RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2013-02854 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His Air Force Achievement Medal (AFAM) First Oak Leaf Cluster (1OLC) be corrected to read Air Force Achievement Medal (Basic Award) and the spelling of his last name within the citation be corrected. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: This AFAM is his first; therefore, it should be the basic medal, not the First Oak Leaf Cluster. Additionally, his name is misspelled in the award citation. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant currently serves in the Regular Air Force in the grade of Captain (O-3). On 25 Mar 14, AFPC/DPSIDE notified the applicant of their determination that his Officer Performance Report (OPR), covering the period 1 Oct 12 thru 25 Apr 13, has been administratively corrected to reflect the reason for the report as “CRO” instead of “Annual.” According to the applicant’s military personnel records, he was awarded the AFAM w/1OLC for outstanding achievement for the period 27 May 09 to 26 Sept 09; however, his military personnel records do not contain documentation indicating he was credited with the AFAM (basic award). The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are described in the letters prepared by the Air Force office of primary responsibility (OPR), which is attached at Exhibit C. ________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSID recommends denial, indicating that while there are errors with the applicant’s decoration, the applicant has not exhausted all administrative avenues of relief in pursing the noted corrections to his AFAM, namely requesting these corrections through the original award approving authority. A complete copy of the AFPC/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 12 May 14 for review and comment within 30 days. As of this date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit F). ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 1.  The applicant has not exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations. 2.  The application was timely filed. 3.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of error or injustice. In this respect, we note this Board is the highest administrative level of appeal within the Air Force. As such, an applicant must first exhaust all available avenues of administrative relief provided by existing law or regulations prior to seeking relief before this Board, as required by the governing Air Force Instruction. The Air Force office of primary responsibility has reviewed this application and indicated there is an available avenue of administrative relief the applicant has not first pursued. In view of this, we find this application is not ripe for adjudication at this level, as there exists a subordinate level of appeal that has not first been depleted. Therefore, in view of the above, we find no compelling basis to recommend granting the relief sought in this application. ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: The applicant be notified the all available avenues of administrative relief of appeal within the Air Force have not been taken. The application was denied without a personal appearance; and the application will only be reconsidered upon the submission if administrative relief failed to correct the alleged error or injustice. ________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2013-02854 in Executive Session on 19 Jun 14, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: The following documentary evidence was considered: Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 5 Jun 13, w/atchs. Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPSID, dated 12 Nov 13. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 12 May 14. 1 2