RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:				DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2008-00162
      INDEX CODE:  107.00
	XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX				COUNSEL: NO

								HEARING DESIRED:  NO

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

His DD Form 214, Armed Forces of the United States Report of 
Transfer or Discharge, be corrected to reflect his service in 
Vietnam.  
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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) for the 
time he served, 1 November 1961 through 7 July 1965, in Saigon 
with the XXXXX Air Police Squadron.  He is being denied service 
connection by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) for Agent 
Orange exposure while he was in Vietnam.  

In support of his appeal, the applicant has provided copies of 
his DD Form 214, an excerpt of his Air Force Form 7, Airmen 
Military Record, an excerpt of Air Force Pamphlet 900-2, and a 
letter from the Montana DVA office.  

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at 
Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 13 July 1961, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force 
at the age of 18 and was progressively promoted to the grade of 
airman second class (E-3) with a date of rank of 1 October 1962.  

The applicant was honorably discharged on 7 July 1965.  He 
served a total of 3 years, 11 months, and 25 days on active duty 
with 1 year, 3 months, and 23 days of foreign service.  

The applicant’s DD Form 214 reflects he was awarded the Air 
Force Outstanding Unit Award (AFOUA), Air Force Good Conduct 
Medal (AFGCM), and the AFEM.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPAPP recommends denial of the applicant’s request.  DPAPP 
states the applicant’s DD Form 214 does reflect his award of the 
AFEM, but there are no documents in his records that confirm any 
Vietnam service.  His records also reflect that he served an 
overseas tour from 10 March 1964 through 22 April 1965 in 
Okinawa, assigned to the XXXXX Air Police Squadron (APS), and 
then the XXXX APS when the XXXXX was deactivated.  Since the 
temporary duty (TDY) in question would have been served while he 
was already overseas, it would not affect the amount of Foreign 
Service reflected on his DD Form 214.  In addition, the actual 
overseas location is not an authorized entry for the DD Form 
214.  Since there was no documentation confirming his Vietnam 
service, DPAPP wrote him on 4 February 2008, requesting that he 
make one last check of his personal documents to see if he had 
anything that would verify his Vietnam service.  He responded on 
13 February 2008; however, he provided no documents of 
verification.  The Vietnam Service Medal (VSM) was created on 
8 July 1965.  Those members that served in Vietnam prior to that 
date received the AFEM.  Based on his award of the AFEM and the 
locations and time frames for which it had been awarded, it 
certainly appears that the applicant served in Vietnam, but this 
cannot be confirmed with 100% certainty nor can the location or 
the number of days served.  

The DPPPR evaluation is at Exhibit C.  

AFPC/DPSIDR recommends denial of the applicant’s request.  
DPSIDR states the AFEM is awarded to military personnel for 
operations approved by the Department of Defense or the Joint 
Staff.  To confirm entitlement to the AFEM, an applicant must 
provide a source document (travel voucher, TDY orders, etc.) to 
verify their participation in an operation approved for the 
AFEM.  

DPSIDR states that after a thorough review of the applicant’s 
record, they were unable to locate documents to verify he was 
deployed to Vietnam.  Additionally, the applicant did not 
provide documentation to substantiate his claim.  

The DPSIDR evaluation is at Exhibit D.  

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the applicant 
on 23 May 2008, for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibit E).  
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.  After a 
thorough review of the available records, we found no evidence 
that the applicant served in Vietnam.  We note he was awarded 
the AFEM; however, his records do not contain, nor has the 
applicant provided, any documentary evidence to substantiate his 
claim that the AFEM he received was awarded for time he served 
in Vietnam.  However, due to the unique situation of the 
applicant, we would be inclined to reconsider his request should 
he be able to provide any additional evidence to verify “boots 
on the ground,” including service medical records or eyewitness 
accounts of his service in Vietnam.  Without evidence to the 
contrary, we agree with the opinions and recommendations from 
the Air Force offices of primary responsibility that the 
applicant is not a victim of an error or injustice.  In view of 
the above, we find no basis to favorably consider 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 this application 
in Executive Session on 17 July 2008, under the provisions of 
AFI 36-2603:

      		XXXXXXXXXXXX, Panel Chair
      		XXXXXXXXXXXX, Member
			XXXXXXXXXXXX, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered in connection 
with AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2008-00162:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 29 Dec 07, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Letter, AFPC/DPAPP, dated 4 Feb 08.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPAPP, dated 29 Apr 08.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPSIDR, dated 13 May 08.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 23 May 08.




                                   XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
                                   Panel Chair