IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  8 November 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120006618 


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 reconsideration of his request to be awarded the Afghanistan Campaign Medal and to show his service in Afghanistan.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, the Board denied his request for award of the Afghanistan Campaign Medal and correction of his records to show service in Uzbekistan; however, he did not serve in Uzbekistan.  All of his time was spent in Kandahar, Afghanistan. 

3.  The applicant provides a two-page letter explaining his application, copies of photographs, envelopes for mail he received in Afghanistan, his Noncommissioned Officer Evaluation Report (NCOER), and a portion of the previous Record of Proceedings.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20110010378 on 22 November 2011.

2.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 30 August 1990.  He completed his one-station unit training as a military policeman at Fort McClellan, Alabama and was transferred to White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico for his first duty assignment.

3.  He was assigned to Johnston Island from April 1993 to April 1994 and he was transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  He departed Fort Leavenworth for airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia and then to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

4.  He was transferred to Korea in 2000 and served for 12 months before being returned to Fort Bragg.  

5.  The applicant was ordered to deploy with his unit in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Noble Eagle.  He deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan from 20011221 – 20020710 and received two NCOERs during that period.  A review of the official records of his rating chain shows that all of the members of his rating chain served in Kandahar, Afghanistan during the period in question.

6.  Information received from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) indicates the applicant received hostile fire pay, imminent danger pay and combat-zone tax exclusion for service in Uzbekistan from 21 December 2001 to 10 July 2002.

7.  The envelopes the applicant provided show he received mail at the Army Post Office (APO) in Afghanistan.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOTEM) is authorized for award to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who deployed abroad for service in the Global War on Terrorism operations on or after 11 September 2001 to a date to be determined.  The general area of eligibility (AOE) encompasses all foreign land, water, and air spaces outside the fifty states of the United States and outside 200 nautical miles of the shores of the United States in operations approved by the Secretary of Defense.  Under no conditions will units or personnel within the United States or the general region excluded above be deemed eligible for the GWOTEM. 

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states the Afghanistan Campaign Medal is awarded to members who have served in direct support of Operation OEF.  The AOE encompasses all the land area of the country of Afghanistan and all air spaces above the land.  The Afghanistan Campaign Medal period of eligibility is on or after 24 October 2001 to a future date to be determined by the Secretary of Defense or the cessation of OEF. Service members must have been assigned, attached, or mobilized to units operating in the AOE for 30 consecutive days or for 60 non-consecutive days or meet one of the following criteria: (1) be engaged in combat during an armed engagement, regardless of the time in the AOE while participating in an operation or on official duties, (2) is wounded or injured and requires medical evacuation from the AOE, or (3) while participating as a regularly assigned air crewmember flying sorties into, out of, within or over the AOE in direct support of the military operations.  The Afghanistan Campaign Medal may be awarded posthumously, only one award of this medal may be authorized for any individual, and under no condition will personnel or units receive the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the GWOTEM, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, or the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for the same action, time period, or service.  A bronze service star is authorized for wear with this medal for participation in each credited campaign.  Approved designated Afghanistan campaigns are:

* Liberation of Afghanistan (11 September 2001-30 November 2001)
* Consolidation I (1 December 2001-30 September 2006)
* Consolidation II (1 October 2006-date to be determined

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states the Korea Defense Service Medal (KDSM) is authorized for award to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who have served on active duty in support of the defense of the Republic of Korea.  The period of eligibility is 28 July 1954 to a date to be determined by the Secretary of Defense.

11.  OEF is the official name used by the U.S. Government for the war in Afghanistan.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s contention that he should be awarded the Afghanistan Campaign Medal and that his records should reflect his service in Afghanistan instead of Uzbekistan has been noted and appears to have merit.

2.  The available evidence suggests that the applicant served in two campaigns in Afghanistan instead of Uzbekistan.  Although DFAS records list service in Uzbekistan, the applicant denies such service and the official records of his rating chain show that he served in Afghanistan during the period in question.  Additionally, OEF is an operation in Afghanistan.

3.  Inasmuch as both the GWOTEM and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal cannot be awarded for the same period of service, the GWOTEM awarded by the Board in its previous proceedings should be deleted from his DD Form 214 and replaced with the Afghanistan Campaign Medal.

4.  The applicant served during a qualifying period for award of the KDSM and that award should be added to his DD Form 214 as well.

BOARD VOTE:

____X____  ____X____  ____X____  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 amendment of the ABCMR’s decision in Docket Number AR20110010378, dated 27 November 2011.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:  

* Deleting the GWOTEM and the entry “SERVICE IN UZBEKISTAN FROM 20011221 – 20020710” from his DD Form 214
* Adding the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars, KDSM and the entry “SERVICE IN AFGHANISTAN FROM 20011221 – 20020710” to his DD Form 214 



      _______ _   __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)                                         AR20120006618



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120006618



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