RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-02666 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, be amended as follows: 1. Block 14, Military Education, be amended to include “Fire Protection Training School 57130, 1 Aug 73.” 2. Block 18, Remarks, be amended to include comments indicating that he served in the Republic of Panama from 19 Jan 88 to 1 Jun 90 in support of Operation JUST CAUSE and served in the former Republic of Yugoslavia from 1 Aug 92 to 1 Aug 95 in support of Operation DENY FLIGHT. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: He served in support of the noted operations; he wants the professional military education training he completed added to his DD Form 214. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: According to the applicant’s military personnel records, he commenced his service in the Regular Air Force on 13 Apr 73. According to the citation accompanying the applicant’s Air Force Commendation Medal, rendered for the period 18 Jan 88 through 1 Jun 90, the applicant served in Panama and provided support to Operation JUST CAUSE. According to DoD 1348.33M, the inclusive dates for Operation JUST CAUSE were 20 Dec 89 through 30 Jan 90. According to the applicant’s military personnel records, he was assigned to Aviano AB, Italy from 10 Aug 92 through 1 Aug 95. His enlisted performance report (EPR) rendered for the period 30 Apr 94 through 29 Apr 95, indicates he provided support to Operation DENY FLIGHT. According to the Air Force Historical Studies Office, Operation DENY FLIGHT was conducted from 12 Apr 93 to 20 Dec 95 when the international Implementation Force assumed responsibility for the implementation of the military aspects of the Peace Agreement on Bosnia-Herzegovina. On 30 Apr 97, the applicant was relieved from active duty and retired, effective 1 May 97, and was credited with 24 years and 18 days of total active service. On 14 Aug 12, AFPC/DPSIPE notified the applicant his DD Form 214 will be administratively corrected to change his place of enlistment from “Marysville, CA” to “Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station (AFEES), Los Angeles, CA.” On 2 Nov 12, AFPC/DPSIT requested the applicant provide additional documentation to substantiate his claim related to credit for the Fire Protection School, specifically, documentation showing completion of the formal training, such as course length and graduation date. On 10 Apr 13, AFPC/DPSOR informed the applicant that specific temporary duty (TDY) assignments, deployments, or support of specific locations served in the area of responsibility are not authorized on the DD Form 214. In accordance with DODI 1336.01, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214/5 Series), participation in contingency operations will be documented in Block 18 of the DD Form 214. ________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSID notes the applicant’s entitlement to the NATO-Y has been verified and his records have been administratively corrected to add the medal. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSID evaluation is at Exhibit C. AFPC/DPSIM notes the applicant served in the Air Force Specialty Code 57130 (Fire Protection Specialist) his entire Air Force career and has met all the requirements for the Civil Engineer master badge. The applicant’s records will be administratively corrected to add the badge. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSIM evaluation is at Exhibit D. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the applicant on 22 Apr 13, for review and comment within 30 days. As of this date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit E). ________________________________________________________________ ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSIT recommends denial of the portion of the applicant’s request to add Fire Protection Training School on his DD Form 214. There was no evidence provided or located in the applicant’s records showing he completed the Fire Protection training. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSIT evaluation is at Exhibit F. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION: A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 20 Jun 13, for review and comment within 30 days. As of this date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit G). ________________________________________________________________ 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. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice regarding the applicant’s request to amend his DD Form 214 to reflect his attendance at Fire Protection Training School. There was no documentation provided or located in the applicant’s records showing he completed the training. In addition, the applicant did not respond to the request for documentation showing he completed Fire Protection School Training. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no basis to recommend granting the relief sought in this application. 4. Notwithstanding the above, sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice regarding the applicant’s request that the remarks section of his DD Form 214 be corrected to reflect that he served in support of Operations JUST CAUSE and DENY FLIGHT. Per applicable Department of Defense and Air Force Instructions, participation in contingency operations, but not geographic locations, are allowed to be annotated in the remarks section of a service member’s DD Form 214; therefore, in view of the fact that he has provided copies of excerpts from his military personnel records that indicate that he provided support to the noted operations, we believe his records should be corrected to reflect that he provided such support during the effective dates of the operations that overlap with his service in or near the respective areas of responsibility. Therefore, we recommend that 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 the APPLICANT be corrected to show that Block 18, Remarks, of his DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, dated 30 Apr 97, be amended to include the following statements: a. “Served from 20 Dec 89 to 30 Jan 90 in support of Operation JUST CAUSE.” b. “Served from 12 Apr 93 to 1 Aug 95 in support of Operation DENY FLIGHT.” ________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2012-02666 in Executive Session on 31 Oct 13, 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 14 May 12, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, AFPS/DPSID, dated 17 Sep 12, w/atch. Exhibit D. Letter, AFPC/DPSIM, dated 23 Oct 12. Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 22 Apr 13. Exhibit F. Letter, AFPC/DPSIT, dated 17 Jun 13. Exhibit G. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 20 Jun 13. Panel Chair