BOARD DATE:	  26 June 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130019080 


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:

   a.  reconsideration of his application for award of the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar; and 

   b.  as new considerations award of the Overseas Service Ribbon, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Medal, and recognition for participation in the Project Gemini missions.

2.  The applicant states:

   a.  he qualified on the rifle first as expert in basic training and requalified as a marksman later;
   
   b.  he served in Germany and spent a month in Denmark during Operation Nordic Air, performed temporary duty (TDY) at the Canadian Air Base, and went on "3 Gemini SHOTS";
   
   c.  he believes that all U.S. Army Soldiers serving in Europe are a part of NATO; and
   
   d.  he is tired of being referred to as just a "Vietnam Era Soldier," he served where the Army sent him.


3.  The applicant provides copies of his prior Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) decisional document, Fort Belvoir Special Orders Number 214, three sets of TDY orders, his DD Form 214 (Report of Transfer or Discharge), and a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214).

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 ABCMR in Docket Number AR20130002029, on 20 August 2013.

2.  The applicant served on active duty as an inductee from 13 May 1964 through 3 May 1966 and 1 year, 6 months, and 17 days were served in Europe.

3.  Nordic-Air is a multinational training exercise that brings together various aircraft from the United States, United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland and Sweden to participate in tactical role-playing training missions. 

4.  "Vietnam Era" is a term used by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to classify veterans who served during the Vietnam War era from 28 February 1961 through 7 May 1975.  The term is used without consideration of where a service member may have been assigned.  Common usage is that a "Vietnam veteran" is a service member who actually served in the Vietnam theater of operation whereas a "Vietnam era veteran" is a service member who served during the period of the war but not in country.

5.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states:

	a.  The Overseas Service Ribbon was established by the Secretary of the Army on 10 April 1981.  It is awarded to members of the U.S. Army for successful completion of overseas tours.

	b.  The NATO Medal was first awarded in 1994 as an international military decoration awarded to various militaries of the world under the authority of NATO as authorized by the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for specific NATO operations.  There are currently ten versions of the NATO Medal in existence, for service in Yugoslavia, Kosovo, the Republic of Macedonia, two for service during Article 5 operations (Eagle Assist, Active Endeavour), and four for Non-Article 5 NATO operations (ISAF, Balkans, NTM-Iraq and Pakistan.  For U.S. Forces the eligibility for the Non-Article 5 Medal for 90 days or more of service with the ISAF are those who are members of units or staffs as set out in the Joint Operations Area taking part in specified operations.
	c.  A basic marksmanship qualification badge is awarded to indicate the degree in which an individual, military or civilian, has qualified in a prescribed record course and an appropriate bar is furnished to denote each weapon with which he or she qualified.  An award for a previous marksmanship weapons qualification is revoked automatically whenever an individual, upon completion of firing a record course for which the previous award was made, has not attained the same qualification level.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant initially qualified as an expert with the rifle but on a subsequent qualification course he only qualified as a marksman.  In accordance with regulations, with the requalification at a lower level his award of the expert badge was automatically revoked and he was awarded the lesser (marksman) level badge.  Therefore, he is not entitled to correction of his DD Form 214 to show the higher level qualification. 

2.  Neither the NATO Medal nor the Overseas Service Ribbon existed at the time the applicant was on active duty and there is no retroactive award of either.  Therefore, the applicant is not eligible for the NATO Medal or the Overseas Service Ribbon.

3.  There is no award or decoration authorized for Army personnel who may have participated in the Project Gemini program.

4.  This agency has no control over the use of the term "Vietnam era veteran"; however, the applicant did not serve in Vietnam.  Therefore, the term "Vietnam era veteran" is appropriate to describe his service.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___x_____  ___x_____  __x___  DENY APPLICATION







BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice with respect to his request for reconsideration for award of the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20130002029, dated 20 August 2013.

2.  With respect to his new request for additional awards, the Board determined that the evidence available was also not sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief.  




      _______ _  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)                                         AR20130019080



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130019080



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