RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2013-05166 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, be amended to reflect the following awards: 1. Purple Heart (PH). 2. Air Force Commendation Medal (AFCM). (Will be administratively corrected) 3. Air Force Combat Action Medal (AFCAM). (Will be administratively corrected) ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: There was insufficient data at the time his DD Form 214 was prepared. In support of his requests, the applicant submits copies of a Congressional Inquiry, AF IMT 348, Line of Duty Determination; Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) rating decision and SF 600, Chronological Record of Medical Care. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant served on active duty from 3 Jan to 30 Oct 11 and deployed to Bagram AB, Afghanistan. According to SF 600 dated 6 Apr 11, he reported to the Emergency Room (ER) for lower back pain due to an explosion of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). The PH is awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces who have been wounded, killed or who have died or may hereafter die of wounds received in action against an enemy of the United States or opposing force as a result of an act of any such enemy or opposing armed force, an international terrorist attack or during military operations while serving as part of a peace keeping force. A wound for which the award is made must have required treatment, not merely examination, by a medical officer. Additionally, treatment of the wound shall be documented in the service member’s medical record. Award of the PH may be made for wounds treated by a medical professional other than a medical officer, provided a medical officer includes a statement in the Service member’s medical record that the extent of the wounds were such that they would have required treatment by a medical officer if one had been available to treat them. ________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSID recommends denial of award of the PH. On 30 Dec 13, Air Forces Central Command attempted to contact the applicant to request additional documentation to include the date of the incident and deployed unit of assignment. To this date, AFCENT has not received a response; and therefore is unable to reasonably consider his request. To grant relief would be contrary to the criteria established by DODM 1348.33, Manual of Military Decorations and Awards, the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff. Based on a review of the applicant’s official military personnel record, DPSID was able to determine he should have been awarded the AFCM and the AFCAM for his service from 3 Jan to 30 Oct 11. Upon the Board’s decision, the applicant’s records will be administratively corrected to reflect these awards. The complete DPSID evaluation is at Exhibit C. SAF/MRBP concurs with the DPSID recommendation for administrative correction of the applicant’s records for award of the AFCM and AFCAM. Should the applicant provide the additional documentation requested by AFCENT, he can then be considered for award of the PH. The complete MRBP evaluation is at Exhibit D. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT’S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: On 18 Aug 14, the copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the applicant for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibit E). As of this date, this office has not received a response. ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 1. The applicant has not exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations. 2. The application was timely filed. 2. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of error or injustice to warrant award of the PH. 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, aside from the administrative corrections to award the AFCM and the AFCAM, we find no basis upon which to recommend granting the additional relief sought in this application. ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: The applicant be notified that he has not exhausted all available avenues of administrative relief prior to submitting his application to the BCMR; and the application will only be reconsidered upon exhausting all subordinate avenues of administrative relief ________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered Docket Number BC-2013-05166 in Executive Session 18 Sep 14, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member The following documentary evidence pertaining to Docket Number BC-2013-05166 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 21 Oct 13, w/atch. Exhibit B. Applicant’s Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSID, dated 23 Mar 14. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBP, dated 29 Apr 14. Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 18 Aug 14.