IN THE CASE OF:	  

	BOARD DATE:	  3 July 2008

	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080006881 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, that his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) be corrected to show award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM), the Army Good Conduct Medal (AGCM), the National Defense Service Medal (NDSM), and the Armed Forces Service Medal (AFSM). 

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he earned all of these awards.  He also contends that he was present during Operation Joint Endeavor. 

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant’s failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.  In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.

2.  The applicant served in the Regular Army from 11 August 1994 through 
11 May 1998.  He was trained in, awarded, and served in military occupational specialty (MOS) 62E (Heavy Construction Equipment Operator).  He attained the grade of specialist/E-4.  He was honorably released from active duty and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Reinforcement).  On 13 August 2002, he was honorably discharged from the USAR upon completion of his statutory military obligation. 

3.  Item 13 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the applicant's DD Form 214 shows that he was awarded the AGCM, the NDSM, and the AFSM.  Therefore, no action is required on these awards and they will not be addressed further in this Record of Proceedings.  However, if the applicant seeks issuance of the actual medals for those awards, he is advised to submit a Standard Form (SF) 180 to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) at the below address.  The SF 180 can be obtained through the internet at http://www.archives.gov.  The applicant’s request must include a copy of his DD Form 214 and any other supporting documentation to substantiate his request.  NPRC’s address is:

	National Personnel Records Center
	Attention:  Army Reference Branch
	9700 Page Avenue
	St. Louis, MO  63132-5100

4.  The applicant's DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record) shows that he performed duty in Bosnia-Herzegovina from 27 March – 15 November 1996.  It also shows he was awarded the NATO Medal which is also shown on his DD Form 214. 

5.  Army Personnel Command Message Number 99-100 (with a Date/Time Group of 121605Z March 1999) authorized award of both the AFSM and the AFEM, as a one-time exception to Department of Defense and Service policy, for qualifying service in support of Operations Joint Endeavor and Joint Guard in the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina.  This exception allowed both service medals to be presented to personnel deployed in Bosnia-Herzegovina, aboard naval vessels operating in the Adriatic Sea and their respective air spaces during the period 1 June 1992 to 19 December 1996 (Operation Joint Endeavor) and during the period 20 December 1996 to 20 June 1998 (Operation Joint Guard).  The exception also allowed only one award of each service medal for service in either or both Operation Joint Endeavor and Operation Joint Guard.


6.  Qualifying service for award of the AFEM required individuals to be a bona fide member of a unit participating in the operational area defined above or to meet one or more of the following criteria:  1)  Be deployed in the operational area as an individual by official orders to Operations Joint Endeavor or Operation Joint Guard for 30 consecutive or 60 non consecutive days; and/or 2) Participate as a regularly assigned crew member of an aircraft flying into, out of, within, or over the land area of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Adriatic Sea and their air spaces.

7.  The AFEM will be awarded only for operations for which no other U.S. campaign medal is approved.  However, this does not prevent award eligibility for subsequent on-going operations if the associated campaign medal has been terminated.  No individual will be eligible for both the AFEM and a campaign medal awarded during a single tour in the designated operation.  For operations in which personnel of only one military Service participate, the medal will be awarded only if there is no other suitable award available to that Service.  The military service of the service member on whom qualification for the award of the AFEM is based will have been honorable.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant served in Bosnia-Herzegovina from 27 February – 
15 November 1996.

2.  Given the regulatory guidance above, the applicant meets the requirements for award of the AFEM.  Therefore, his record should be corrected as shown below.

BOARD VOTE:

__xxx___  __xxx___  __xxx___  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION






BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by awarding the AFEM and correcting his record to show this award.


								XXX
      _______________________
      	CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080006881



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080006881



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