RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  02-03355
            INDEX CODE:  107.00

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  YES


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His records be corrected to reflect award of  the  Air  Force  Good  Conduct
Medal.

The applicant’s request that his DD Form 214 be corrected to  reflect  award
of  two  bronze  service  stars  for  the  Vietnam  Service  Medal  will  be
administratively corrected.  Hence, no Board  action  is  required  on  this
portion of the applicant’s request.
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The Air Force Good Conduct Medal was not shown on his DD Form 214 or 215.

In support of his request, applicant submits statements copies of  a  letter
from  HQ  AFPC/DPPPRA  and  NA  Forms  13059.   The   applicant’s   complete
submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.
_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant contracted his enlistment in the Regular Air  Force  on  6 Jul  66
for a period of 4 years.  He was been progressively promoted  to  the  grade
of airman first class, with an effective date and date of rank of 1 May  67.
 The following is a resume of his Airman Performance  Report  (APR)  ratings
subsequent to his promotion to that grade (oldest to  most  recent):   7,  6
and 8.

A Classification  Board,  convened  on  12  Nov  68,  recommended  that  the
applicant be removed from On-the-Job Training (OJT) for Air Force  Specialty
Code (AFSC) 43151A and retained in his current AFSC of  43131A  due  to  his
lack of ability to progress at that time.

On 2 Jul  70,  the  applicant  was  released  from  active  duty  under  the
provisions of AFR 39-10 (Expiration of Term  of  Active  Obligated  Service)
and transferred to the Air Force Reserve.  He had completed  a  total  of  3
years, 11 months and 27 days and was serving in the grade  of  airman  first
class (E-3) at the time of separation.  On 4 Feb 76, he  was  relieved  from
his  Nonaffiliated  Reserve  Section   (NARS)   assignment   and   honorably
discharged from the Air Force Reserve.
_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPPR recommends the applicant’s request for award of the Air  Force
Good Conduct Medal be denied.  DPPPR stated that  the  applicant  served  on
active duty during the period 6 Jul 66-2 Jul 70, with an  overseas  tour  in
Vietnam during the period 27 Feb-30 Jan 69.  The  applicant’s  DD  Form  214
reflects award of the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service  Medal
and the Republic of  Vietnam  Campaign  Medal.   In  response  to  his  1997
request, the applicant records were reviewed and a DD Form 215  was  issued,
on 5 Feb 98, adding the Presidential Unit Citation with 1 Oak Leaf  Cluster,
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with V  device,  and  Republic  of  Vietnam
Gallantry Cross with Palm.  The two bronze stars  for  the  Vietnam  Service
Medal were inadvertently omitted; however, they  will  be  added  after  the
Board makes a determination regarding the  Air  Force  Good  Conduct  Medal.
DPPPR indicated that the applicant was notified on 14 Apr  98  that  he  was
not eligible for the Air Force Good Conduct Medal since  his  commander  had
not  recommended  him.   Without   documentation   showing   his   commander
recommended him for award of the Air Force  Good  Conduct  Medal,  DPPPR  is
unable to verify the applicant’s eligibility for the award.  The absence  of
a letter of denial does  not  apply  since  the  commander  had  to  make  a
positive recommendation for the award  at  that  time.   The  HQ  AFPC/DPPPR
evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit C.
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the  Air  Force  evaluation  was  forwarded  to  applicant  on  15
November 2002 for review and response.  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.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence of error or injustice regarding the Air Force Good  Conduct  Medal
(AFGCM).  We took notice of the applicant's complete submission  in  judging
the  merits  of  the  case.   However,  we  agree  with  the   opinion   and
recommendation of the Air Force office of primary responsibility  and  adopt
the rationale expressed as the basis for our  decision  that  the  applicant
has failed to sustain his burden that he has suffered either an error or  an
injustice.   In  this  respect,  the  applicant  has   failed   to   provide
documentation showing that a recommendation containing his  name  for  award
of the AFGCM was placed into official  military  channels  or  that  such  a
recommendation was lost.  As to the applicant’s request  for  award  of  two
bronze service stars for the Vietnam  Service  Medal,  no  Board  action  is
required on this portion  of  the  applicant’s  request  since  it  will  be
administratively corrected.  In view of the above  and  absent  evidence  to
the contrary, we find no compelling  basis  to  recommend  approval  of  the
applicant’s request for award of the AFGCM.

4.  The applicant's case is adequately documented and it has not been  shown
that a personal appearance with or without counsel will  materially  add  to
our understanding of the issue(s) involved.  Therefore, the  request  for  a
hearing is not favorably considered.
_________________________________________________________________

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.
_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered this application in  Executive
Session on 9 January 2003, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                  Mr. Wayne R. Gracie, Panel Chair
                  Mr. Grover L. Dunn, Member
                  Mr. Thomas J. Topolski Jr., Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 15 Oct 02, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPPR, dated 7 Nov 02, w/atchs.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 15 Nov 02.




                                   WAYNE R. GRACIE
                                   Panel Chair