RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-04991 

 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 

 HEARING DESIRED: NO 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

He official records be corrected to reflect: 

 

1. Foreign service credit for his service in Thailand. 
(Administratively resolved) 

 

2. Any awards associated with his service while he was in 
Thailand helping refugees during the fall of Saigon. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

He was stationed in Korat Air Base, Thailand in 1975 during the 
fall of Saigon and assisted in the refugee evacuation effort. 

 

The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

The applicant served as an officer on active duty during the 
period 11 Dec 70 through 31 Oct 81. He retired from active duty 
effective 1 Nov 81, and was credited with 20 years and 19 days 
of total active service, which included eight years and one day 
of foreign service. 

 

AFPC/DPAPP verified the applicant was stationed at Korat Air 
Base, Thailand for 1 year, 1 month, and 11 days during the 
period 30 May 74 through 10 Jul 75, and provided him with a 
“boots on the ground” letter for Thailand. 

 

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are 
described in the letter prepared by the Air Force primary office 
of responsibility which is included at Exhibit C. 

 

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

AFPC/DPSIDRA recommends denial of award of the Armed Forces 
Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) and/or the Vietnam Service Medal 
(VSM), indicating there is no evidence of an error or injustice. 
The applicant is requesting entitlement to any awards for his 
service in Thailand due to his help with the refuge effort. 
The fall of Saigon, South Vietnam resulted in Operation FREQUENT 
WIND, the evacuation of American civilians and South Vietnamese 
from Saigon from 29 Apr 75 to 30 Apr 75. The AFEM is awarded 
for deployed service to Vietnam in direct support of Operation 
FREQUENT WIND from 29 Apr 75 to 30 Apr 75. A service member is 
considered to have provided direct support to Operation FREQUENT 
WIND if the service member actually deployed to Vietnam. There 
is no documentation located within the applicant’s official 
military record verifying he forward deployed from Thailand to 
Vietnam between 29 Apr 75 and 30 Apr 75, nor does he claim to 
have. Therefore, the applicant is ineligible for entitlement to 
the AFEM. Further, because he is ineligible for the AFEM, he is 
also ineligible to exchange the AFEM for the VSM. 

 

A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSIDRA evaluation is at Exhibit C. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the 
applicant on 17 Apr 12 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 failure to timely file. 

 

3. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to 
demonstrate the existence of an 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 
(OPR) and adopt its rationale as the basis for our conclusion 
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 the 
application. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 


THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: 

 

The applicant be notified the evidence presented did not 
demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; the 
application was denied without a personal appearance; and 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-2011-04991 in Executive Session on 26 Jul 12, under 
the provisions of AFI 36-2603: 

 

 

 

The following documentary evidence was considered: 

 

 Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 15 Dec 11. 

 Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. 

 Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSIDRA, dated 9 Apr 12. 

 Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 17 Apr 12.