RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-05175 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, be corrected to reflect he was authorized and awarded the following: a.  Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal (NDOSM) (administratively corrected). b.  Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) c.  Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon (AFESR) d.  Air and Space Campaign Medal (ASCM). e.  Kosovo Campaign Medal (KCM). f.  Air Force Good Conduct Medal (AFGCM). APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: He did not realize he had missing medals until the new Nuclear Deterrence Medal was issued. He is authorized award of the NDOSM due to the substantiated documentation in his Personnel Reliability Program (PRP) medical records and his AF Form 77, Supplemental Evaluation Sheet, for the period 28 April 1998 thru 3 August 1998, which indicate he was a M60 machine gunner in the weapons storage area, resulting in his flight receiving an excellent rating on the Nuclear Surety Inspection in 1997. In addition, he assisted personnel in improving tactical skills for priority “A” munitions recovery. He is authorized award of the AFEM and/or the AFESR based on his clearance for permanent change of station (PCS) to Turkey and his participation in Operation NORTHERN WATCH while assigned at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. Moreover, his AF Form 77, indicates he provided positive and stringent security for over 51 deployed multinational aircraft in a high threat area as declared by the United States Department of State, ensuring aircraft sortie missions were never threatened Incirlik. He is authorized award of the ASCM and/or the KCM due to his participation in Operation ALLIED FORCE. Specifically, he was injured while supporting Allied Forces, which led to his honorable discharge with disability compensation. Time should not be of an issue because his medical records show that he was deployed to Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairfield, United Kingdom (UK) in support of the B52’s and his consultation sheet show he was in excellent health prior to his deployments. His claim is further substantiated through his documented compensation and pension (C&P) examination. By amendment at Exhibit E, he meets the criteria for the KCM due to his deployment to Fairford England with the B52 bombers from Beale Air Force Base in support of Operation ALLIED FORCE. While serving deployed, he was injured and sent from the area of operation for medical attention, which eventually led to his medical discharge. He is authorized the AFGCM due to his honorable service. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant initially entered the Regular Air Force on 23 January 1997. On 21 January 1998, the applicant received non-judicial punishment (NJP) under Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for resisting apprehension and being disorderly, in violation of Articles 95 and 134, UCMJ. His group commander imposed punishment consisting of a suspended reduction to the grade of airman basic (E-1) until 20 June 1998. On 4 November 1998, the applicant’s group commander denied his award of the AFGCM, with a new start date of 22 January 1998. On 22 October 1999, the applicant was honorably discharged with a narrative reason for separation of “Disability, Severance Pay”. He was credited with two years and nine months of total active service. The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are contained in the memorandum prepared by the Air Force office of primary responsibility (OPR), which is attached at Exhibit C. AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSID recommends approval of the applicant’s request for award of the NDOSM. An analysis of his official military personnel records revealed he should have been awarded the NDOSM for his service from 23 January 1997 to 22 October 1999; as such his records will be administratively corrected. However, verification could not be made for award of the AFEM, AFESR, ASCM, KCM, and AFGCM. The AFEM may be awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who after 1 July 1958 participate or have participated as members of US military units in a US military operation in which service members participate in significant numbers and encounter during such participation foreign armed opposition, or are otherwise placed, or have been placed, in such position that, in the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hostile action by foreign armed forces was imminent even though it did not materialize. Such service members must be members of a unit engage in the operation or meet one or more of the following criteria: a.  Be engaged in direct support for 30 consecutive days in the area of operations or 60 nonconsecutive days provided this support involves entering the area of operations. b.  Be engaged in actual combat, or duty that is equally as hazardous as combat duty, during the operation with armed opposition, regardless of time in the area. c.  Participate as a regularly assigned crew member of an aircraft flying into, out of, within, or over the area in support of the military operations. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service verified the applicant received hazardous duty pay/imminent danger pay for service in Turkey from 3 June 1997 to 6 September 1998. According to the applicant AF Form 77, he was deployed to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey and was assigned to the 39th Security Forces Squadron. While there is no documentation located within the applicant’s official military personnel record stating what operation he was supporting while in Turkey, it is more likely than not that based on the location of his deployment and unit of assignment while deployed that the deployment was in support of Operation NORTHERN WATCH. However, while deployed to Turkey, the applicant received punishment under Article 15. Therefore, he does not have the honorable service as required by the award criteria to receive the AFEM. The AFESR is awarded to Air Force active duty, reserve, and guard personnel who complete a contingency deployment after 1 October 1999. Deployed credit is defined as either 45 consecutive days or 90 nonconsecutive days in deployed status. The applicant was discharged on 22 October 1999; therefore, he does not qualify for the AFESR, as he did not complete a contingency deployment of 45 consecutive days or 90 nonconsecutive days after 1 October 1999. The ASCM may be awarded to members of the United States Air Force who, after 24 March 1999, supported a significant United States military operation designated by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force as qualifying for the ASCM. Members who provided direct support for 30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days to one of these operations at home station or from outside of the geographic area of combat qualify for award of the ASCM. Direct support is defined as deploying in support of an ASCM approved operation or if performing functions at home station or from outside the geographic area of combat which historically were forward deployed, or entirely new and future missions, which due to technological advances are no longer constrained by geographical location. This includes, but is not limited to, sortie generation, intelligence, surveillance, targeting, computer network attack operations, etc. The ASCM is authorized for qualifying service in support of Operation ALLIED FORCE FROM 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. Although the applicant contends he should be awarded the ASCM due to receiving an injury while supporting Operation ALLIED FORCE which led to his discharge; there is no official verification he provided direct support of Operation ALLIED FORCE from home station or he was assigned to a unit in direct support of an