RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-03867 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ THE APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: He be entitled to the award of the Legion of Merit (LOM). ________________________________________________________________ THE APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: While still on active duty, he was recommended for the LOM; however, the LOM was not processed due to an administrative oversight in an earlier award for the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM). The oversight surrounding the award of the DMSM has been corrected and the recommending official requests as an exception to policy that he be considered for the LOM. He was initially awarded the DMSM as a meritorious service award; however, historically, all DMSMs awarded to Air Force astronauts in recognition of spaceflight missions have been written as “meritorious achievement” rather than “meritorious service.” The DMSM closed out with insufficient time to allow the LOM to be awarded. In support of his appeal, the applicant provides copies of letters of support from the recommending official, the Commander of the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC/CC) and the Chief, Astronaut Office; his officer performance reports for the period 20 Sep 04 through 19 Sep 08; the LOM recommendation package; the DMSM elements, and other supporting documents. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant was assigned as an Astronaut Pilot and Mission Specialist, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), AFSPC, Houston, Texas. In recognition of the applicant's retirement on 1 June 2009, he was recommended for award of the LOM (in an undated letter) by the Chief, Astronaut Office. This letter was never further endorsed; however, the recommendation for the award – computer request was signed on 16 Apr 09. The applicant retired effective, 1 June 2009. In a 14 Aug 10, letter from the Air Force Space Command Commander, it states that the delay of the LOM processing was due to the administrative process for getting the condition for award of the DMSM changed. ________________________________________________________________ THE AIR FORCE EVALUATION: SAF/MRBP recommends denial, stating, in part, based on the documentation provided by the applicant in the case file, had the Air Force Decorations Board (AFDB) received the LOM from AFSPC for consideration they would have contacted AFSPC and given them an opportunity for a rewrite and resubmission. However, without the rewrite, the LOM would have been disapproved due to insufficient justification and impact. IAW the Delegation of Approval Authority for Award of the Legion of Merit (LOM) to USAF Members message 121758Z May 09, Section 5H, "liberal interpretation of award criteria is appropriate for officers serving in the grade of colonel and above, provided the officer's most recent performance warrants such consideration.” The criteria for award of the LOM requires a minimum of 18 months in a qualifying position. Officer qualifying positions are: Wing/Vice Commanders; Group Commanders of all types; and Air Staff Division Chiefs. This section goes on to state "Ensure the award package reaches the AFDB with enough time for its consideration prior to the member's actual retirement date. Once a member's retirement has consummated in MILPDS, the AFDB no longer has authority to act on the award submission. Further, section 3 states "Normally awards to USAF members are limited to service in an extremely difficult duty that is performed in a clearly exceptional manner if such service is of marked national or international significance to the Air Force or the Department of Defense; or service which has aided the US in furthering its national policies; or service which has furthered the interests of the security of the US or any nation allied or associated with the US during a period of national emergency declared by the President or Congress." Based on the date of the DECOR 6, it was the intent of the applicant's leadership to recognize his accomplishments upon his retirement with the award of the LOM. The applicant was awarded the DMSM on 25 Mar 09 for the period 1 Apr 07 to 14 Jun 08 for his meritorious service (changed to "impact") during Space Shuttle Discovery's STS-124 mission to the International Space Station. The period of award for this decoration should have been 31 May 08 to 14 Jun 08, the period of the STS-124 mission. There is nothing in the DMSM citation that discusses the applicant's pre-mission activities, thus the decoration should have only been for the specific period of the mission. Due to the award period of the Mar 09 DMSM, that time and the STS-124 mission cannot be considered in the award of the retirement LOM. Further, the applicant did not pin on colonel (0-6) until 1 Oct 06, so the period of time since his most previous decoration through 30 Sep 06 cannot be considered in the LOM inclusive period. Therefore, only the periods of time between 1 Oct 06 to 31 Mar 07 (six months), and 15 Jun 08 to 31 May 09 (11 months, 15 days) can be considered for the retirement LOM. This period of time is 15 days short of the 18 months required for award of the LOM, although not a show- stopper for a retirement LOM. The complete SAF/MRBP evaluation is at Exhibit C. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF THE AIR FORCE EVALUATION: A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 14 Feb 11 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 timely filed. 3. Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of error or injustice warranting approval of the applicant’s request for award of the Legion of Merit. While we note the comments of the Secretary of the Air Force Personnel Council (SAFPC) that they would have denied awarding the applicant the LOM based on the submission lacking sufficient justification and impact, SAFPC also points out that liberal interpretation of the award criteria is allowed for officers serving in the grade of colonel and above. Although the applicant is also 15 days short of the full 18 months required in a qualifying position, SAFPC advises that this too is not necessarily a “show-stopper.” We also note that time was removed from consideration due to overlapping with another award processed on the applicant. In reaching our decision to recommend approval of award of the LOM to the applicant, we placed great weight on the strong recommendation for approval from the highest level of his chain of command. In our view, the evidence of record indicates it was clearly their intent that the applicant receive the Legion of Merit at retirement. We also believe the evidence of record substantiates that the applicant made significant contributions to the Air Force and our Nation worthy of recognition by award of the LOM. Therefore, in the interest of equity and justice, we recommend his records be corrected as indicated below. ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that on 30 May 2009, he was awarded the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service. ________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2010-03867 in Executive Session on 13 December 2011, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: All members voted to correct the records, as recommended. The following documentary evidence was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 21 Sep 10, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBP, dated 7 Feb 11. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 14 Feb 11.