RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2015-00066 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His DD Form 214, Report of Separation from Active, be amended to include the award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM). APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: He deployed to Korat, Thailand in support of Operation CONSTANT GUARD VI and meets the criteria for the award of the AFEM. The AFEM was issued for support operations in Cambodia and Thailand between the dates of 29 Mar 73 and 15 Aug 73. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant initially entered the Regular Air Force on 11 Jul 72. On 29 Nov 74, the applicant was furnished an Honorable discharge, and was credited with 2 years, 4 months, and 19 days of active service. The applicant’s DD Form 214 reflects the award of the following Air Force Medals and/or Ribbons: - National Defense Service Medal The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are contained in the memorandums prepared by the Air Force offices of primary responsibility (OPR), which are attached at Exhibits C and D. AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPAPP recommends denial indicating there is no evidence of an error or an injustice. A review of the applicant’s master personnel records and the documentation provided failed to substantiate any Foreign Service time in Thailand. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPAPP evaluation is at Exhibit C. AFPC/DPSID recommends denial indicating there is no evidence of an error or an injustice. 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 United States military units in a United States Military operation in which service members of any Military Department participate, in the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in significant numbers; encounter, incident to 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. Service members must be bona fide members of a unit participating in or be engaged in the direct support of the operation for 30 consecutive days in the area of operations (or for the full period when an operation is less than 30 days duration) or for 60 nonconsecutive days provided this support involved entering the area of operations or meet one or more of the following criteria: Be engaged in actual combat, or duty which is equally as hazardous as combat duty, during the operation with armed opposition, regardless of time in the area; Is wounded or injured and requires medical evacuation from the area of eligibility while participating in the operation, regardless of time; Accumulate 15 days service (consecutive/nonconsecutive) while participating as a regularly assigned crewmember of an aircraft flying sorties into, out of, within, or over the area in direct support of the military operation. After a thorough review of the applicant’s official military personnel record, they were not able to verify award of the AFEM, nor were they able to locate any official documentation to verify he deployed to the area of eligibility in direct support of an operation for which the AFEM is authorized. They were able to determine the below Air Force Medals and/or Ribbons should have been awarded during the applicant’s service: - Air Force Outstanding Unit Award - Air Force Good Conduct Medal Upon final Board decision, administrative correction of the applicant’s official military personnel records will be completed by AFPC/DPSOR. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSID evaluation is at Exhibit D. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the applicant on 24 Aug 15 for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibit E). As of this date, no response has been received by this office. 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 opinions and recommendations of the Air Force offices of primary responsibility (OPR) and adopt their rationale as the basis for our conclusion that relief beyond that already granted administratively is not warranted. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no basis to recommend granting the requested relief. 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-2015-00066 in Executive Session on 20 Oct 15 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2015-00066 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 13 Dec 14, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Memorandum, AFPC/DPAPP, dated 17 Apr 15. Exhibit D. Memorandum, AFPC/DPSID, dated 10 Aug 15 Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated DD MMM YY.