IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 16 February 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150005765 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests reconsideration of his earlier request for an accurate accounting of his number of Air Medals. 2. As a new issue, he requests correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show a third award of the Presidential Unit Citation. 3. The applicant states: * the previous Record of Proceedings shows he flew 1,862 combat flights; the correct number was 986 combat hours * the number of Air Medals awarded, 74 awards, should be lowered to an accurate number based on the number of hours he flew * he is building a shadow box for his children and wants to make sure he receives the appropriate number of Air Medals * he participated in the Studies and Observation Group (SOG), U.S. Army Military Assistance Command-Vietnam (MACV) * SOG-MACV was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for service from January 1964 to April 1972 4. The applicant provides: * Previous Record of Proceedings * Certificate showing award of the Presidential Unit Citation to SOG-MACV CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20070012218 on 17 January 2008, and Docket Number AR20080007728 on 2 October 2008. 2. The applicant does not meet the regulatory criteria for reconsideration because his request was not received within 1 year of the original decision and it does not contain new evidence. However, he presents an argument that the previous Board decision may have awarded him more Air Medals than authorized by appropriate regulations. Thus, the Board will review his record. 3. The applicant enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) on 15 June 1965. He served in Vietnam from December 1965 to December 1966. He was released from the USMC on 15 March 1968. His USMC DD Form 214 shows he was awarded or authorized the: * Vietnam Service Medal with 2 bronze service stars * Purple Heart * Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960) * National Defense Service Medal * Presidential Unit Citation * Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar 4. He enlisted in the Regular Army on 28 October 1969 and completed 36 weeks of training in warrant officer rotary wing aircraft courses. He was honorably discharged on 18 October 1970 to accept an appointment as a warrant officer. 5. He was appointed as a warrant officer of the Army and executed an oath of office with concurrent call to active duty on 19 October 1970. He held military occupational specialty (MOS) 100B (UH-1 Rotary Wing Helicopter Pilot). 6. He served in Vietnam from 2 March 1971 to 4 December 1971. He was assigned as a helicopter pilot to Companies B and C of the 158th Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Mobile). 7. His record contains various forms related to flight hours, missions, and awards of the Air Medal. Multiple DA Forms 759 (Individual Flight Record and Flight Certificate (Part I)-Army) covering the period February through November 1971 show he flew 1,862 hours of Mission Symbol "C" (combat) flight hours as a UH-1H first pilot, co-pilot or aircraft commander. His DA Forms 759-1 (Individual Flight Record and Flight Certificate (Part II)-Army) shows the number of days he flew by month: Period Days (Missions) Flown March 1971 14 April 1971 26 May 1971 20 June 1971 28 July 1971 21 August 1971 8 September 1971 21 October 1971 20 November 1971 13 Total 171 8. He was honorably released from active duty on 7 December 1971. His DD Form 214 for this period of service shows he was awarded or authorized the: * National Defense Service Medal * Vietnam Campaign Medal * Vietnam Service Medal * Army Aviator Badge * Purple Heart * Presidential Unit Citation * Air Medal * Bronze Star Medal * Vietnam Cross of Gallantry [with Palm Unit Citation] 9. On 17 January 2008, following his petition to the Board (ABCMR Docket Number AR20070012218), the Board determined that: * general orders awarded him the Air Medal for the period 12 March 1971 to 21 March 1971 * his flight records show he flew a total of 1,862 pilot combat flight hours during the period February 1971 through November 1971 * he also participated in six campaigns during his assignments in Vietnam 10. As a result, the applicant was issued a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214) that added: * Air Medal with Numeral 74 * Purple Heart (1st Oak Leaf Cluster) * Vietnam Service Medal with one silver service star 11. On 2 October 2008, following his petition to the Board (ABCMR Docket Number AR20080007728), the Board determined he was previously awarded the Presidential Unit Citation while assigned to the USMC and his unit in Vietnam, the 158th Aviation Battalion, was cited for award of the Presidential Unit Citation for service from 3 February to 28 March 1971. 12. As a result, the Army Review Boards Agency, Support Staff, St. Louis issued the applicant Permanent Orders 225-06 awarding him the Air Medal (2nd through 74th Award). Additionally, his previously-issued DD Form 215 was revoked and he was issued a new DD Form 215 that added: * Air Medal with Numeral 74 * Purple Heart (1st Oak Leaf Cluster) * Vietnam Service Medal with 1 silver service star and 1 bronze service star * Presidential Unit Citation (1st Oak Leaf Cluster) 13. He provides a certificate, dated 25 October 2001, awarding the Presidential Unit Citation to SOG-MACV for heroism from 24 January 1964 to 30 April 1972. 