RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-03600 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: He be awarded the Prisoner of War (POW) Medal and his DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, be corrected to reflect the POW Medal. _______________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: He and his fellow C-130 aircraft crew were detained by the Sudanese People’s Armed Forces (SPAF) and Government of Sudan (GoS) National Intelligence Security Services (NISS) agents on 28 November 2006 for approximately four hours. In support of his application, the applicant submits copies of his DD Form 214, a Report of Casualty, Air Force Achievement Medal (AFAM) award documentation, duty information documents, an Air Force Times article, excerpt of Title 10, United States Code (USC), Chapter 57 – Decorations and Awards. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. _________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant is a former member of the Regular Air Force who served on active duty from 21 July 1999 to 4 August 2010. He was progressively promoted to the grade of senior airman (E-4) effective 31 March 2009. On 28 November 2006, at approximately 1600 local, the crew of a USAF HC-130, radio call sign PAT 332, experienced a Peacetime Governmental Detention (PGD) situation lasting approximately four hours. The PGD took place at Al Fashir Regional Airport in Dafur, Sudan. The applicant’s aircraft was detained by the SPAF and GoS NISS agents. The aircraft was allowed to depart four hours later. The applicant was released from active duty effective 4 August 2010 with a general (under honorable conditions) and a narrative reason for separation as “Misconduct (Drug Abuse)”. He served 11 years and 14 days on active duty. _________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPWC recommends denial of the applicant’s request for POW status. DPWC states that Department of Defense (DoD) Publication 1-02 (as amended through 22 March 2007) (Attachment 1) defines “prisoner of war” as a detained person as defined by Articles 4 and 5 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949. In particular, “one who, while engaged in combat under orders of his or her government, is captured by the armed forces of the enemy.” In contrast, “detainee” is defined as “a person held in custody especially for political reasons.” Although Joint Publication 1-02 definitions are not necessarily intended to be statements of policy, the definitions nonetheless are consistent with the language of the 1919 Geneva Prisoner of War Convention and other law-of-war treaties. DPWC states that awarding POW status to detainees of this incident requires the Secretary of the Air Force to determine that Sudanese officials were acting on behalf of a foreign armed force hostile to the United States in accordance with DoD 1348.33M, paragraph C6.2 and Title 10, USC, Section 1128(a)(4) (attachments 4 and 5 respectively). However, their office defers to AFPC/DPSIDR to determine, based on their criteria, whether award of the POW Medal is warranted. The complete DPWC evaluation is at Exhibit B. AFPC/DPSIDR recommends denial. DPSIDR indicates they were unable to verify the applicant’s entitlement of the POW Medal. DPSIDR states the POW Medal is awarded to any person who was taken prisoner or held captive while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing armed force; or while serving with friendly forces engaged in armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party. The member’s conduct, while in captivity, must have been honorable. This medal may be awarded posthumously to the surviving next of kin of the recipient. The complete DPSIDR evaluation is at Exhibit C. _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: He would argue that Sudan is neither an ally nor neutral to the United States. Even the Department of State website on US – Sudan relations states that, “Sudan remains on the state sponsors of terrorism list.” The way the Air Force and his deployed command handled this situation is borderline criminal. The situation was not reported to the proper authorities or in a timely manner. He does not care if it was one minute, eight hours, or eight years; he was held against his will by an armed force. He was accused of espionage and was told that the guilty sentence for the charge was death. He was unable to leave on his own free will and return to friendly territory. If it wasn’t for the calmness under pressure that day, his widow might be writing the Board requesting that his records reflect a Purple Heart, instead of his request for what he has earned. He is not comparing his situation to those that our troops went through in World War II or Vietnam. However, he had to leave the Air Force for issues dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder related to this event. He’s still learning how this affects his health and well being. If he had POW status with the Department of Veteran Affairs, it would provide him with the health care he most definitely will require in the coming years. The applicant’s complete rebuttal, with attachments, is at Exhibit E. _________________________________________________________________ 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. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of error or injustice. After reviewing the evidence of record and the applicant’s submission, we found no evidence to indicate the individual is eligible for award of the POW Medal. Therefore, we agree with the opinions and recommendations of the Air Force offices of primary responsibility and adopt their rationale as the basis for our conclusion that the applicant has not been the victim of an error or injustice. Accordingly, we find no basis to favorably consider this application. _________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: The applicant be notified that the evidence presented did not demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; that the application was denied without a personal appearance; and that the application will only be reconsidered upon the submission of newly discovered relevant evidence not considered with this application. _________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2010-03600 in Executive Session on 7 July 2011, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: The following documentary evidence was considered in connection with AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2010-03600: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 27 Sep 10, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPWC, dated 26 Oct 10. Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSIDR, dated 7 Dec 10. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 23 Dec 10. Exhibit E. Letter, Applicant, dated 11 Jan 11, w/atchs.