ASCM approved operation for 30 consecutive days or 60 nonconsecutive days at home station or from outside of the geographic area of combat in support of Operation ALLIED FORCE. The KCM was established to recognize military service performed in Kosovo from 24 March 1999 to a future date to be determined. Individuals authorized the KCM must have participated in or served in direct support of Kosovo operations within the Kosovo Air Campaign area of eligibility or the Kosovo Defense Campaign area of eligibility for 30 consecutive days in the area of eligibility or for 60 nonconsecutive days in direct support of Kosovo operations. The Kosovo Air Campaign area of eligibility is defined as the total land area and air space of Serbia (including Kosovo), Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, and Slovenia; and the waters and air space of the Adriatic and Ionian Sea from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The Kosovo Defense Campaign area of eligibility is defined as the total land area and air space of Serbia (including Kosovo), Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, and the waters and air space of the Adriatic seas from 11 June 1999 to a date to be determined. Service members must have been permanently assigned, attached, or detailed to a unit that participated in or was engaged in direct support of designated operations for 30 consecutive days in the area of eligibility or for 60 nonconsecutive days provided this support involved entering the area of eligibility or meet one or more of the following criteria: was engaged in actual combat, or duty that is equally hazardous as combat duty, with armed opposition, regardless of time in the operation; while participating in a designated operation, regardless of time, was killed, wounded, or injured requiring medical evacuation from the operation. Service members participating as regularly assigned aircrew member accrue one day of eligibility for each day they fly into, out of, within, or over the area of eligibility in direct support of the military operations. The KCM is authorized for qualifying service in support of Operation ALLIED FORCE from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. Although the applicant contends he should qualify for the KCM due to receiving an injury while supporting Operation ALLIED FORCE, which led to his discharge, there is no official documentation verifying the applicant deployed to the area of eligibility in direct support of Operation ALLIED FORCE for award for the KCM. Also there is no official verification the applicant participated in or served in direct support of Kosovo operations within the Kosovo Air Campaign area of eligibility or the Kosovo Defense Campaign area of eligibility for 30 consecutive days or for 60 nonconsecutive days in direct support of Kosovo operations. The AFGCM is awarded only to enlisted personnel for "exemplary conduct" (exemplary behavior, efficiency, and fidelity), while on active military service of the United States on 1 June 1963 by the Secretary of the Air Force (SecAF). Members must have demonstrated a positive attitude toward the Air Force and their jobs. Qualifying periods of service: each 3 years completed on or after 1 June 1963; for first award only, upon termination of service on or after 1 June 1963, of less than 3 years but more than 1 year; for first award only, upon termination of service, on or after 1 June 1963, of less than 1 year when final separation was by reason of physical disability incurred in line of duty; for first award only, for those members who died before completing 1 year of active Federal military service if the death occurred in the line of duty. The above timeframes are decreased to 1 year any time that the United States is at war, as declared by the United States Congress. The entire year must have been served in the area of eligibility during the period indicated. Award of the AFGCM is automatic unless denied by the unit commander. Denials are the result of less than exemplary conduct. Commanders are required to prepare a memorandum or letter stating the period involved for denying and adjust the award to the new start date. Adjustment of the AFGCM qualifying period is in conjunction with adverse actions (such as unfavorable information file, control roster actions, Article l5s, letters of reprimand, etc.). The applicant received punishment under Article 15 and denial of the AFGCM. Although he completed approximately 1 year and 9 months of qualifying service for the AFGCM between his new start date and his date of separation; he did not meet the award criteria of 3 years honorable active duty service. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSID evaluation is at Exhibit C. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: The applicant states he satisfies the criteria for award of the AFEM. He did not demonstrate a pattern of misconduct and his service was so meritorious that any other characterization would be clearly inappropriate. He refutes the isolated incident in Turkey should be so compelling as to override his honorable service in support of Operation NORTHERN WATCH, as evidenced in his final performance evaluation completed by his supervisor before his PCS. He placed himself in imminent danger by volunteering to deploy to this location and he honorably represented his country by protecting people and resources through a severe earthquake, a Turkish workers strike, and threats from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist organization. He did more than just show up for work. He represented the United States of America beyond the uniform by helping orphans in the town of Adan, Turkey and volunteering for deployments and events that would allow him to be the best in his profession. He further argues that he meets the criteria for award of the KCM since he incurred an injury followed by medical attention. The duration of his deployment is not an element that must be satisfied as suggested. The applicant’s complete response is at Exhibit E. THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 1.  The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations. 2.  The application was not timely filed. While the applicant claims a date of discovery of less than three years ago, in our view, the reasonable date of discovery of the alleged error or injustice was more than three years ago and the application is therefore untimely; however, it is in the interest of justice to waive the failure to timely file. 3.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice. The applicant’s complete submission, including his response to the Air Force evaluation, was thoroughly reviewed and his contentions duly noted; however, in our view, the Air Force office of primary responsibility (OPR) has conducted a thorough review of the evidence of record and addressed the issues presented by the applicant and we are in agreement with their opinion and recommendation. We note that AFPC/DPSIDR has determined the applicant’s DD Form 214 should be administratively corrected to reflect his entitlement to the NDOSM. Therefore, in view of the above and in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no basis to recommend granting additional relief beyond that rendered administratively. 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-2014-05175 in Executive Session on 20 August 2015 and 31 August 2015 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: Chair Member Member The following documentary evidence pertaining AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-05175 was considered: Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 16 December 2014, w/atchs. Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C.  Memorandum, AFPC/DPSID, dated 18 April 2015. Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 1 July 2015. Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 24 July 2015, w/atchs.