RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-00760 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NOT INDICATED ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, be corrected as follows: 1. Item 7a, Place of Entry Into Active Duty, be corrected to reflect “St. Louis MO,” rather than “Wiesbaden GE.” 2. Item 12a, Date Entered AD This Period, be corrected to reflect “1965 SEP 29,” rather than “1973 JUL 06.” 3. Item 13, Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized, be corrected to reflect he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) on 1 Oct 91. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: His DD Form 214 is erroneous. He enlisted in the Air Force on 29 Sep 65, not 6 Jul 73. He enlisted in St. Louis, MO, not Wiesbaden, GE. He needs his DD Form 214 to reflect 26 years of service so he can prove his length of military service to the Social Security Administration in order to increase his annuity. In support of his request, the applicant provides copies of his DD Form 214, DD Form 13, Statement of Service, AF Form 909, A1C, A2C, A3C and AB Performance Report, as well as his MSM Certificate and Citation. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: According to the applicant’s DD Form 214, dated 6 Jul 69, he enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 29 Sep 65 in the grade of airman basic (E-1) for a period of four years. Item 20, Place of Entry Into Current Active Service, of his DD Form 214 indicates “ST. LOUIS MO.” He was progressively promoted to the grade of senior master sergeant (E-8), effective and with a date of rank of 1 Jan 87. According to his most recent DD Form 214, he was relieved from active duty on 30 Sep 91 and retired for length of service, effective 1 Oct 91. He was credited with 26 years and 2 days of total active service. Item 13, Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized, of his DD Form 214 does not reflect he is entitled to the MSM. On 9 Sep 10, AFPC/DPSOA notified the applicant that his DD Form 214 covering his service from 29 Sep 65 through 9 Jul 69 already reflects his point of entry as XX. XXXXX XX. ________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSIDRA recommends denial of the applicant’s request for the MSM, indicating they were unable to locate official documentation within the applicant’s military personnel record concerning award of the MSM. The applicant provided a copy of the MSM certificate and citation; however, a copy of the special order awarding him the MSM was not provided or located within his official military personnel records. In correspondence dated 9 Jul 10, he states he has been unable to locate the special order. AFPC/DPSIDRA is unable to verify his entitlement to the MSM without it. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSIDRA evaluation is at Exhibit C. AFPC/DPSOA indicates the applicant’s DD Form 214, which documents his service from 29 Sep 65 through 6 Jul 69, already reflects his point of entry (POE) as “St. Louis MO.” A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSOA evaluation is at Exhibit D. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: A copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the applicant on 15 Oct 10 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 requirement to timely file. 3. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice to warrant changing the date and place of entry into active duty reflected on the applicant’s last DD Form 214. After a thorough review of the evidence of record and the applicant’s complete submission, we are not persuaded he has been the victim of an error or injustice. In this respect, we note that at the time of the applicant’s service, the procedures for reenlistment required him to be discharged for the purpose of immediate reenlistment at various points throughout his career. As such, the contested DD Form 214 correctly reflects the date and place of entry into active duty for that particular period of service. We also note that his initial DD Form 214, documenting his service from 29 Sep 65 through 6 Jul 69, already reflects the requested corrections. Notwithstanding the above, sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice warranting correction to the contested DD Form 214 to reflect award of the MSM. In this respect, we note the MSM certificate and citation provided by the applicant in support of his appeal. They reflect that he was awarded the MSM for meritorious service during the period 26 May 89 to 30 Sep 91. Having no basis to question the validity of the certificate and the accompanying citation, we recommend the applicant’s records be corrected as indicated below. ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD DETERMINES 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 Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) for meritorious service during the period 26 May 1989 to 30 September 1991. ________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2010-00760 in Executive Session on 16 Nov 10, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: All members voted to correct the records as recommended. The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2010-00760 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 22 Feb 10, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSIDRA, dated 4 Aug 10. Exhibit D. Letter, AFPC/DPSOA, dated 9 Sep 10. Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 15 Oct 10.