ADDENDUM TO
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:				DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2015-00148
		
							COUNSEL:  NONE

							HEARING DESIRED:  NO

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, be corrected to reflect her service in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH for the period December 1997 to February 1998.

RESUME OF THE CASE:

On 1 September 2015, the Board considered and denied a similar appeal and advised the applicant they may be willing to review her request for Foreign Service in Saudi Arabia should she provide letters from her supervisors and others she served with in Saudi Arabia.  For an accounting of the facts and circumstances surrounding the applicant’s request and the rationale of the earlier decision by the Board, see the Record of Proceedings at Exhibit F (with Exhibits A through E).

Via DD Form 149, Application for Correction of Military Record, dated 10 May 2016, the applicant submitted a request for reconsideration.  She contends that she was deployed for six weeks with her squadron to Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH from December 1997 to February 1998.  She received hazardous duty pay for the time she was deployed in Saudi Arabia.

The applicant’s DD Form 214, indicates she was credited with 1 month and 24 days of Foreign Service.

The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal will be awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who, after 1 July 1958, participated in US military operations, US operations in direct support of the United Nations, or US operations of assistance for friendly foreign nations. Service members must have been permanently assigned, attached, or detailed to a unit that participated or engaged in direct support of the operation for 30 consecutive or 60 non-consecutive days in a designated area of eligibility in a foreign territory.  According to DoDM 1348.33, Volume 2, Manual of Military Decorations and Awards: DoD Service Awards – Campaign, Expeditionary, and Service Medals, and AFI 36-2803, The Air Force Military Awards and Decorations Program, Operation SOUTHERN WATCH is an eligible operation for award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal during the period 1 December 1995 through 18 March 2003, for the following geographic areas: Iraq; Saudi Arabia; Kuwait; Persian Gulf; Bahrain; Qatar; United Arab Emirates ; Oman; Gulf of Oman West of 062 Degrees East Longitude; Yemen; Egypt; and Jordan.

AFI 36-3202, Separation Documents, indicates that when the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal is listed on the DD Form 214, the area of operation will follow in parenthesis (i.e. Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Operation SOUTHERN WATCH).

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit G.

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an injustice.  After a thorough review of the evidence of record and the applicant’s complete submission, we believe corrective action is warranted.  In this respect, we note the applicant has provided numerous supporting statements from her former leadership and co-workers who corroborate her service in Prince Sultan, Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia.  The applicant’s superintendent indicated he tasked her to deploy to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH from December 1997 to February 1998.  In addition, the applicant’s immediate supervisor stated they deployed together to Saudi Arabia from 8 December 1997 to 3 February 1998.  This time period corresponds with the Foreign Service indicated on the applicant’s DD Form 214.  In view of the foregoing, we find a preponderance of the evidence sufficient to conclude the applicant had boots-on-ground in Saudi Arabia for the period 8 December 1997 to 3 February 1998 in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH, which is a qualifying operation for award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.  Accordingly, we recommend the applicant’s records be corrected as set forth below.

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to APPLICANT be corrected to show that:

a. She had “boots on ground” in Prince Sultan, Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia, from 8 December 1997 to 3 February 1998.

b. The DD Form 214, Certificate of Release of Discharge from Active Duty, issued in conjunction with her 25 February 2000 discharge, be amended in Block 13, Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized (All periods of Service), to include “Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Operation SOUTHERN WATCH).”

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2015-00148 in Executive Session on 11 October 2016, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

, Panel Chair
, Member
, Member

All members voted to correct the records as recommended.  The following documentary evidence was considered:

Exhibit F.  Record of Proceedings, digitally signed 
  23 October 2015, w/Exhibits A-E.
Exhibit G.  DD Form 149, dated 10 May 2016, w/atchs.

Pursuant to paragraph 1 of AFI 36-2603 (Title 32 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 865.1), it is certified that a quorum was present at the Board's review and deliberations, and that the foregoing is a true and complete record of the Board’s proceedings.