RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
IN THE MATTER OF:
DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2013-04881
COUNSEL: NONE
HEARING DESIRED: NOT INDICATED
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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
His DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active
Duty, be amended to include award of the Legion of Merit (LOM).
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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
Upon retirement he was awarded the LOM; however, the LOM is not
annotated on his DD Form 214.
In support of the applicants appeal, he provides the LOM
certificate and three affidavits.
The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at
Exhibit A.
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STATEMENT OF FACTS:
The applicant with 30 years, 1 month and 26 days of active
service for retirement was relieved from active duty on 31 July
1983 and retired effective 1 August 1983 in the grade of colonel
under the provisions of AFR 35-7 (Mandatory Retirement on
Established Date Maximum Years of Service).
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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
AFPC/DPSID recommends approval. DPSID states the Legion of
Merit may be awarded by the Secretary concerned to members of
the United States Armed Forces, who, after 8 September 1939,
have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious
conduct in the performance of outstanding services. The
performance must have been such as to merit recognition of key
individuals for service rendered in a clearly exceptional
manner. Performance of duties normal to the grade, branch,
specialty, assignment, or experience of an individual is not an
adequate basis for this award. For service rendered in
peacetime, the term key individual applies to a narrower range
of positions than would be the case in time of war and requires
evidence of significant achievement. In peacetime, service
should be in the nature of a special requirement or of an
extremely difficult duty performed in an unprecedented and
clearly exceptional manner. However, justification of the award
may accrue by virtue of exceptionally meritorious service in a
succession of important positions.
DPSID was able to locate what appear to be an authentic citation
and a signed certificate for the Legion of Merit with a Given
Under My Hand date of 15 July 1983, which is a couple weeks
before the applicant's retirement date. The verbiage of the
citation is consistent with the applicant's claim of receiving
the award upon his retirement; however, no Special Order was
provided with this request or could be located within the
applicant's official military personnel record. The Special
Order officially authorizes award of a decoration and without it
we are unable to verify award of the Legion of Merit. The
applicant indicated in his request that he did not have the
Special Order for the Legion of Merit.
The DPSID complete evaluation is at Exhibit C.
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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
On 5 May 2014, a copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded
to the applicant for review and response within 30 days (Exhibit
D). As of this date, no response has been received by this
office.
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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. Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to
demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice. After
reviewing the evidence of record and the evidence provided in
support of this appeal, i.e., copies of the LOM certificate and
citation and the recommendation of the Air Force office of
primary responsibility, we find the applicants DD Form
214 should be corrected to include the LOM. Therefore, we
recommend the applicants records be corrected as indicated
below.
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THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:
The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air
Force relating to APPLICANT be corrected to show that the DD
Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty,
issued in conjunction with his 31 July 1983 separation, be
amended in Item 13, Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations and
Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized, to include the Legion of
Merit (LOM).
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The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket
Number BC-2013-04881 in Executive Session on 12 June 2014, under
the provisions of AFI 36-2603:
All members voted to correct the record, as recommended. The
following documentary evidence was considered:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 28 September 2013, w/atchs.
Exhibit B. DD Form 214 and LOM citation.
Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSID, dated 23 March 2014.
Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 5 May 2014.
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A Special Order was not provided with this request and could not be located within the applicant's official military personnel record. The special order that accompanied the LOM at the time of presentation is required to update the applicants records. Therefore we recommend his records be corrected to reflect the award of the LOM.
AF | BCMR | CY2013 | BC 2013 05824
The May 09 award policy and award criteria message that was released Air Force wide provides the applicable regulation concerning award of the LOM. DPSID believes the applicant should be given consideration for a retirement decoration; however, in order for his request to be reasonably considered he will need to resubmit his request with an ETP memorandum signed by someone from his chain of command with first-hand knowledge of the act/achievement due to the applicant not meeting the...
AF | BCMR | CY2013 | BC 2013 02988
The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this case are contained in the letter prepared by the Air Force office of primary responsibility which is listed at Exhibit C. ________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSOE recommends the application be time barred. Promotion Boards selected individuals and the quotas received determined the number that could be promoted. With regard to his request for award of the LOM, there was no evidence...
AF | BCMR | CY2013 | BC-2013-01032
After reviewing the evidence provided in support of this appeal, i.e., copies of the LOM certificate and citation and the recommendation of the Air Force office of primary responsibility, we find the applicants DD Form 214 should be corrected to include the LOM. ________________________________________________________________ _ THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to APPLICANT be corrected to show that the DD Form 214,...
AF | BCMR | CY2012 | BC-2012-02795
The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are described in the letter prepared by the Air Force office of primary responsibility (OPR) which is attached at Exhibit C. ________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSID recommends denial, indicating the applicant was considered and denied for award of the DSSM and he was awarded the appropriate level award for his service and retirement from a joint assignment in accordance with...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130003259
Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the LOM is awarded to individuals who distinguish themselves by exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. There are no orders and he did not provide any orders awarding him the LOM. Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140010446
d. The ARBA letter states that the applicant's MSM was not upgraded because his performance of assigned staff duties was insufficient. Only one decoration will be awarded to an individual for the same act, achievement, or period of meritorious service. Senator in 2012 for award of the LOM for achievement based on advice from the Awards Branch at HRC.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2010 | 20100020743
The applicant provided a DA Form 4980-11 showing he was awarded the LOM for exceptionally meritorious service from 1 November 1990 to 31 October 2000. The applicant provided no orders for this award, and none could be found in the applicant's service records. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by adding the LOM and KDSM to his retirement DD Form 214.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090007477
The applicant provides in support of his application a self-authored statement; a copy of his DD Form 214; a copy of an LOM Award Certificate, dated 14 November 1996; a copy of a DA Form 638 (Recommendation for Award), dated 4 October 1996 and the narrative; and a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214), dated 6 March 2007, which shows his DD Form 214 was corrected to add the Korea Defense Service Medal and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. The applicant provided a copy of his LOM Award...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130006979
His DD Form 214 does not show the LOM or DMSM as authorized awards. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the LOM is awarded to individuals who distinguish themselves by exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. In the absence of orders, the photographs of the LOM provided by the applicant alone are not sufficient as a basis for adding this award to his DD Form 214.