RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-05154 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: Her spouse’s records be corrected to reflect his foreign service in Vietnam and award of the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM). ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: Her husband served for three months in Vietnam as a fire protection specialist. In support of her request, the applicant provides a copy of her husband’s DD Form 214, Report of Separation from Active Duty, their marriage certificate, and his death certificate. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: The service member’s military personnel records reflect he commenced his enlistment in the Regular Air Force on 5 Mar 70. The service member performance reports reflect he served with 15th Air Base Wing, Hawaii from 17 Mar 72 through 31 Aug 72 and 6820th Civil Engineer Squadron, Thailand from 1 Sep 72 through 22 Mar 73. He was on temporary duty (TDY) in Southeast Asia for 179 days. On 4 Nov 73, the service member was honorably released from active duty and credited with 3 years, 9 months, and 20 days of active service to include 1 year, 5 months, and 29 days of foreign service. ________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPAPP recommends denial indicating there is no evidence to verify the service member served in Vietnam. Although the applicant’s records indicate he was TDY in Thailand, the exact amount of time he spent there could not be verified. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPAPP evaluation is at Exhibit C. AFPC/DPSID recommends denial indicating there is no evidence to support the service member’s eligibility for award of the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM) or any other medal in support of service of the Vietnam Conflict. The VSM is awarded to all service members of the Armed Forces who, between 4 Jul 65 and 28 Mar 73, served in the following areas of Southeast Asia: in Vietnam and the contiguous waters and airspace; in Thailand, Laos or Cambodia or the airspace there over and in the direct support of military operations in Vietnam 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days. Although it was confirmed the service member served in the area of eligibility (AOE), the exact service dates in Thailand could not be verified. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPAPP evaluation is at Exhibit D. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the applicant on 17 Feb 13, for review and comment within 30 days. As of this date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit D). ________________________________________________________________ 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 regarding the applicant’s request to amend the former service member’s records to reflect he served in Vietnam. After thoroughly reviewing the evidence of record and noting the applicant’s contention, we are not persuaded that the former service member’s records are in error. In this respect, we note that although the service member’s military records indicate he was on temporary duty for 179 days in Southeast Asia, we do not find the evidence presented by the applicant sufficient to substantiate that the former service member had boots on ground in Vietnam. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no basis to recommend correcting the record to reflect service in Vietnam. 4. Notwithstanding the above, sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or an injustice with respect to the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM). While we note the comments of the Air Force office of primary responsibility (OPR) indicating they were unable to verify the exact dates the former service member served in the area of eligibility, we believe the preponderance of the evidence indicates that corrective action is warranted. In this respect, we note the former service member’s military personnel records contain an airman performance report for the period 1 Sep 72 through 22 Mar 73, which indicates he was stationed in Thailand for 172 days, well beyond the 30 days required to earn the VSM. Therefore, in view of the above, we recommend the applicant’s records be corrected as indicated below. ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to the FORMER SERVICE MEMBER be corrected to show that he was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM). ________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2012-05154 in Executive Session on 29 Aug 13, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member All members voted to correct the records as recommended. The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2012-05154 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 31 Oct 13, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPAPP, dated 11 Dec 12. Exhibit D. Letter, AFPC/DPSID, dated 11 Feb 13. Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 17 Feb 13.