RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  98-01645
            INDEX CODE: 107.00

            COUNSEL:  None

            HEARING DESIRED: No


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His DD Form 214, Armed Forces of the United States  Report  of  Transfer  or
Discharged, be corrected by adding the Vietnam  Service  Medal  or  Campaign
Ribbon.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

During the period 1967 to 1969 he flew as a non-rated crew-member on  KC-135
tankers on refueling missions over the Gulf of Tonka.   He  received  combat
and/or hazardous pay, therefore,  he  was  in  hostile  airspace  and  those
medals should be on his DD Form 214.  He deserves the  medals  and  he  also
wants to join the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

In support  of  the  appeal,  applicant  submits  copies  of  his  non-rated
individual flight record.

Applicant's complete submission is attached at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant served on Active Duty 13  March  1962  to  10  April  1970  as  an
Aircraft  Mechanic  (Ground)  and  Aircraft  Technician.   He   served   two
consecutive tours, in Japan from 8 May 1967 -  8 January  1968  and  Okinawa
from 9 January 1968 -29 December 1969.  He  received  the  National  Defense
Service Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit  Award,  Air  Force  Good  Conduct
Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, Small Arms Expert  Marksmanship  Ribbon,  and
Air Force Longevity Service Award with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster.

The applicant flew nine combat missions for the period January 1968 to  July
1969.

The Republic of Vietnam (RVN) Campaign Medal  is  awarded  for  serving  six
months in South Vietnam during the period 1 March 1961 - 28 March  1973,  or
serving outside the geographical limits of South  Vietnam  and  contributing
direct combat support to the RVN  Armed  Forces  for  an  aggregate  of  six
months.

The Vietnam Service Medal is awarded for service in Vietnam, its  contiguous
waters, or airspace thereover during 4 July 1965 - 28 March 1973 or  serving
in Thailand, Laos, or Cambodia, or the airspaces thereover,  and  in  direct
support of operations in Vietnam.  To be eligible, a Service member  had  to
be (a) attached to or regularly  serving  for  one  or  more  days  with  an
organization  participating  in  or  directly  supporting  ground  (military
operations; or (c) actually participate as a crew  member  in  one  or  more
aerial flights directly supporting military operations.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The Chief, Recognition  Programs  Branch,  Promotion,  Eval,  &  Recognition
Division, AFPC/DPPPR, reviewed this application and states that there is  no
indication the applicant provided direct support to the RVN Armed Forces  at
any time; therefore,  he  is  not  eligible  for  the  Republic  of  Vietnam
Campaign Medal.  To be eligible for the Vietnam  Service  Medal,  a  service
member had to be (a) attached to or regularly serving for one or  more  days
with  an  organization  participating  in  or  directly  supporting   ground
(military) operations; or (c) actually participate as a crew member  in  one
or more aerial flights directly supporting military operations.   Since  the
applicant was assigned to units in Japan and Okinawa, he does not  meet  the
first eligibility criteria.  All that can be verified is that he was  on  an
aircraft, on nine occasions, that flew combat sorties.   They  can  find  no
indication  he  was  a  regularly  assigned  crew  member  or  that  he  was
participating in direct support of  operations  in  Vietnam.   It  has  been
their experience that many personnel were on aircraft flying  into  or  over
Vietnam in order to draw Hazardous Duty Pay and obtain  income  tax  relief.
Therefore, they cannot accept the  mere  fact  that  the  applicant  was  on
aircraft nine times  during  combat  sortie  flights  as  “providing  direct
support” to operations in Vietnam.  They do not  doubt  that  the  applicant
was on a refueling aircraft in the  airspace  over  Vietnam;  however,  they
have no documentation to verify that he  meets  the  specific  criteria  set
forth by the Department of Defense.   The  applicant  is  not  eligible  for
award of the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal since he does not  meet  the
criteria.  They cannot verify his eligibility for the Vietnam Service  Medal
without documentation showing he meets the basic  criteria.   Based  on  the
evidence provided, they recommend denial of applicant's request.

A complete copy of the evaluation is attached at Exhibit C.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant reviewed the Air Force evaluations and states he was  attached
to the 4252nd  Strategic  Reconnaissance  Wing,  Kadena  AFB,  Okinawa  from
December 1968 through 1969.  This squadron  had  six  KC-135  aircraft  that
flew recon missions over Southeast Asia.  He was a crew  chief  on  Aircraft
Number 62-4138.  In December 1968 this aircraft flew over 250  hours.   This
was the highest number of hours  flown  by  any  aircraft  assigned  in  one
month.  What he is trying to say is there were only  six  of  this  type  of
aircraft in the Air Force and they had to keep two of  them  in  air  twenty
four hours a day 365 days a year.  Now if they were  flying  recon  missions
over there he  believes  he  was  assigned  or  attached  not  only  to  the
organization but to the aircraft as well.  As a crew chief  they  could  not
fly with these aircraft because the recon missions were probably top  secret
missions.  He did fly on the KC-135 tankers on  the  refueling  missions  to
get these recon and the  B-52  aircraft  back  home.   He  did  receive  the
hazardous duty pay and the other pay that came with that part.  He  strongly
disagrees with AFPC/DPPPR because he was assigned to  the  4252nd  Strategic
Reconnaissance Wing at Kadena AFB, Okinawa.  The only proof he has  of  that
is a few copies of his airman performance awards (APRs) and some of  the  AF
Form 910s.

Applicant's complete response is attached at Exhibit E.

_________________________________________________________________

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 probable error or injustice.  We note that the Vietnam  Service
Medal is awarded for service in Vietnam, its contiguous waters, or  airspace
thereover during 4 Jul  65-28  Mar  73  or  serving  in  Thailand,  Laos  or
Cambodia, or the airspaces thereover, and in direct  support  of  operations
in Vietnam.  In addition, we note that  the  Republic  of  Vietnam  Campaign
Medal is awarded for serving six months in South Vietnam during  the  period
1 Mar 61-28 Mar 73, or serving outside  the  geographical  limits  of  South
Vietnam and contributing direct combat support to the RVN Armed  Forces  for
an aggregate of six months.  After reviewing  the  evidence  submitted  with
this appeal, we believe that  the  applicant  has  not  provided  sufficient
evidence showing that he is eligible for the Vietnam Service  Medal  or  the
Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. In view of the
above findings, we agree with the comments and recommendations  of  the  Air
Force and adopt their rationale as the basis for  our  conclusion  that  the
applicant has not been the victim of an error or injustice.   Therefore,  in
the absence of evidence to the contrary, we  find  no  compelling  basis  to
recommend granting the relief sought in this application.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified that the evidence presented  did  not  demonstrate
the existence of probable material error or injustice; that the  application
was denied without a personal appearance;  and  that  the  application  will
only be reconsidered  upon  the  submission  of  newly  discovered  relevant
evidence not considered with this application.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered this application in  Executive
Session on 29 June 1999, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

            Mr. Robert W. Zook, Panel Chair
            Mr. Philip Sheuerman, Member
            Ms. Olga M. Crerar, Member
            Ms. Gloria J. Williams, Examiner (without vote)

The following documentary evidence was considered:

      Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 8 Jun 98, w/atchs.
      Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPPPR, dated 21 Dec 98 w/atch.
      Exhibit D. Letter, AFBCMR, dated 4 Jan 99.
      Exhibit E. Applicant’s Response, dated 12 Jan 99.





                             ROBERT W. ZOOK
                             Panel Chair