RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-01989 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 1. His DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, be corrected to reflect the award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM). 2. He be issued the second (continuation) page to the DD Form 214 (Administratively Corrected). ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: His DD Form 214 does not include the AFEM. His original DD Form 214 was stolen; however, his replacement did not include the second page. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: According to the applicant’s DD Form 214, on 17 Dec 92, he enlisted in the Regular Air Force. According to Special Order TE-043 provided by the applicant, dated 30 Jan 96, the applicant was scheduled to deploy to Saudi Arabia for 91 days. On 9 Sep 02, the applicant was honorably discharged and was credited with 9 years, 8 months, and 23 days of total active service, to include 2 years, 2 months, and 29 days of foreign service. ________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSID recommends the Board make a determination if the applicant served in the area of eligibility for award of the AFEM. Although the Special Order is annotated Operation DESERT STORM, it was common during the start of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH for orders to reflect Operation DESERT STORM. Additionally, the dates of deployment verified by the Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS) coincide with the timeframe of the proceed date and the temporary duty length annotated on the travel order provided by the applicant. However, they were unable to verify eligibility for award of the AFEM as they were unable to locate official documentation verifying an exact location the applicant served from 20 Feb 96 to 23 May 96. The AFEM is awarded to members of the armed forces of the United States who after 1 Jul 58 participate, or have participated as members of the U.S. military units in a military operation in which Service members of any Military Department participate, in the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in significant numbers. The members must encounter during such participation foreign armed opposition, or are otherwise placed, or have been placed, in such a position that, in the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hostile action by foreign armed forces was imminent even though it did not materialize. The members must be engaged in direct support for 30 consecutive days in the area of operations (or the full period if the operation is less than 30 days) or 60 nonconsecutive days provided this support involves the area of operations. The AFEM is authorized for qualifying service in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH from 1 Dec 95 to 18 Mar 03. While the applicant’s travel order states Operation DESERT STORM, due to the operation ending on 30 Nov 95, it can reasonably be determined that applicant’s travel order should actually have stated Operation SOUTHER WATCH. A review of the applicant’s records revealed that he should have been awarded the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal (GWOT-S) and his official military personnel records will be administratively corrected by AFPC/DPSOR. The complete DPSID evaluation is at Exhibit C. AFPC/DPSOR recommends approval of the applicant’s request to be issued the second/continuation page to the DD Form 214, indicating a second/continuation page would have been published and a service copy could not be located in the applicant’s records. However, in order to generate a second page, it requires a re-issue of a new DD Form 214 and will be administratively resolved upon resolution of the applicant’s other requests. The complete DPSOR evaluation is at Exhibit D. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the applicant on 6 Jan 15 for review and comment within 30 days. As of this date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit E). ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations. 2. The application was timely filed. 3. Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice with respect to the applicant’s request for the AFEM. We took notice of the applicant's complete submission in judging the merits of the case, and believe that a preponderance of the evidence indicates that corrective action is warranted. While we note the comments of DPSID indicating the applicant’s records do not contain documentation verifying the exact location served for the requested award, we believe Special Order TE-043, dated 30 Jan 96 indicating Operation DESERT STORM, was more likely than not in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH due to Operation DESERT STORM ending on 30 Nov 95, rendering him eligible for award of the AFEM. Additionally, we note the Air Force Office of Primary Responsibility has verified the applicant is entitled to a reissue of his DD Form 214 and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal (GWOT-S) and will correct his records administratively. Therefore, 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 APPLICANT be corrected to show that he was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM). ________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-01989 in Executive Session on 17 Mar 15, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member All members voted to correct the record as recommended. The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-01989 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 2 May 14, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Available Master Personnel Records Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSID, dated 25 Sep 14. Exhibit D. Letter, AFPC/DPSOR, dated 15 Dec 14. Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 6 Jan 15.