RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-04241
COUNSEL: NO
HEARING DESIRED: NO
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
His DD Form 214, Report of Separation from Active Duty, be
corrected to reflect his award of the Republic of Vietnam
Campaign Medal (RVNCM).
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
He is qualified for award of the RVNCM. He served from 15 June
1971 to 25 November 1971, in Thailand at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai
Air Force Base in Vietnam, as part of Operation COMBAT SKYSPOT in
direct support of B-52 combat missions in Vietnam. In addition,
he served from 15 March 1973 to 30 August 1973 in the Philippines
at Clark Air Base, as part of Operation BULLET SHOT in direct
support of B-52 combat missions in Vietnam. He has been awarded
the Vietnam Service Medal.
The applicants complete submission, with attachments, is at
Exhibit A.
_________________________________________________________________
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
The applicant is a former member of the Regular Air Force who
served as an Automatic Tracking Radar Repairman. He served at
Nakhon Phantom Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, from 15 June
1971 to 25 November 1971, for a total of five months and ten
days.
The applicant was honorably discharged effective 14 January 1974
in the grade of staff sergeant (E-5), after serving four years on
active duty. He served eleven months and six days of Foreign
Service.
_________________________________________________________________
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
AFPC/DPSID recommends denial. DPSID states that in accordance
with Department of Defense Manual (DoDM) 1348.33. the RVNCM is
awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who
between 1 March 1961 and 28 March 1973, served for six months in
South Vietnam during this period; or, served outside the
geographical limits of South Vietnam and contributed direct
combat support to the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces for an
aggregate of six months.
After a thorough review of the applicants military service
record, they found the applicant did not serve for six months in
the area of eligibility; therefore, he is ineligible for award of
the RVNCM. To grant the applicant relief would be contrary to
the eligibility criteria established by DoDM 1348.33.
The complete DPSID evaluation is at Exhibit C.
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
He disagrees with the findings and recommendation of the Air
Force office of primary responsibility. They did not consider
the time (15 March 1973 to 30 August 1973) that he served at
Clark Air Base, Philippines. During this period, he was assigned
to the Strategic Air Command, 1st Combat Evaluation Group
(1CEVG), B-52 Equipment Validation Site. This facility was
authorized and commissioned under Operation BULLET SHOT and
provided direct combat support to the Republic of Vietnam Armed
Forces. Their mission was to provide equipment validation and
Radar Bomb Scoring of United States Air Force B-52s en route from
Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, to Vietnam and other combat
locations in Southeast Asia.
The applicants complete rebuttal 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. We took notice
of the applicant's complete submission in judging the merits of
the case; however, we agree with the opinion and recommendation
of the Air Force office 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. We note the
applicants contentions that his time served with the 1CEVG at
Clark Air Force Base, Philippines (15 March 1973 30 August
1973), should be counted with the time he served at Nakhon Phanom
Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, in order to qualify for
award of the RVNCM; however, we find no evidence to confirm that
the 1CEVG, Clark Air Force Base, Philippines, contributed direct
combat support to the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces during the
qualifying timeframe. Nonetheless, the period of qualification
for award of the RVNCM was 1 March 1961 to 28 March 1973. Since
the applicant began serving in the Philippines effective 15 March
1973, his accumulative time serving in direct combat support is 5
months and 10 days in Thailand and 14 days in Philippines, which
still does not meet the six-month requirement for award of the
RVNCM. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we
find no basis to recommend granting the relief sought in 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-2012-04241 in Executive Session on 18 June 2013, under
the provisions of AFI 36-2603:
, Panel Chair
, Member
, Member
The following documentary evidence was considered in connection
with AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2012-04241:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 8 Sep 12, w/atchs.
Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSID, dated 19 Nov 12.
Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 10 Dec 12.
Exhibit E. Letter, Applicant, dated 19 Dec 12.
Panel Chair
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