RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  02-01279
            INDEX CODE:  110.00
            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

1.  His  temporary  duty  (TDY)  assignments  to  Vietnam  and  Thailand  be
included on his DD Form 214, Armed Forces of the  United  States  Report  of
Transfer or Discharge.

2.  His Social Security Account Number (SSAN) be corrected on  his  DD  Form
214, Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

Applicant makes no contentions.  In  support  of  his  request  he  provided
copies of his DD Forms 214, his Health Insurance card, a printout of the  --
th Wing’s  organizational  Branch  History,  an  extract  from  his  medical
record; and a copy of his AF Form 7, Airman Military Record.   His  complete
submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant contracted his initial enlistment in the Regular Air  Force  on  6
Feb 56.  He was progressively promoted to the grade of E-4,  having  assumed
that grade effective and with a date of rank of 1 Feb 61.  He was  honorably
discharged from the Air Force on 28 Dec 65 at the expiration of his term  of
service.  He served 9 years, 10 months, and 23 days on active duty.  He  was
assigned overseas in Japan from 7 Sep 58 through 14 Sep 60  and  in  Okinawa
from 6 Jun 64 through 6 Dec 65.

His request for  correction  of  his  SSAN  on  his  DD  Form  214,  was  an
administrative error that has been corrected.  In addition, the  applicant's
records have been  corrected  to  reflect  award  of  the  National  Defense
Service Medal.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPAP states that although they would like to  support  the  applicant's
claim,  there  is  no  definitive  documentation  to  validate  his   claim.
However, there are two  comments  in  his  record  that  allude  to  TDY  to
Southeast Asia (SEA).  An Airman Performance Report (APR) closing 1  Dec  64
contains a statement which states "his ability to  work  with  others  under
adverse conditions has caused him to be chosen for many deployments"  and  a
medical report states that he lost approximately 20  pounds  while  in  SEA.
He mentioned his commander at the time in his  application,  DPAP  contacted
his commander, but his memory of that period was very  vague  and  he  could
not remember the applicant.  The DPAP evaluation is at Exhibit C.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant responded and states that record keeping during the time frame  in
question was not much to speak for.  The APR mentioned is in  conflict  with
a letter of support that he provided from his former flight chief.   As  far
as he can recall, a crew chief was always chosen for  any  given  deployment
based on his reliability to accomplish any assigned task  in  minimal  time,
under adverse conditions, and with minimal waste of manpower  and  material.
The section an individual was assigned to during any  given  deployment  did
not matter.  The main thing was that a crew chief must possess and have  the
ability to coordinate the various specialists to get the aircraft in  flying
status.

In  support  of  his  request,  applicant  provided  additional  copies   of
documents previously submitted, a personal statement, a statement  from  his
former flight chief, and TDY travel orders.  His complete  submission,  with
attachments, is at Exhibit E.

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ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPR states that there is no indication in his  records  that  he  was
TDY for 30 consecutive of  60  nonconsecutive  days  to  Vietnam,  Thailand,
Laos, or Cambodia during his enlistment periods, and he did not provide  any
documentation to  substantiate  his  claim.   The  DPPPR  evaluation  is  at
Exhibit F.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy  of  the  additional  Air  Force  evaluation  was  forwarded  to  the
applicant on 10 Jan 03 for review and comment within 30 days.   As  of  this
date, this office has received no response.

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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 error or injustice.  The applicant requests that  his  DD  Form
214 be corrected to show that he served temporary duty tours in Vietnam  and
Thailand.  However, the DD Form 214 does not contain an area  that  is  used
for annotating temporary or permanent duty locations  as  requested  by  the
applicant.  The only means in which we would be able to show that he  served
in Vietnam or Thailand is if he  were  awarded  the  Vietnam  Service  Medal
(VSM).  Criteria for award of the VSM requires that the individual serve  on
temporary duty for 30 consecutive or 60  nonconsecutive  days.   Those  time
requirements are waiverable if the individual  is  participating  in  actual
combat operations.  We thoroughly reviewed the  applicant's  submission  and
the available evidence of record, to include research of the  --th  Tactical
Fighter Wing's history files, and do  not  find  conclusive  evidence  which
would lead us to believe that he meets the requirements  for  award  of  the
VSM.  Accordingly, we agree with the opinion and recommendation of  the  Air
Force office of primary responsibility and  adopt  their  rationale  as  the
basis for our conclusion that the applicant has not been the  victim  of  an
error  or  injustice.   We  are  not  unmindful  or  unappreciative  of  the
applicant's service to this Nation.  In view of the above  finding,  we  are
unable to find any basis upon which to recommend granting the relief  sought
in this application.

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THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified that the evidence presented  did  not  demonstrate
the existence of 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.

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The following members of the Board  considered  Docket  Number  02-01279  in
Executive Session on 12 Mar 02, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Michael K. Gallogly, Panel Chair
      Mr. Gregory A. Parker, Member
      Ms. Brenda L. Romine, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 10 Apr 02, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Available Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPAP, dated 16 Sep 02.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated  .
    Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 26 Oct 02.
    Exhibit F.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPR, dated 23 Dec 02.
    Exhibit G.  Letter, SAF.MRBR, dated




                                   MICHAEL K. GALLOGLY
                                   Panel Chair