RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-03695 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His DD Form 214, Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge be corrected to reflect entitlement to the following awards and decorations, commemorative medals, badges and beret crest earned but not awarded prior to being honorably discharged: 1. National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) – Already Annotated on DD Form 214 dated 3 December 1970. 2. Bronze Star Medal with Valor and one Oak Leaf Cluster (BSM w/V& 1 OLC) - ADMINISTRATIVELY CORRECTED. 3. Combat Readiness Medal (CRM) 4. Air Force Combat Action Medal (AFCAM) 5. Air Force Good Conduct Medal (AFGCM) – Already Annotated on DD Form 214 dated 3 December 1970. 6. Vietnam Service Medal (VSM) – Already Annotated on DD Form 214 dated 3 December 1970. 7. Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal (RVCM) – ADMINISTRATIVELY CORRECTED. 8. Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon (SAEMR) – Already Annotated on DD Form 214 dated 3 December 1970. 9. Presidential Unit Citation (PUC) - ADMINISTRATIVELY CORRECTED 10. Commemorative Medals: Combat Service, Special Operations, Overseas Service, American Defense, Republic of Vietnam Service, United States Air Force, Honorable Service, Armed Forces Expert Marksman, USAF Outstanding Unit. 11. Badges: Senior Parachutist, Combat Action, Parachute Riggers, Republic of Vietnam Senior Parachutist, Air Traffic Control, Aircrew Member, Republic of Vietnam HALO. 12. Combat Control Team (CCT) Beret Crest. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: He is requesting review and authorization of awards, decorations and badges he believes he is qualified to receive and display based on his active duty service. He was assigned to Forbes Air Force Base (AFB) Kansas, Howard AB, Republic of Panama, and Tan San Nhut AB, Republic of Vietnam. He was discharged upon completion of a one year combat duty tour in Vietnam. He left active military service before his records were updated. He is proud of his service as a Combat Controller then, and even more so now. While he was on the Combat Control Team they were admonished to remain incognito because of the secret nature of their missions. He was required to sign a non-disclosure form of secrecy upon his discharge. He recently discovered the Combat Controllers new role in today’s active military service and the Combat Control Association. He went in search of his military records and found documents to verify his service and activity while in the Republic of Vietnam. In support of his request, the applicant provides a personal statement, copies of his citations and special orders for the BSM w/V & 1 OLC, a copy of his DD Form 214, copies of his assignment orders, and various other supporting documents extracted from his military personnel record. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant is a former member of the Regular Air Force who served from 8 May 1967 to 3 December 1970. He served as an Air Traffic Control Operator and was progressively promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant (SSgt) with a pay grade of (E-5) effective 1 December 1970. He was released from active duty with an honorable characterization of service and was credited with 3 years, 10 months and 10 days of active duty service. The applicant’s DD Form 214 does not reflect award of the BSM w/V& 1 OLC, the CRM, the AFCAM, or the PUC. By letter dated 15 November 2011 (Exhibit B), AFPC/DPSIDRA advised the applicant they had made a thorough review of his official military personnel record and provided documents and verified his entitlement to the AFGM, the NDSM, the VSM and the SAEMR as already annotated on his DD Form 214 dated 3 December 1970; therefore no update of these awards was required. Additionally, they were able to verify his entitlement the BSM w/V& 1 OLC, the PUC, one Silver Service Star for his previously awarded VSM (VSM w/1SSS) the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm (RVNGC w/P)and the RVCM. They were unable to determine the applicant’s entitlement to the CRM. Commemorative medals are primarily celebratory display medals rather than official awards or decorations of the United States Air Force (USAF) and Department of Defense (DoD). They were unable to verify the applicant’s entitlement to commemorative medals. These medals cannot be updated to the DD Form 214 as they are not official USAF or DoD awards or decorations; however the applicant can purchase the commemorative medals through commercial sources. ________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATIONS: AFPC/DPSIM recommends partial relief. DPSIM states: update the applicant’s DD Form 214 to reflect the wear of the Parachute Badge the Air Traffic Control Basic Badge, the basic Aircrew Member Badge, and the Parachute Riggers Badge. The Combat Action Badge (CAB) may be awarded by any commander delegated authority by the Secretary of the Army during wartime or the CG, US Army Human Resources Command and will be announced in permanent orders. In addition, AFI 36-2903, Dress and Personal Appearance of Air Force Personnel, outlines the wear of sister-service badges and does not authorize permanent wear of the CAB. The CAB is worn only while permanently assigned to and performing duties with other services when awarded; upon Permanent Change of Station (PCS) to an Air Force unit the member will remove it. Deny award of the CAB. In addition, AFI 36-2903, does not address the wear of a CCT Beret Crest. The HALO badge is now called the Basic Military Free Fall (MFF) Parachutist Badge. Per AFI 11-402, Aviation and Parachutist Service, Aeronautical Ratings and Badges, to be awarded the MFF badge; member must be a graduate of the U.S. Army MFF Course or a service approved MFF course. The course completion certificate and Army order are used for award of the basic parachutist and basic military free-fall badge. The applicant did not provide any qualifying documentation to substantiate his claim for a Basic Military Free Fall Badge. The complete AFPC/DPSIM evaluation is at exhibit C. AFPC/DPSIDRA recommends denial. DPSIDRA states they were able to verify the applicant’s entitlement to all but one of the requested federal awards and decorations. Through separate correspondence (see Exhibit B) the applicant was advised he was ineligible for entitlement to the AFCAM as well as where to obtain commemorative medals. The CRM is awarded for sustained individual combat or mission readiness or preparedness for direct weapon-system employment. Specifically, a service member must meet the following criteria: be a member of a unit subject to combat readiness reporting, be individually certified as combat and/or mission ready and been subject to a continuous individual positional evaluation program, according to major command or higher headquarters standards, complete 24 months of sustained combat and/or mission readiness with no more than a 120 calendar-day break. AFPC/DPSIDRA recommends disapproval for entitlement to the CRM. The applicant did not provide official documentation nor were any located in his official military record verifying he served in a combat ready position for 24 months and was awarded or recommended for award of the CRM by his assigned base. The complete AFPC/DPSIDRA evaluation is at Exhibit D. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the applicant on 9 December 2011 for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibit E). As of this date, no response has been received by this office. ________________________________________________________________ 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 error or injustice to warrant partial relief. We are in agreement with AFPC/DPSIM’s recommendation to award the applicant entitlement to wear the Parachute Badge, Air Traffic Control Basic Badge, Parachute Riggers Badge and the Aircrew Member Badge and recommend his records be corrected as indicated below. However, with respect to the applicant’s remaining requests, the applicant has not provided any documentary evidence to substantiate his claim that he meets the criteria for these awards; therefore, we agree with the opinion and recommendation of the Air Force offices of primary responsibility and adopt their rationale as the basis for our conclusion that relief beyond that already granted administratively is not warranted. ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to APPLICANT be corrected to reflect that Item 24, Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized, of the DD Form 214, Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge issued in conjunction with his 3 December 1970 release from active duty, be amended to include the Parachute Badge, the Air Traffic Control Basic Badge, Parachute Riggers Badge and the Aircrew Member Badge. ________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered this application BC-2011-03695 in Executive Session on 26 April 2012, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member The following documentary evidence was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 15 September 2011, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSIM, dated 21 October 2011. Exhibit D. Letter, AFPC/DPSIDRA, dated 15 November 2011. Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 9 December 2011. Panel Chair