RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-02639 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: YES _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 1. He be awarded the Airman’s Medal (AmnM). 2. He be awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM). 3. He be awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal (JSCM). _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: He was submitted for the awards; however, he never received them. He explains how he earned each medal in the following paragraphs: a. While assigned to the Third Ranger Battalion, Korea, he was considered to be attached to the Third Ranger Battalion out of all the Tactical Air Control Party’s (TACP) in the United States and overseas. He was hand-picked to represent the Air Force as an enlisted forward air controller. After returning from Korea, he was assigned to Detachment 4, Fort Benning, Georgia. While participating in an Operations Readiness Inspection, their goal was to defend against the 82nd Airborne Division and the 101st Air Assault Division; however, during the exercise he came upon a car that was in a ditch in the middle of the desert. He and his teammates looked into the car and found an elderly man who appeared to not be breathing. After performing CPR on the man, the man responded, but was in a weakened state due to not having any food or water. The man was a diabetic and did not have his medicine for over 12 hours which attributed to his weakened state. A call was made to 911 and he stayed with the man until the ambulance arrived. The captain put him in for the AmnM for his life saving efforts no matter the consequences. b. After returning from an exercise with the 10th Mountain Division, he and his captain were nominated for the JSCM for their services during this rigorous duty. After much time passing, he was not told whether he would receive the AmnM and JCSM or not. c. He had to retrain into a non-combatant career field due to a parachute accident which crushed two of his lower vertebrae discs and caused his medical. Prior to his medical discharge in 1992, he was told by his commander that he was put in for the MSM. However, to this day he has yet to receive any of these medals. He wrote several letters to his Congressmen, Governor, and local Mayors requesting to be awarded these medals without success. He is hopeful this will be the last letter he will have to write concerning the medals he earned through hard work and dedication to his country. d. He is 100 percent disabled through the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) and unemployable for the rest of his life. However, he will never complain and would not change anything that he did in the past. In fact, if he were able to serve his country today he would. He hopes the Board sees it fit to award these forgotten medals, which he believes were lost in the shuffle somewhere. He would be honored to have the Secretary of the Air Force or any of his staff personally award him these medals. In support of his request, the applicant provides personal statements, excerpts from his personnel records, a copy of a letter from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), a copy of NA Form 13059, Transmittal of and/or Entitlement to Awards, and a copy of a letter from the National Personnel Records Center. His complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. _________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant enlisted into the Regular Air Force on 1 Jun 81 and was progressively promoted to the grade of staff sergeant (E-5), having assumed that grade effective and with a date of rank of 1 Mar 89. The applicant was medically retired on 6 Apr 92 after serving 10 years, 10 months, and 6 days on active duty. Additional relevant facts pertaining to this application, extracted from the applicant’s military records, are contained in the letter prepared by the appropriate office of the Air Force. Accordingly, there is no need to recite these facts in this Record of Proceedings. The AmnM Criteria: It is awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States or of a friendly nation who, while serving in any capacity with the United States Air Force after the date of the award's authorization, who have distinguished himself or herself by a heroic act, usually at the voluntary risk of his or her life but not involving actual combat. The saving of a life or the success of the voluntary heroic act is not essential. Do not award for normal performance of duties. The MSM Criteria: The Meritorious Service Medal may be awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who distinguishes themselves by either outstanding achievement or meritorious service to the United States. The JSCM Criteria: Any member of the Armed Forces who distinguishes himself or herself by meritorious achievement or service while serving in any specified activity after 1 Jan 65 is eligible for this award. However, it will not be awarded for any period of service for which any of the commendation medals of the branches of the armed forces are given. _________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSIDR recommends denial. DPSIDR states they were unable to verify the applicant’s entitlement to the AmnM, MSM, and JSCM. DPSIDR cannot support his request without a special order or other documentation that would qualify him for these awards. DPSIDR notes that any recommendation for decorations, including the AmnM, MSM and JSCM is submitted on an individual basis and is a voluntary act on the part of the recommending official. Under 1996 NDAA, veterans may be recommended for a decoration by following these procedures. However, the written recommendation must meet two criteria: 1) be made by someone, other than the member himself, in the member’s chain of command at the time of the incident, and, who has firsthand knowledge of the acts or achievements; and, 2) be submitted through a congressional member who can ask a military service to review a proposal for a decoration based on the merits of the proposal and the award criteria in existence when the event occurred. The recommending official must sign the recommendation. The DPSIDR complete evaluation is at Exhibit B. _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 10 Sep 10 for review and comment within 30 days. As of this date, this office has received no response. _________________________________________________________________ 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 failure to timely file. 3. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of error or injustice. We took notice of the applicant's complete submission in judging the merits of the case; however, we agree with the opinion and recommendation of the Air Force office of primary responsibility and adopt its rationale as the basis for our conclusion that the applicant has not been the victim of an error or injustice. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no basis to recommend granting the relief sought in this application. 4. The applicant's case is adequately documented and it has not been shown that a personal appearance with or without counsel will materially add to our understanding of the issues involved. Therefore, the request for a hearing is not favorably considered. _________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: The applicant be notified that the evidence presented did not demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; that the application was denied without a personal appearance; and that the application will only be reconsidered upon the submission of newly discovered relevant evidence not considered with this application. _________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2010-02639 in Executive Session on 15 Mar 11, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: The following documentary evidence was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 16 Jul 10, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPSIDR, dated 23 Aug 10. Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 10 Sep 10.