14. Department of the Army General Orders Number 2001-25, issued on 8 June 2001 awarded the Presidential Unit Citation to the SOG-MACV and selected assigned or attached units. The 158th Aviation Battalion is not listed as an assigned or attached unit. 15. U.S. Army Vietnam (USARV) Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) provided guidelines for award of the Air Medal. a. It defined terms and provided guidelines for the award based upon the number and types of missions or hours. Twenty-five Category I missions (air assault and equally dangerous missions) and accrual of a minimum of 25 hours of flight time while engaged in Category I missions was the standard established for which sustained operations were deemed worthy of recognition by an award of the Air Medal. However, the regulation was clear that these guidelines were considered only a departure point. b. Combat missions were divided into three categories. A category I mission was defined as a mission performed in an assault role in which a hostile force was engaged and was characterized by delivery of ordnance against the hostile force, or delivery of friendly troops or supplies into the immediate combat operations area. A category II mission was characterized by support rendered a friendly force immediately before, during or immediately following a combat operation. A category III mission was characterized by support of friendly forces not connected with an immediate combat operation but which must have been accomplished at altitudes which made the aircraft at times vulnerable to small arms fire, or under hazardous weather or terrain conditions. c. To be recommended for award of the Air Medal, an individual must have completed a minimum of 25 category I missions, 50 category II missions or 100 category III missions. Since various types of missions would have been completed in accumulating flight time toward award of an Air Medal for sustained operations, different computations would have had to be made to combine category I, II and III flight time and adjust it to a common denominator. 16. Army Regulation 95-1 (Flight Regulation) covers aircraft operations, crew requirements, and flight rules. The regulation specifies that each crew member must present his or her individual flight records to the unit of assignment. The flying experience and qualification data for each rated crew member and flight surgeon in aviation service and each non-rated crew member will be documented on several forms among which are the DA Form 759 and the DA Form 759-1. The "Mission Data" column on the DA Form 759-1 lists a single character for the mission identification (ID). During the Vietnam War, the following Mission IDs were used: Mission Symbol Service Missions A Acceptance test Flight F Maintenance Flight S Service Mission T Training Flight X Experimental Test Flight C Combat Mission 17. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that Arabic numerals are now used instead of oak leaf clusters for the second and succeeding awards of the Air Medal. The numeral 2 denotes the second award of the Air Medal. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. SOG-MACV (and selected assigned and attached units) were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for heroism from January 1964 to April 1972. Neither the applicant nor his unit were assigned or attached to SOG at the time. He does not meet the criteria for another award of the Presidential Unit Citation. 2. With respect to the Air Medal: a. Under USARV Regulation 672-1, aircrew members were required to have a minimum of 25 category I missions and 25 flight hours to qualify for each award of the Air Medal. Based on the evidence of record, the applicant flew 1,862 combat hours as recorded on his DA Forms 759 for the period from February through November 1971. He was assigned to two separate aviation units who maintained his individual flight records. b. The applicant did not provide evidence to show that his flight records were inaccurate though he believes he only flew 986 combat hours nor did he provide evidence to show what type of combat missions were flown. As previously discussed, there are three types of combat missions. c. The applicant received one award of the Air Medal which the Board presumed was for Category I missions (25 flight hours) during his active period of service in Vietnam. d. With no evidence to support Category II or Category III missions, the Board presumed all his combat hours were Category I missions (air assault and equally dangerous missions). Taking his total number of combat flight hours, presumed to be Category I, and subtracting 25 flight hours for his first Air Medal, the Board awarded him 74 Air Medals (1,862 - 25 = 1,837; 1,837 / 25 = 73.48 then round down to a whole number 73). As the Board did not take into consideration missions, the calculations and number of Air Medals awarded were misleading. e. Upon careful examination of his multiple DA Forms 759-1, it appears he flew 171 combat missions based on days flown. As the Board previously assumed his combat missions were Category 1, the total number of Air Medals based on missions and hours is 6 (171 missions / 25 = 6.84). The Air Medal, when properly credited, is awarded based on the combination of flight hours and missions resulting normally in a lower number of Air Medals. As the previous Board decision only took into consideration the number of flight hours flown, it erred in its calculation and awarded more Air Medals than authorized by regulation. f. As he was previously awarded one Air Medal in Vietnam, his record should be corrected to show five additional Air Medals, not 74 as recommended in ABCMR Docket Number AR20070012218. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ____X____ ___X_____ ___X_____ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 1. As for the reconsideration of the award of the Air Medal, the Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant amendment of the ABCMR’s decision in Docket Number AR20070012218, dated 17 January 2008. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: * revoking Permanent Orders 225-06, dated 12 August 2008 awarding him the Air Medal (2nd through 74th Award) * issuing him new orders awarding him the Air Medal (2nd through 6th Award) * voiding his DD Form 215, dated 26 March 2009 * issuing him a new DD Form 215 showing the same awards as shown on his previous DD Form 215 except for the Air Medal, should be 2nd through 6th Award, as shown below * Air Medal with Numeral 6 * Purple Heart (1st Oak Leaf Cluster) * Vietnam Service Medal with one silver service star and one bronze service star * Presidential Unit Citation (1st Oak Leaf Cluster) 2. As for the new issue, the Board further determined that the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief. As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to the Presidential Unit Citation. _______ _ __X_____ ___ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150005765 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150005765 8 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1