PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:            21 January 1999                                     
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1998012758

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mr. Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Mr. Robert J. McGowan		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Karen J. Newsome 		Chairperson	
	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn 		Member	
	Mr. John P. Infante 		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests that his Social Security Account Number (SSAN) be corrected on his DD Form 214 and that he be awarded the “Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), Air Medal, etc., . . . [and] Green beret status” for his Vietnam service.

3.  The applicant states that the last four digits of his SSAN should be .  He also states that he received special operations training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in such areas as martial arts, knife use, Swiss rifles with silencers, and how to fly a helicopter.  He adds that all of this training was conducted at night, after duty hours, following his normal advanced individual training (AIT) in Army Career Group (ACG) 67, Aircraft Maintenance.  In Vietnam, he states that he was involved in special operations outside of Vietnam.  His team was known as “The Birds” and he was known as “Hawk.”  He reported to “The Birdnest.”

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in the Regular Army for 3 years on 16 August 1965.  His enlistment option was for ACG 67, Aircraft Maintenance.  He went to Basic Combat Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and Aircraft Maintenance (MOS 67T20) AIT at Fort Rucker, Alabama.  There is no record of his having completed the Special Forces Course at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

5.  Following AIT, he was assigned to an aviation unit at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he performed helicopter maintenance from March to September 1966.  He was transferred to Vietnam, arriving at the 178th Assault Support Helicopter Company on/about 19 September 1966.  The record indicates that the applicant served strictly as a helicopter mechanic; it contains no flight record.  His Vietnam tour was curtailed when he returned to the United States on 30-day emergency leave on 18 May 1967.  While he was on emergency leave, he was reassigned from Vietnam to Fort Sill; he never returned to Vietnam.

6.  The applicant completed his enlistment at Fort Sill where he was honorably discharged on 15 August 1968.  He had 3 years of creditable service and no lost time.  His DD Form 214, Report of Transfer or Discharge, erroneously lists the last four digits of his SSAN as           .  His awards and decorations are:  the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with Bronze Service Star, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 Device, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation, and the Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Air Medal is awarded in time of war for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service while participating in aerial flight.  This award is primarily intended for personnel on flying status, but may also be awarded to those personnel whose combat duties require them to fly, for example personnel in the attack elements of units involved in air-land assaults against an armed enemy.  As with all personal decorations, formal recommendations, approval through the chain of command, and announcement in orders are required.  This regulation was supplemented by U.S Army Vietnam (USARV) Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) which provided, in pertinent part, additional guidelines for award of the Air Medal.  It established that passenger personnel who did not participate in an air assault were not eligible for the award based upon sustained operations.  It defined terms and provided guidelines for the award based upon the number and types of missions or hours.  Twenty-five Category I missions (air assault and equally dangerous missions) was the standard established for which sustained operations were deemed worthy of recognition by an award of the Air Medal.  However, the regulation was clear that these guidelines were considered only a departure point.  Nothing created an entitlement to the award.  There was no provision for making the award simply because an aircraft was struck by enemy fire.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Combat Infantryman Badge is awarded to infantry officers and to enlisted and warrant officer persons who have an infantry MOS.  They must have served in active ground combat while assigned or attached to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental or smaller size.  The Awards Branch of the Total Army Personnel Command has advised, in similar cases, that during the Vietnam era the Combat Infantryman Badge was awarded only to enlisted individuals who held and served in MOS 11B, 11C, 11F, 11G, or 11H.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  In order to justify correction of a military record, the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy the aforementioned requirement.

2.  The record indicates that the applicant was trained as a helicopter mechanic and received no special operations training.  He held MOS 67T20 and was not on flight status or Special Forces qualified.  He served 8 months in Vietnam as a helicopter mechanic before returning to the United States on 30-day emergency leave.  He did not return to Vietnam, but was reassigned to Fort Sill, Oklahoma where he completed his enlistment.  There is nothing in the applicant’s records to support his request for the CIB or the Air Medal.

3.  The applicant’s records clearly show that his SSAN ended in .

4.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected, but only as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by issuing to the individual concerned a DD Form 215, Correction of DD Form 214, indicating the correct SSAN ending in     .

2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied 

BOARD VOTE:  

___KJN _  __FNE __  __JPI ___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1998012758	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	19990121	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(NC, GRANT , DENY, GRANT PLUS)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	100.0900	
2.	107.0018	
3.	107.0111	
4.		
5.		
6.