RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-03600 

COUNSEL: NONE 

 HEARING DESIRED: NO 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

He be awarded the Prisoner of War (POW) Medal and his DD Form 
214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, be 
corrected to reflect the POW Medal. 

 

_______________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

He and his fellow C-130 aircraft crew were detained by the 
Sudanese People’s Armed Forces (SPAF) and Government of Sudan 
(GoS) National Intelligence Security Services (NISS) agents on 
28 November 2006 for approximately four hours. 

 

In support of his application, the applicant submits copies of 
his DD Form 214, a Report of Casualty, Air Force Achievement 
Medal (AFAM) award documentation, duty information documents, an 
Air Force Times article, excerpt of Title 10, United States Code 
(USC), Chapter 57 – Decorations and Awards. 

 

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

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

The applicant is a former member of the Regular Air Force who 
served on active duty from 21 July 1999 to 4 August 2010. He was 
progressively promoted to the grade of senior airman (E-4) 
effective 31 March 2009. 

 

On 28 November 2006, at approximately 1600 local, the crew of a 
USAF HC-130, radio call sign PAT 332, experienced a Peacetime 
Governmental Detention (PGD) situation lasting approximately four 
hours. The PGD took place at Al Fashir Regional Airport in 
Dafur, Sudan. The applicant’s aircraft was detained by the SPAF 
and GoS NISS agents. The aircraft was allowed to depart four 
hours later. 

 

The applicant was released from active duty effective 4 August 
2010 with a general (under honorable conditions) and a narrative 
reason for separation as “Misconduct (Drug Abuse)”. He served 11 
years and 14 days on active duty. 

_________________________________________________________________ 


 

AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

AFPC/DPWC recommends denial of the applicant’s request for POW 
status. DPWC states that Department of Defense (DoD) Publication 
1-02 (as amended through 22 March 2007) (Attachment 1) defines 
“prisoner of war” as a detained person as defined by Articles 4 
and 5 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of 
Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949. In particular, “one who, 
while engaged in combat under orders of his or her government, is 
captured by the armed forces of the enemy.” In contrast, 
“detainee” is defined as “a person held in custody especially for 
political reasons.” Although Joint Publication 1-02 definitions 
are not necessarily intended to be statements of policy, the 
definitions nonetheless are consistent with the language of the 
1919 Geneva Prisoner of War Convention and other law-of-war 
treaties. 

 

DPWC states that awarding POW status to detainees of this 
incident requires the Secretary of the Air Force to determine 
that Sudanese officials were acting on behalf of a foreign armed 
force hostile to the United States in accordance with DoD 
1348.33M, paragraph C6.2 and Title 10, USC, Section 1128(a)(4) 
(attachments 4 and 5 respectively). However, their office defers 
to AFPC/DPSIDR to determine, based on their criteria, whether 
award of the POW Medal is warranted. 

 

The complete DPWC evaluation is at Exhibit B. 

 

AFPC/DPSIDR recommends denial. DPSIDR indicates they were unable 
to verify the applicant’s entitlement of the POW Medal. 

 

DPSIDR states the POW Medal is awarded to any person who was 
taken prisoner or held captive while engaged in an action against 
an enemy of the United States; while engaged in military 
operations involving conflict with an opposing armed force; or 
while serving with friendly forces engaged in armed conflict 
against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not 
a belligerent party. The member’s conduct, while in captivity, 
must have been honorable. This medal may be awarded posthumously 
to the surviving next of kin of the recipient. 

 

The complete DPSIDR evaluation is at Exhibit C. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

He would argue that Sudan is neither an ally nor neutral to the 
United States. Even the Department of State website on US – 
Sudan relations states that, “Sudan remains on the state sponsors 
of terrorism list.” The way the Air Force and his deployed 
command handled this situation is borderline criminal. The 
situation was not reported to the proper authorities or in a 
timely manner. He does not care if it was one minute, eight 


hours, or eight years; he was held against his will by an armed 
force. He was accused of espionage and was told that the guilty 
sentence for the charge was death. He was unable to leave on his 
own free will and return to friendly territory. If it wasn’t for 
the calmness under pressure that day, his widow might be writing 
the Board requesting that his records reflect a Purple Heart, 
instead of his request for what he has earned. He is not 
comparing his situation to those that our troops went through in 
World War II or Vietnam. However, he had to leave the Air Force 
for issues dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder related to 
this event. He’s still learning how this affects his health and 
well being. If he had POW status with the Department of Veteran 
Affairs, it would provide him with the health care he most 
definitely will require in the coming years. 

 

The applicant’s complete rebuttal, with attachments, is at 
Exhibit E. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

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 reviewing 
the evidence of record and the applicant’s submission, we found 
no evidence to indicate the individual is eligible for award of 
the POW Medal. 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. Accordingly, we find no basis to favorably 
consider this application. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

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 AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2010-03600 in Executive Session on 7 July 2011, under 
the provisions of AFI 36-2603: 


 

 , Panel Chair 

 , Member 

 , Member 

 

The following documentary evidence was considered in connection 
with AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2010-03600: 

 

 Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 27 Sep 10, w/atchs. 

 Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPWC, dated 26 Oct 10. 

 Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSIDR, dated 7 Dec 10. 

 Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 23 Dec 10. 

 Exhibit E. Letter, Applicant, dated 11 Jan 11, w/atchs. 

 

 

 

 

Panel Chair