RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-04241 COUNSEL: NO HEARING DESIRED: NO _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His DD Form 214, Report of Separation from Active Duty, be corrected to reflect his award of the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal (RVNCM). _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: He is qualified for award of the RVNCM. He served from 15 June 1971 to 25 November 1971, in Thailand at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base in Vietnam, as part of Operation COMBAT SKYSPOT in direct support of B-52 combat missions in Vietnam. In addition, he served from 15 March 1973 to 30 August 1973 in the Philippines at Clark Air Base, as part of Operation BULLET SHOT in direct support of B-52 combat missions in Vietnam. He has been awarded the Vietnam Service Medal. 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 as an Automatic Tracking Radar Repairman. He served at Nakhon Phantom Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, from 15 June 1971 to 25 November 1971, for a total of five months and ten days. The applicant was honorably discharged effective 14 January 1974 in the grade of staff sergeant (E-5), after serving four years on active duty. He served eleven months and six days of Foreign Service. _________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSID recommends denial. DPSID states that in accordance with Department of Defense Manual (DoDM) 1348.33. the RVNCM is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who between 1 March 1961 and 28 March 1973, served for six months in South Vietnam during this period; or, served outside the geographical limits of South Vietnam and contributed direct combat support to the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces for an aggregate of six months. After a thorough review of the applicant’s military service record, they found the applicant did not serve for six months in the area of eligibility; therefore, he is ineligible for award of the RVNCM. To grant the applicant relief would be contrary to the eligibility criteria established by DoDM 1348.33. The complete DPSID evaluation is at Exhibit C. _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: He disagrees with the findings and recommendation of the Air Force office of primary responsibility. They did not consider the time (15 March 1973 to 30 August 1973) that he served at Clark Air Base, Philippines. During this period, he was assigned to the Strategic Air Command, 1st Combat Evaluation Group (1CEVG), B-52 Equipment Validation Site. This facility was authorized and commissioned under Operation BULLET SHOT and provided direct combat support to the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces. Their mission was to provide equipment validation and Radar Bomb Scoring of United States Air Force B-52s en route from Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, to Vietnam and other combat locations in Southeast Asia. The applicant’s complete rebuttal 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. We took notice of the applicant's complete submission in judging the merits of the case; however, we agree with the opinion and recommendation of the Air Force office 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. We note the applicant’s contentions that his time served with the 1CEVG at Clark Air Force Base, Philippines (15 March 1973 – 30 August 1973), should be counted with the time he served at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, in order to qualify for award of the RVNCM; however, we find no evidence to confirm that the 1CEVG, Clark Air Force Base, Philippines, contributed direct combat support to the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces during the qualifying timeframe. Nonetheless, the period of qualification for award of the RVNCM was 1 March 1961 to 28 March 1973. Since the applicant began serving in the Philippines effective 15 March 1973, his accumulative time serving in direct combat support is 5 months and 10 days in Thailand and 14 days in Philippines, which still does not meet the six-month requirement for award of the RVNCM. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no basis to recommend granting the relief sought in 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-2012-04241 in Executive Session on 18 June 2013, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member The following documentary evidence was considered in connection with AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2012-04241: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 8 Sep 12, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSID, dated 19 Nov 12. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 10 Dec 12. Exhibit E. Letter, Applicant, dated 19 Dec 12.