RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2008-00154
            INDEX CODE:  107.00
            COUNSEL:  NOT INDICATED

            HEARING DESIRED:  YES

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

1.  Block 12b of his DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or  Discharge
from Active Duty, be corrected to reflect 10 Sep 90 rather than 9  Jul
90.

2.  His records be corrected to show his entitlement to  the  National
Defense Service Medal (NDSM), the Kuwait Liberation Medal  Kingdom  of
Saudi Arabia (KLM-SA), and the Kuwait Liberation Medal  Government  of
Kuwait (KLM-K).

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

His discharge date does not reflect the  time  he  spent  on  terminal
leave prior to his separation.  His discharge date should be corrected
which would entitle him to the NDSM, the KLM-SA, and the KLM-K medals.

In support of his request, the applicant submits a copy of his DD Form
214, and a copy of DD Form 215, Correction to DD Form 214, Certificate
of Release or Discharge from Active Duty.

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

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 28 Feb 79, and  was
progressively promoted to the grade of master sergeant.  His  DD  214,
issued upon his separation reflects a  Date  of  Separation  (DOS)  of
9 Jul 90, and that he served a total of  11 years,  6 months,  and  12
days active duty service.

His DD 214 also reflects award of the Air  Force  Commendation  Medal,
the Air Force Achievement Medal and the Air Force Good Conduct  Medal,
with two Oak Leaf Clusters.

On 17 Jan 07, his records were administratively corrected  to  reflect
award of the Meritorious Service Medal.

The NDSM is awarded for honorable active military service as a  member
of the Armed Forces of the United States including  the  Coast  Guard,
between 27 Jun 50 and 27 Jul 54 (Korean War Period), between 1 Jan  61
and 14 Aug 74 (Vietnam War Period), between  2 Aug  90  to  30 Nov  95
(Operation DESERT SHIELD/STORM Period), and currently from 11  Sep  01
in support of the Global War on Terrorism.

The KLM-SA is awarded to U.S. military personnel who served in support
of Operations DESERT STORM between 17 Jan 91 and 28 Feb 91, in one  or
more of the following areas: the Persian Gulf; Red Sea; Gulf of  Oman;
that portion of the Arabian Sea that lies North of  10  degrees  North
latitude and West of 68 degrees East longitude; Gulf of Aden; or,  the
total land areas of Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain,  Qatar,
and United Arab Emirates.

The KLM-K is awarded to U.S. military personnel  who  have  served  in
support of Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM between 2 Aug  90
and 31 Aug 93.  They had to be in one of more of the following  areas:
the Persian Gulf; Red Sea; Gulf of Oman; that portion of  the  Arabian
Sea that lies North of 10  degrees  North  latitude  and  West  of  68
degrees East longitude; Gulf of Aden; or,  the  total  land  areas  of
Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman,  Bahrain,  Qatar,  and  United  Arab
Emirates.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPSIDR recommends denial of his request for the cited decorations
and indicates they were unable  to  verify  he  was  in  the  area  of
eligibility in support of operation DESERT  SHIELD/STORM.   No  source
documents were  located  within  the  applicant’s  military  personnel
record, nor did he provide documents to substantiate this  portion  of
his requests.

The AFPC/DPSIDR evaluation is at Exhibit C.

AFPC/DPSIMC recommends denial of his request to change his DD Form 214
to indicate a date of separation  of  10  Sep  90  and  indicates  the
finance system cannot confirm he took  terminal  leave  prior  to  his
separation from the Air Force.  He was asked to provide  documentation
to support his claim, but to date no further  documentation  has  been
received to support his request.

The AFPC/DPSIMC evaluation is at Exhibit D.

AFPC/DPSOS also recommends denial of his request to change his DD Form
214 to indicate a DOS of 10 Sep 90 and states, in part,  that  he  did
not submit any evidence or identify errors or injustices that occurred
in his discharge processing.   He  did  not  submit  documentation  to
substantiate an error in his separation date.

AF Form 100, Request and Authorization for Separation,  indicates  his
Term of Enlistment was 9 Jul 90, which  is  consistent  with  the  DOS
recorded on his DD Form 214.

Therefore, his DOS, as reflected  on  his  DD  Form  214  is  correct.
However, item 12c of his DD Form 214 should be  corrected  to  reflect
11 years, 4 months, and 12 days.

The AFPC/DPSOS evaluation, with attachment, is at Exhibit E.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The DD Form 214 he submitted clearly substantiates his claim.  The Air
Force was unable to locate  documentation  relating  to  his  terminal
leave, and it is an unfair burden to expect that  he  would  retain  a
copy of  an  18  year  old  leave  request.   He  disagrees  with  the
recommendation to reduce the time he served in the military.  The  Air
Force cannot  arbitrarily  or  capriciously  alter  his  records.   He
separated from the Air Force after going on terminal leave.

The applicant’s complete response, with attachments, is at Exhibit G.

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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 evidence of record does  not
support the applicant’s contention that an error or injustice occurred
in regard to his DOS, and he has not provided  official  documentation
to the contrary or to substantiate his claim.  Although he contends it
is an unfair burden to expect him to produce supporting  documentation
of his terminal leave and  other  documentation  to  substantiate  his
claim, it is his burden to establish the existence of an error  or  an
injustice in his record.  It is he that chose to wait over 18 years to
request correction of his records, well after his finance records have
been destroyed in accordance with established procedures.   While  the
applicant   believes   the   recommended   administrative   correction
substantiates that his DOS was actually 10  Sep  90,  the  recommended
administrative correction to his records is based on his DOS of 9  Jul
90.  Further, the special order authorizing his  separation  indicates
an effective date of 9 Jul 90.  With respect to his requests  for  the
cited awards, we find no evidence to  establish  his  eligibility  for
these awards.  The Board notes that item 12c of his DD Form  214  will
be administratively corrected to reflect 11 years,  4  months  and  12
days, rather than 11 years, 6 months and 12 days, based on the obvious
computation error in totaling his active  service  during  the  period
from 28 February 1979 through 9 July 1990.  Therefore, in the  absence
of evidence to the contrary, we find no compelling basis to  recommend
granting the relief sought in this application.

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.

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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.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered Docket  Number  BC-2008-
00154 in Executive Session on 16 Dec 08, under the provisions  of  AFI
36-2603:

                 Ms. Charlene M. Bradley, Panel Chair
                 Mr. Alan A. Blomgren, Member
                 Mr. Elwood C. Lewis III, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

      Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 18 Dec 07, w/atchs.
      Exhibit B. Applicant’s Master Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSIDR, dated 6 Mar 08.
      Exhibit D. Letter, AFPC/DPSIMC, dated 27 May 08.
      Exhibit E. Letter, AFPC/DPSOS, dated 3 Sep 08, w/atch.
      Exhibit F. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 26 Sep 08.
      Exhibit G. Letter, Applicant, dated 25 Oct 08.




      CHARLENE M. BRADLEY
      Panel Chair