AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

 
DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2011-05085 
COUNSEL:  NONE 
HEARING DESIRED: NO 

IN THE MATTER OF: 
   
   
 
    
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 
 
His DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active 
Duty, be corrected to reflect the following awards: 
 
  a. The Air Force Commendation Medal (AFCM) – Administratively 
corrected. 
 
  b. The Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOT-E). 
 
  c.  The  Global  War  on  Terrorism  Service  Medal  (GWOT-S)  – 
Administratively corrected. 
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 
 
He was awarded the AFCM after he separated from the Air Force.  
The GWOT awards had not been implemented by the Air Force prior 
to his separation; however, since that time the criteria has been 
published and he qualifies for the awards for his deployments in 
support of Operations SOUTHERN WATCH, ENDURING FREEDOM, and IRAQI 
FREEDOM in Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, respectively. 
 
In support of his request, the applicant provides a copy of his 
citation  and  a  copy  of  his  AF  Form  77,  Supplemental  Evaluation 
Sheet,  
 
His complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.  
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
STATEMENT OF FACTS: 
 
The  applicant  served  in  the  Regular  Air  Force  in  the  grade  of 
staff  sergeant  (E-5).    He  received  an  honorable  discharge  on 
20 Aug  04  after  serving  9  years,  4  month,  and  1  day  on  active 
duty. 
 
 
AFPC/DPSIDR  verified  the  applicant’s  entitlement  to  the  AFCM, 
GWOT-S,  and  Air  Force  Expeditionary  Service  Ribbon  with  Gold 
Border and one Oak Leaf Cluster (AFESR w/GB & 1 OLC). 
 
 

 
The  GWOT-E  criteria:    Is  awarded  to  Air  Force  Active  Duty, 
Reserve,  and  Guard  personnel  who  have  deployed  abroad  to  the 
areas of eligibility (AOE) to include Iraq, on or after 11 Sep 01 
for service in Operations ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF) or IRAQI FREEDOM 
(OIF) and meet one of the following: 
 
  1. Assigned, attached or mobilized to a unit participating in 
OEF/OIF and serving for 30 consecutive days or 50 non-consecutive 
days. 
 
  2.  Be  engaged  in  actual  combat  against  the  enemy  and  under 
circumstances involving grave danger or death or serious bodily 
injury from enemy action, regardless of time served in OEF/OIF. 
 
  3. Killed wounded or injured requiring medical evaluation from 
OEF/OIF. 
 
  4.  Service  members  who,  as  a  regularly  assigned  crew  member 
flying  sorties  into,  out  of,  within  or  over  the  AOE  in  direct 
support  of  OEF/OIF,  are  eligible  to  qualify  for  award  of  the 
GWOT-E.  Each day that one or more sorties are flown shall count 
as one day toward the 30 or 60 day requirement.   
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 
 
AFPC/DPSIDRA  recommends  awarding  the  applicant  the  GWOT-E  and 
removing the AFEM from his records.  After a thorough review of 
the  applicant’s  records  and  the  Military  Personnel  Data  System 
(MilPDS) DPSIDRA was able to confirm that the applicant received 
the  Air  Force  Expeditionary  Medal  (AFEM)  for  a  deployment  from 
22 Sep 01 to 18 Mar 02; however, in accordance with 8106 Message, 
the  applicant  should  have  received  the  GWOT-E  and  the  AFESR 
w/Gold Border (AFESR w/GB) for this deployment in support of OEF 
and not the AFEM.   
 
The applicant deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, 
from  30  Jan  to  1  Aug  03  in  direct  support  of  OIF.    It  appears 
since  the  applicant  received  the  incorrect  award  for  his  first 
deployment, he should only be entitled to one OLC to the AFESR 
w/BG for this deployment.   
 
DPSIDR was unable to verify the applicant’s deployment to Qatar 
and Oman.  Furthermore, the applicant would only be entitled to 
the basic award of the GWOT-E had he also deployed non-concurrent 
or non-consecutively to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman.  Only one 
award  of  the  GWOT-E  is  authorized  for  serving  in  OEF/OIF, 
regardless  of  how  many  times  an  individual  returns  to  serve  in 
OEF/OIF. 
 
The complete DPSIDRA evaluation is at Exhibit B. 
 

 

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_________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 
 
A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant 
on 20 Mar 12 for review and comment within 30 days.  As of this 
date, this office has received no response. 
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
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.  Sufficient  relevant  evidence  has  been  presented  to 
demonstrate  the  existence  of  error  or  injustice  that  warrants 
corrective  action.    We  note  the  applicant’s  record  will  be 
administratively corrected to reflect award of the AFCM and the 
GWOT-S.    Regarding  his  request  for  award  of  the  GWOT-E,  the 
evidence  of  record  substantiates  the  applicant  deployed  to  the 
area of responsibility in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM 
which  authorizes  him  entitlement  to  the  award  of  the  GWOT-E.  
Accordingly, we recommend the applicant’s records be corrected as 
indicated below. 
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: 
 
The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force 
relating  to  APPLICANT  be  corrected  to  reflect  that  Item  13, 
Decorations,  Medals,  Badges,  Commendations,  Citations,  and 
Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized, of the DD Form 214, Armed 
Forces  of  the  United  States  Report  of  Transfer  or  Discharge, 
issued  in  conjunction  with  his  30  August  2004  completion  of 
required  service,  be  amended  to  include  the  Global  War  on 
Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOT-E).   
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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The  following  members  of  the  Board  considered  AFBCMR  Docket 
Number BC-2011-05085 in Executive Session on 30 Aug 12, under the 
provisions of AFI 36-2603: 
 

  Panel Chair 
  Member 
  Member 

 
All  members  voted  to  correct  the  records,  as  recommended.    The 
following documentary evidence was considered: 
 
    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 19 Dec 11, w/atchs. 
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records. 
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPSIDR, dated 14 Feb 12. 
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 20 Mar 12. 
 
 
 
 
                                    
                                   Panel Chair 
 
 
 

 

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