RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2021-03381

XXXXXXXXXXXXX	COUNSEL:XXXXXX
	
	HEARING REQUESTED: NO

APPLICANT’S REQUEST

His retirement pay be increased by 10 percent due to his award of the Airman’s Medal for heroism.

APPLICANT’S CONTENTIONS

The 10 percent increase in retirement pay was not originally annotated on his Airman’s Medal citation or the accompanying order.  He feels that his actions met the threshold of extraordinary heroism as he placed his personal health and well-being in danger to save the lives of two complete strangers.

The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant is a currently serving Air Force master sergeant (E-8).

Special Order XXXXX, dated 15 Jan 08, states that the applicant was “awarded the Airman’s Medal for heroism on 23 Dec 04 involving risk of life under conditions other than those of conflict with an armed enemy of the United States” and “The approved individual for the award of the Airman’s Medal has been considered and not approved for an additional 10 percent for retirement purposes in accordance by the decoration approval authority”.

For more information, see the excerpt of the applicant’s record at Exhibit B and the advisory at Exhibit C.

AIR FORCE EVALUATION

SAF/MRBP recommends denying the application.  The applicant contends he was not considered for the additional ten percent retired pay increase when he was awarded the Airman’s Medal and argues that special verbiage should have been annotated on the original citation, and because it was not, he is a victim of an error or injustice.  However, he provides no evidence to support that his actions were not duly evaluated under the extraordinary heroism standard.  The Secretary of the Air Force has to make an affirmative discretionary finding that an enlisted member’s actions constitute extraordinary heroism and while the applicant’s actions were certainly heroic, his actions as documented in the citation do not constitute extraordinary heroism when compared to similarly situated enlisted members who have earned the Airman’s Medal when taking action at the scene of automobile accidents.
The complete advisory opinion is at Exhibit C.

APPLICANT’S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION

The Board sent a copy of the advisory opinion to the applicant on 6 Apr 21 for comment (Exhibit  D), but has received no response.

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

1.  The application was timely filed.

2.  The applicant exhausted all available non-judicial relief before applying to the Board.

 After reviewing all Exhibits, the Board concludes the applicant is not the victim of an error or injustice.  The Board concurs with the rationale and recommendation of SAF/MRBP and finds a preponderance of the evidence does not substantiate the applicant’s contentions. While the applicant’s actions were certainly heroic, his actions did not rise to the level of extraordinary when compared to similarly situated members.  Therefore, the Board recommends against correcting the applicant’s records.

RECOMMENDATION

The Board recommends informing the applicant the evidence did not demonstrate material error or injustice, and the Board will reconsider the application only upon receipt of relevant evidence not already presented.

CERTIFICATION

The following quorum of the Board, as defined in Air Force Instruction (AFI) 36-2603, Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records (AFBCMR), paragraph 1.5, considered Docket Number BC-2021-03381 in Executive Session on 17 May 22:

, Panel Chair 
, Panel Member
, Panel Member

All members voted against correcting the record.  The panel considered the following:

Exhibit A:	Application, DD Form 149, w/atchs, dated 5 Oct 21.
Exhibit B:	Documentary evidence, including relevant excerpts from official records.
Exhibit C:	Advisory Opinion, SAF/MRBP, dated 6 Apr 22.
Exhibit D:	Notification of Advisory, SAF/MRBC to Applicant, dated 6 Apr 22.

Taken together with all Exhibits, this document constitutes the true and complete Record of Proceedings, as required by AFI 36-2603, paragraph 4.11.9.