of service were 30 days (continuous 
or accumulated) in the territory or air and space of the FRY and 
the Adriatic Sea, or 90 days (continuous or accumulated) in 
direct support of NATO operations in areas adjacent to the FRY. 
The area of eligibility included the countries of Italy, Greece, 
Hungary, and Austria. 

 

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are 
contained in the letter prepared by the appropriate office of 
the Air Force, which is attached at Exhibit C. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

AFPC/DPAPP recommends denial, indicating there is no evidence in 
the record to confirm the applicant’s participation in the 
contested deployment. Although he did provide a copy of a 
temporary duty (TDY) order, the order itself does not prove he 
actually deployed to Aviano AB, Italy. 

 

A complete copy of the AFPC/DPAPP evaluation is at Exhibit C. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to applicant on 
16 Apr 10 for review and comment within 30 days. As of this 
date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit D). 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 

 

1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by 
existing law or regulations. 

 

2. The application was not timely filed; however, it is in the 
interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file. 

 

3. Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to 
demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice to warrant 
crediting the applicant with four additional months of foreign 


service. We note the comments by AFPC/DPAPP indicating the TDY 
order provided by the applicant is not sufficient, in and by 
itself, to confirm his claim he was deployed to Aviano AB, Italy 
for four months. Nonetheless, after careful review of the 
available records and the applicant’s complete submission, 
including his DD Form 214 reflecting his entitlement to the NATO 
Medal, we believe a preponderance of the evidence supports he is 
entitled to credit for four additional months of foreign 
service. Although the applicant requests his records be changed 
to reflect seven months of foreign service, the Board determined 
he should be credited with seven months and four days of total 
foreign service. Therefore, we recommend his records be 
corrected to the extent indicated below. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: 

 

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air 
Force relating to APPLICANT be corrected to show that his 
DD Form 214, block 12f, Foreign Service, be corrected to reflect 
7 months and 4 days, rather than 3 months and 4 days. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2009-04595 in Executive Session on 13 Jul 10, 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 A. DD Form 149, dated 24 Nov 09, w/atchs. 

 Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. 

 Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPAPP, dated 5 Apr 10. 

 Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 16 Apr 10. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair