RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2006-03866
                                     INDEX CODE:  107.00, 110.00, 131.09;
                                     108.07
      XXXXXXX    COUNSEL:  NONE
            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  23 JUNE 2008

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

1.  He be awarded the Bronze Star Medal, first oak leaf cluster (1OLC),  the
Air Force Commendation Medal (AFCM), (2OLC), and the AFCM (3OLC).

2.  Block 23a of his DD Form 214, Armed Forces of the United  States  Report
of Transfer or Discharge be changed to reflect Structural Superintendent.

3.  He be administratively promoted to senior master  sergeant  (SMSgt)  and
chief master sergeant (CMSgt).

4.  His service-connected medical condition of  Impaired  Hearing,  Tinnitus
and Hypertension, be assessed as combat-related  in  order  to  qualify  for
compensation under the Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) Act.

5.  His Foreign Service time be changed from three years to eight years.

6.  His Good Conduct Medal (GCM) show six oak leaf  clusters  (OLC)  instead
of four.
________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was awarded the AFCM (3OLC) in April or May  1973  by  the  4392nd  Civil
Engineering Squadron (SAC) Vandenberg AFB, for his retirement.

His Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) 55270 is listed as a site developer  and
should  have  been  a  senior  woodworker  serving  in  the  capacity  of  a
structural superintendent in civil engineering not  a  site  developer.   He
was also advised the AFSC listed on his DD Form  214  is  not  eligible  for
CRSC.

In support of his request, the applicant provided two personal letters,  his
DD Form 214, retirement order, decorations, a letter  of  appreciation,  and
his promotion score notice.

His complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant served in the Regular Air Force from 10 November 1951  through  31
May 1973.  He was progressively promoted to the  grade  of  Master  Sergeant
(MSgt), having assumed that grade effective and with a date  of  rank  of  1
May 1969.  He voluntarily retired from the Air Force on 1 June 1973,  having
served 21 years, 6 months and 21 days on active duty.

Available Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) records  reflect  a  combined
compensable rating of 100% for his service-connected conditions of  Impaired
Hearing, Hypertension, Tinnitus and Migraine Headaches.

His CRSC application was disapproved 29 March 2004 because no  evidence  was
submitted to confirm his conditions were due  to  combat-related  events  or
injuries.  He appealed the board’s decision, which was again disapproved  on
18 August 2006 because no new evidence was provided  to  confirm  a  combat-
related origin for his disabilities.

AFPC has verified entitlement to the BSM (1OLC), AFCM (2OLC), and  corrected
his records to reflect these awards; and has corrected block 23a to  reflect
Structural Technician.  In addition, his  foreign  service  of  8  years,  6
months and 16 days  has  been  accounted  for  on  his  DD  Form  214.   The
applicant was notified of this 30 July 2007.

The AFCM is awarded to members of the Armed  Forces  of  the  United  States
who, while serving in any capacity with the Air Force after 24  March  1958,
shall have distinguished themselves by meritorious achievement and  service.
The degree of merit must be distinctive, though it need not be unique.  Acts
of courage which do not involve the voluntary risk of life required for  the
Soldier's Medal (or the Airman's Medal now authorized  for  the  Air  Force)
may be considered for the AFCM.

________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPR recommends denial.  DPPPR states after a through  review  of  the
applicant’s  record  and   documents   provided,   they   did   not   locate
documentation awarding  the  AFCM  (3OLC)  such  as  special  orders,  or  a
recommendation.   In   addition,   the   applicant   did   not   provide   a
recommendation or special order with his request.

The complete DPPPR evaluation is at Exhibit C.

AFPC/DPPPWB recommends denial.  DPPPWB states the application has  not  been
filed within the three-year time limitation  imposed  by  AFI  36-2603,  Air
Force Board for Correction of Military Records  (AFBCMR).   In  addition  to
being untimely under the statue of limitations,  the  request  may  also  be
dismissed under the equitable doctrine of laches,  which  denies  relief  to
one who has unreasonable and inexcusably delayed asserting a claim.   Laches
consists of two elements:  Inexcusable delay and prejudice to the Air  Force
resulting there from.  In the applicant’s  case,  he  waited  more  than  33
years after retirement to petition the AFBCMR.  This unreasonable delay  has
also caused prejudice to  the  Air  Force  as  relevant  records  have  been
destroyed or are no longer available, memories have failed and  witness  are
unavailable.  To be considered for promotion to SMSgt,  an  individual  must
have 24 months time-in-grade, posses a 7-skill level in  their  Primary  Air
Force  Specialty  Code  (PAFSC),  receive  a  passing  score  on  the   USAF
Supervisory Exam (USAFSE), and be recommended by the commander.  These  were
the minimum eligibility requirements  to  be  considered  by  the  promotion
board but in no way ensured or guaranteed a promotion.  DPPPWB's  review  of
the applicant’s record reveals no promotion orders to indicate he  was  ever
promoted  to  the  grade  of  SMSgt.   Promotion  history  files  are   only
maintained for a period of  10  years  as  outlined  in  AFR  4-20,  Records
Disposition Schedule; therefore, DPPPWB is unable to determine  the  results
of his promotion  consideration.   Ten  years  is  generally  considered  an
adequate period to resolve any promotion  inquiries  or  concerns.   Current
Air Force policy does not allow for automatic promotion as the applicant  is
requesting, therefore, DPPPWB recommends the request be time barred.

The complete DPPPWB evaluation is at Exhibit E.

AFPC/DPPD recommends denial.  DPPD provides  a  review  of  the  applicant’s
medical records and states in order for these disabilities to be  considered
combat-related, there must be objective documentary evidence the  disability
is the direct result of a combat event or  events  or  performance  of  duty
simulating war or caused by hazardous service or an instrumentality of  war.
 In order for Hypertension to qualify for CRSC,  it  must  be  secondary  to
Diabetes  Mellitus   contracted   following   exposure   to   Agent   Orange
(herbicides) or presumptive to Prisoner of War  (POW)  internment  and  this
must be stated so in the applicable DVA Rating Decision letter.  DPPD  finds
no evidence to show the applicant was diagnosed with  Diabetes  Mellitus  or
that he was ever interned as a POW.  The  applicant  believes  his  Impaired
Hearing and Tinnitus were caused by the noise exposure he experienced  while
performing duties as a senior  woodworker.   He  believes  the  exposure  he
endured while performing on the Red Horse construction team  should  qualify
him for CRSC.  The CRSC Board  reviewed  the  evidence  submitted  with  his
application;  however,  they  were  unable  to  justify  approval.  Impaired
Hearing cannot be considered  combat-related  unless  these  conditions  are
incidental to a  combat-related  event  or  due  to  documented,  continual,
extensive exposure to combat-related noises and the  conditions  were  shown
to have manifested while in service.   Therefore,  evidentiary  requirements
for granting CRSC for Impaired Hearing and Tinnitus vary  by  career  field.
Certain specialist, such as aircrew members  and  aircraft  maintainers  who
are exposed to combat-related noise on a day-to-day basis, are  required  to
show in-service hearing loss to be granted CRSC.  Other specialties  without
the   routine,   prolonged   combat-related   noise   exposure,   such    as
administrative,  civil  engineering,  communications,  and  so  forth,   are
required to show evidence of a combat-related acoustic trauma.   Woodworkers
performed a variety of activities away from the  flight  line.   Several  of
the applicant’s performance reports showed assigned tasks dealing  with  the
maintenance of base housing facilities and other structures not  located  on
the flight line.  Since his specialty did not have the  day-to-day  exposure
to combat-related noise, to grant CRSC  to  the  applicant,  there  must  be
evidence of acoustic trauma (such as medical excerpts  from  his  period  of
service indicating these conditions were due to the  concussion  of  a  bomb
blast, and so forth).  Without  such  documentation,  DPPD  cannot  consider
these conditions  for  CRSC.   Although  his  conditions  have  been  deemed
service-connected by the DVA, their standard is  to  resolve  doubt  in  the
interest of the  veteran  and  grant  service  connection  for  injuries  or
disease incurred while in-service.  Simply being assigned in a combat  area,
being in an exercise environment, or even performing hazardous service  does
not automatically qualify an  individual  for  CRSC.   DPPD  looks  at  what
caused the injury or condition, the activities taking  place  at  the  time,
and resulting disability.  As such, many  disabilities  are  ineligible  for
compensation under this  program  per  the  Department  of  Defense  Program
Guidance.   His  conditions  do  not  meet  the   mandatory   criteria   for
compensation under the CRSC program.

The complete DPPD evaluation is at Exhibit F.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant responded stating his request to  be  promoted  is  not  based
solely on his test score but his overall record of military  accomplishments
that he believes were omitted placing his at a  disadvantage.   He  believes
his application should not be considered untimely  because  he  was  unaware
his DD Form 214 was incorrect until he received a letter  from  HQ  AFPC  in
Aug 06.   Although he  did  not  specify  a  CRSC  incident,  he  was  under
constant and continuous exposure to such noise that resulted in his  hearing
loss which was detected immediately upon his return  from  Vietnam  in  1969
and continues to this day.

His complete response is at Exhibit H.

________________________________________________________________

ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPR recommends denial.  DPPPR states after a thorough review  of  the
applicant's record, all of his DD Forms 214 reflect a  total  of  nine  GCMs
awarded to him for his 21 years of military service.

The complete DPPPR evaluation is at Exhibit I.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S ADDITIONAL REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 15  Aug
2007 for review and comment within 30 days.  As of this  date,  this  office
has received no response (Exhibit J).

________________________________________________________________

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 corrective action other than that which  has
been  accomplished  administratively.   After  a  thorough  review  of   the
available evidence and the  applicant’s  complete  submission,  we  find  no
evidence that he was awarded  the  AFCM  3OLC.   Nor  do  we  find  evidence
showing that his records should be corrected to show he was promoted to  any
grade higher than that  currently  reflected.   The  available  evidence  of
record does  not  support  a  finding  that  the  service-connected  medical
condition the applicant believes  is  combat-related  was  incurred  as  the
direct result of armed conflict, while engaged in hazardous service, in  the
performance  of  duty  under  conditions  simulating  war,  or  through   an
instrumentality of war; and, therefore, does not  qualify  for  compensation
under  the  CRSC  Act.   Therefore,  we  agree   with   the   opinions   and
recommendations of the Air  Force  offices  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.   In  the  absence  of
evidence to the contrary, we find no compelling basis to recommend  granting
the relief sought in  this  application  other  than  that  which  has  been
administratively corrected

________________________________________________________________

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 2 November 2007, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                       Mr. Thomas S. Markiewicz, Chair
                       Mr. Michael V. Barbino, Member
                       Mr. Alan A. Blomgren, Member

The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR  Docket  Number  BC-
2006-03866 was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 14 December 2006, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPR, dated 27 February 2007.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPPAC, dated 15 March 2007.
    Exhibit E   Letter, AFPC/DPPPWB, dated 13 April 2007.
    Exhibit F.  Letter, AFPC/DPPD, dated 18 April 2007.
    Exhibit G.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 18 May 2007.
    Exhibit H.  Letter, Applicant, dated 14 June 2007, w/atchs.
    Exhibit I.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPR, dated 24 July 2007.
    Exhibit J.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 15 August 2007.




                                   THOMAS S. MARKIEWICZ
                                   Chair