IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  21 January 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090013465 


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, the father of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests, in effect, correction of the FSM's DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show award of the Kosovo Campaign Medal and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Medal.  He also requests the issuance of the FSM's dog tags (correctly known as Army identification tags).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that the FSM was murdered and his body was burned in his house.  His uniforms were destroyed in the fire.  He contends that the FSM spent time in Bosnia from approximately March 1999 to September 1999 and the FSM's DD Form 214 does not show the medals he earned when he was there.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of the FSM's death certificate, his DD Form 214, and documentation from a Member of Congress in support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The FSM enlisted in the Regular Army on 2 October 1996.  He served as a fire support specialist and he was released from active duty on 1 October 1999.  He was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Reinforcement) to complete his remaining service obligation.

2.  The FSM's DD Form 214 shows the Army Lapel Button, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Expert Marksmanship 
Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar, the Parachutist Badge, and the Air Assault Badge as authorized awards.

3.  Records from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service show the FSM received hostile fire/imminent danger pay from 24 April 1999 through 30 June 1999 in Albania.

4.  Part IV (Values/Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) Responsibilities) of the FSM's NCO Evaluation Report covering the period May 1999 to August 1999 states, in pertinent part, that he was selected to be a forward observer for Task Force Hawk.

5.  The FSM died on 25 November 2008.

6.  A DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214), dated 6 November 2009, amended the FSM's DD Form 214 by adding the Army Good Conduct Medal.

7.  Military Personnel (MILPER) Message Number 00-180 approved establishment of the Kosovo Campaign Medal for service in support of Operations Allied Force, Joint Guardian, Allied Harbor, Sustain/Shining Hope, Noble Anvil, or service with Task Force Hawk, Task Force Saber, or Task Force Hunter during the Kosovo Air Campaign or the Kosovo Defense Campaign.  The Kosovo Air Campaign began on 24 March 1999 and ended on 10 June 1999.  The Kosovo Defense Campaign began on 11 June 1999 and will end on a date to be determined.  To be eligible for award of the Kosovo Campaign Medal an individual must be in a unit participating in or directly supporting the operation for 30 consecutive days or 60 nonconsecutive and/or meet other established criteria.  A bronze service star will be worn on this ribbon to denote participation in each authorized campaign.  Approved designated Kosovo campaign phases and inclusive periods are listed below:

	Kosovo Air Campaign 1999 (24 March 1999-10 June 1999)
	Kosovo Defense Campaign (11 June 1999-date to be determined)

8.  MILPER Message Number 00-202 approved the acceptance and wear of the NATO Medal for operations related to Kosovo from 13 October 1998 to a date to be determined for 30 days (continuous or accumulated) in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) (FRY includes Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Slovenia); Albania, Macedonia, and the Adriatic and Ionian Seas; or 90 days (continuous or accumulated) in direct support of NATO operations within the territories of Italy, Greece, and Hungary.

9.  The NATO Medal is awarded by the Secretary-General of NATO to military and civilian members of the Armed Forces of the United States who participate in 
designated NATO operations.  Acceptance of the NATO Medal has been approved for U.S. military personnel who serve under NATO command or operational control in direct support of operations related to Kosovo from 13 October 1998 to a date to be determined.  In June 2006, the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) dispatched a message which constituted approval for eligible Soldiers to accept and wear the NATO Medal.

10.  The HRC website, which contains a "frequently asked questions" section concerning military awards for Army members, notes that to add the NATO Medal to a Soldier's record the Solider must have been issued a certificate and refers Soldiers to the June 2006 authorizing message noted in paragraph 8 for procedures to secure the certificate.  That message indicated Soldiers should submit a request to the U.S. National Military Representative at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), Belgium, via usnmr@beneluz.army.mil if their certificate was lost or if requesting a replacement certificate.  Soldiers were advised to include their social security number, name, rank, nationality, service, unit, location, periods of service, and number of days of deployment in their request.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-14 (Identification Cards for Members of the Uniformed Services, Their Eligible Family Members, and Other Eligible Personnel) states that Army identification tags are government issue and are not personal effects.  When death occurs, identification tags will be disposed of as specified in pertinent Army regulations.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Based on the FSM's service with Task Force Hawk in Albania, he is eligible for the Kosovo Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars.  Therefore, his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show this award.

2.  While the FSM's service in Albania appears to meet the eligibility requirements for award of the NATO Medal, in the absence of the required certificate there is insufficient evidence on which to base correcting his record to show the award.  The applicant is advised to submit a request for a certificate via the procedures outlined in paragraph 10 above.  Once the applicant secures the certificate he may then submit a new request to this Board to have the award added to the FSM's DD Form 214.



3.  The applicant's request for the issuance of the FSM's Army identification tags was noted.  However, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records does not issue Army identification tags.  The applicant may be able to procure a replacement for the FSM's Army identification tags from a civilian vendor.  Therefore, there is no basis for granting this portion of the applicant's request.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

___X____  __X____  ____X___  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by adding the Kosovo Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars to his DD Form 214.

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to amending his DD Form 214 to add the NATO Medal or the issuance of dog tags.



      _____ _   _X______   ___
               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)                                         AR20090013465



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090013465



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