RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-05844 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: Block 24 of his DD Form 214, Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge, be corrected to reflect: 1. He was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. 2. He was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. 3. He was awarded the Vietnam Campaign Medal. 4. He be awarded any medal that he is entitled. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: His record does not accurately reflect his service and the medals he was awarded. In support of his appeal, the applicant provides a personal statement and documentation from his master personnel records. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant served in the Regular Air Force from 7 April 1966 through 21 October 1969. He was honorably discharged and credited with serving 3 years, 6 months and 18 days of active duty service. Upon a review of his records his entitlement to the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with one Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, the Vietnam Service Medal with two Bronze Service Stars and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm was verified. It was also noted that his Air Medal should read Air Medal with four Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters vice Air Medal. His records will be updated accordingly. _______________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSID recommends denial of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Presidential Unit Citation and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. The Presidential Unit Citation is awarded to units of the United States Armed Forces for outstanding performance in action against an armed enemy occurring on, or after, 7 December 1941 for Air Force units. The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal is awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces, who, after 1 July 1958 participated in United States military operations, United States operation in direct support of the United Nations, or United States operations of assistance for friendly foreign nations. Service members must have been permanently assigned, attached or detailed to a unit that participated in or engaged in direct support of the operations for 30 consecutive days in a designated area of eligibility in a foreign territory (or for the full period when an operation is less than 30 days duration) or 60 non-consecutive days provided the support involved entering the area of eligibility. The Vietnam Campaign Medal is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who between 1 March 1961 and 28 March 1973, served for 6 months in South Vietnam during this period; served outside the geographical limits of South Vietnam and contributed direct combat support to the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces for an aggregate of 6 months. Only members of the Armed Forces of the United States who meet the criteria established for the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Vietnam) or the Vietnam Service Medal during the period of service required are considered to have contributed direct support to the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces. After a thorough review of the applicant’s records there was no documentation to verify he served in direct support of an operation in which the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal was awarded. There is also no documentation verifying the applicant served for an aggregate 6 months in the area of eligibility for the Vietnam Campaign Medal. Finally, his entitlement to the Presidential Unit Citation could not be verified as there is no evidence the unit to which he was assigned was awarded the PUC. The complete DPSID evaluation is at Exhibit C. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 1 March 2013 for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibit D). As of this date, this office has received no response. ________________________________________________________________ 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 an error or injustice with regard to the applicant’s request to correct his record to reflect he was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. We took notice of the applicant's complete submission and the available evidence of record 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 its rationale as the basis for our conclusion that there is no evidence submitted to substantiated the applicant’s entitlement to the requested awards. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no basis to grant this request. 4. Notwithstanding the above determination, we believe some relief is warranted with regard to the applicant’s request for the Vietnam Campaign Medal. We took note of the Air Force office of primary responsibility recommendation to deny this request; however, we find the record reflects the applicant served an aggregate of 6 months in South Vietnam, or outside Vietnam and contributed direct combat support to the Republic of Vietnam. Therefore, we recommend the applicant’s record be corrected to the extent indicated below. ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that on 1 October 1969, he was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. ________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2012-05844 in Executive Session on 15 October 2013, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: All members voted to correct the record, as recommended. The following documentary evidence was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 12 Dec 12, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSID, dated 19 Feb 13. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 1 Mar 13.