RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:				DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2013-00426
      COUNSEL: NONE
             					HEARING DESIRED:  NO

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

His DD Form 214, Report of Separation from Active Duty, be 
corrected to reflect his service in Vietnam.  

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He served within the country of Vietnam according to the 
Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA).  

In support of his appeal, the applicant provides copies of a 
Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) Rating Decision excerpt; DD 
Forms 214, Report of Separation from Active Duty, Armed Forces 
of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge; and DD 
Forms 215, Correction to DD Form 214.  

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at 
Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant is a former member of the Regular Air Force who 
served on active duty from 14 June 1971 to 28 August 1974.  The 
applicant served at Clark Air Base, Republic of Philippines, 
from 20 January 1972 to 15 January 1973.  

The applicant provided an excerpt of a DVA Rating Decision 
indicating they verified he served “Boots-on-the-ground” in the 
Republic of Vietnam (RVN) based on his military dental records; 
however, the applicant’s dental records are not available for 
the Board’s review, nor has the applicant provided copies of the 
source documents.  

A DVA Request for Information, submitted by the applicant on 
20 October 2004, indicates: “There is no evidence in this 
Veteran’s file to substantiate any service in the Republic of 
Vietnam.” 

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPAPP recommends denial.  DPAPP states that after a 
thorough review of the applicant’s military service records, 
they found no evidence to substantiate the applicant served 
“Boots-on-the-ground” in Vietnam.  However, they did note the 
applicant’s DD Form 214 is incorrect in regard to reflecting his 
foreign service at Clark Air Base, Philippines, from 30 January 
1972 to 15 January 1973.  Their office will correct the 
applicant’s DD Form 214 to reflect his foreign service upon 
decision by the Board.

The complete DPAPP evaluation is at Exhibit C.  

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the 
applicant on 8 March 2013, for review and comment within 30 days 
(Exhibit D).  As of this date, this office has received no 
response.

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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 note the 
applicant’s DD Form 214 is in error in regards to the fact that 
it does not reflect any foreign service; however, we also note 
that the Air Force office of primary responsibility will correct 
his DD Form 214 to reflect 11 months and 17 days of Foreign 
Service for the time he served at Clark Air Base, Republic of 
the Philippines, from 30 January 1972 to 15 January 1973.  
Notwithstanding this however, we did consider whether his 
records should be corrected to reflect his service in the RVN in 
the interest of justice, as many similarly situated applicants 
request such a correction in order to support applications to 
the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) for service-connections 
of various ailments resulting from herbicide exposure.  However, 
in the applicant’s case, for the purpose of determining a 
service-connection for his diabetes mellitus, the DVA resolved 
the indeterminate evidence regarding his RVN service in his best 
interest.  While the DVA determined they could not deny the 
possibility the applicant was stationed TDY in the RVN on 
5 February 1972 for the purpose of conceding herbicide exposure, 
we do not find substantial evidence to recommend disturbing the 
record.  

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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.

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The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2013-00426 in Executive Session on 15 October 2013, 
under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

	                   , Panel Chair
	                   , Member
	                   , Member

The following documentary evidence was considered in connection 
with AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2013-00426:

Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 7 Jan 13 w/atchs.
Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPAPP, dated 25 Feb 13.
Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 8 Mar 13. 
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