RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2013-01843

		COUNSEL:  NONE

		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 as follows:  

	a.  That he held the grade of staff sergeant (E-5), with a date of rank of 1 Jun 69, instead of sergeant (E-4), with a date of rank of 1 May 67.
      
	b.  He was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) and Vietnam Service Medal (VSM).  

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

1.  His DD Form 214 may reflect discrepancies in his rank, pay grade, and DOR because his promotion was within close proximity of his discharge.  

2.  He will receive veteran compensation benefits upon verification of his service in the Republic of Vietnam.  

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

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant’s military personnel records indicate he enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 21 May 65.  

On 4 Jun 69, the applicant was released from active duty with an honorable character of service, transferred to the Air Force Reserve, and credited with 4 years and 14 days of total active service.  

On 18 May 71, the applicant was honorably discharged from the Air Force Reserve, effective 20 May 71, in the grade of staff sergeant (E-5).  
On 17 Jul 13, AFPC/DPAPP notified the applicant that they were able to verify and confirm foreign service time at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Republic of Vietnam based on the applicant’s airman performance report that closed out on 10 May 68 which indicates he performed temporary duty (TDY) to the Republic of Vietnam.  However, because the correct amount of foreign service is reflected on his DD Form 214 and since specific locations are not annotated, he was provided a “boots-on-the-ground” letter for the Republic of Vietnam.  

On 5 Aug 13, AFPC/DPSOE notified the applicant that based on documentation in his records, he was discharged from the Regular Air Force in the grade of sergeant (E-4), with a date of rank (DOR) of 1 May 67.  His rank as staff sergeant was obtained while serving in the Air Force Reserve (USAFR) and a DD Form 214 is not accomplished upon discharge from the Reserve.  Therefore, his DD Form 214 correctly reflects the grade he held when he was released from active duty.  

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are described in the letter prepared by the Air Force office of primary responsibility, which is attached at Exhibit C.  

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPSID recommends denial of the applicant’s request for award of the AFEM and VSM.  Although the applicant’s Air Force Form 7, Airman Military Record, indicates a single TDY assignment lasting 8 days to Southeast Asia, there is no specific country or inclusive dates annotated.  In addition, his enlisted performance report (EPR), closing out 16 Feb 69, states he went to Korea and Thailand, but does not include the dates or length of service.  Also another report with a closing date of 10 May 68 indicates the applicant went on TDY to Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Vietnam with no inclusive dates or length of assignment annotated.  The AFEM may be awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who after 1 July 1958 participate or have participated as members of US military units in a US military operation in which service members participated in significant numbers and encountered during such participation foreign armed opposition, or are otherwise placed, or have been placed, in such position that, in the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hostile action by foreign armed forces was imminent even though it did not materialize.  Such service members must be members of a unit engaged in the operation or engaged in direct support for 30 consecutive days in the area of operations or 60 nonconsecutive days provided this support involves entering the area of operations.  The VSM is awarded to all service members of the Armed Forces who, between 4 Jul 65 and 28 Mar 73, served in Vietnam, its waters and airspace, or in Thailand, Laos, or Cambodia, or the airspace there over.  This service consists of serving on TDY for 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days.  A though review of the applicant’s official military personnel records indicated there is no official documentation verifying the applicant served 30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days in the area of eligibility for award of the AFEM or VSM.  Also there is no official documentation to verify the applicant served in direct support of an operation approved for award of the AFEM.  To grant the applicant the requested relief would be contrary to the eligibility criteria established by DoDM 1348.33, Manual of Military Decorations and Awards.  

A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSID evaluation is at Exhibit C.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 19 Sep 13 for review and comment within 30 days.  As of this date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit D).

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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 an error or injustice with respect to the applicant’s request that his DD Form 214 be corrected to reflect that he held the grade of staff sergeant (E-5) rather than sergeant (E-4) when he was released from active duty.  After a thorough review of the evidence of record and the applicant’s completes submission, we agree with the determination of AFPC/DPSOE that his DD Form 214 correctly reflects his grade when he was released from active duty and that it would be inappropriate to correct the record as he requests as he was promoted to the grade of staff sergeant (E-5) while in the Air Force Reserve, after his release from active duty.  As for his request for the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM) and Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM), we are not convinced the applicant is the victim of an error or injustice in this respect either.  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 (OPR) and adopt its rationale as the basis for our conclusion the applicant has not been the victim of an error or injustice with respect to the VSM or AFEM.  We note AFPC/DPAPP has verified the applicant served on temporary duty in the Republic of Vietnam and provided him a “boots-on-the-ground” letter to document said service.  Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no basis to recommend granting any relief beyond that rendered administratively.

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THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified the evidence presented did not demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; the application was denied without a personal appearance; and 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 AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2013-01843 in Executive Session on 4 Feb 14, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

	Panel Chair
	Member
	Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

	Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 11 Apr 13, w/atchs.
	Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records
	Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPSID, dated 1 Jul 13.
	Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 19 Sep 13.
	Exhibit E.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 29 May 13.




                                   
                                   Panel Chair







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