IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 19 December 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160004345 BOARD VOTE: _________ _______ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ___x____ ___x____ ___x____ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 19 December 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160004345 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. ___________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. IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 19 December 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160004345 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 correction of his military records to show he was a prisoner of war (POW) and was awarded the POW Medal and the Purple Heart. 2. The applicant states: a. During the period November 1997 through December 1997, he was captured and held by a military force in the designated war zone of Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He was struck and physically abused during the time of his capture. His life was threatened and he was held against his will. b. He was only released with direct intervention by the Commander of the Stabilization Force (COMSFOR), General E____ S____, and Colonel (COL) J____ G____. The event was kept secret until January 2016. Statements, including those from COL J____ G____, describe the facts of the capture and release back to the COMSFOR. c. The capture, abuse, and release remained a secret by those concerned so as to protect the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina and not cause further issues between NATO countries and commands. 3. The applicant provides: * Joint Service Commendation Medal (JSCM) Certificate, dated 6 March 1998 * Recommendation for Joint Award, dated 6 March 1998 * JSCM Citation, undated * self-authored Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Form 21-4138 (Statement in Support of Claim), dated 20 November 2015 * eight VA Forms 21-4138 written by witnesses, family, and friends * self-authored electronic mail to the President of the United States, dated 7 March 2016 CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing. 2. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 16 November 1993. 3. His Enlisted Record Brief, Section D (Overseas Service), shows he deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina from 24 January 1996 through 15 November 1996 and again from 21 September 1997 through 17 March 1998. 4. A Recommendation for Joint Award, dated 6 March 1998, was signed by COL J____ G____, as Executive Officer to COMSFOR and the recommending official. It shows the applicant was recommended for the JSCM for achievement during the period 24 September 1997 through 18 March 1998. The justification states: * he was cited for exceptionally meritorious achievement while assigned as administrative specialist for the COMSFOR in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, from 24 September 1997 through 18 March 1998 * he tracked and ordered all COMSFOR gifts for Soldiers, Ambassadors, and other dignitaries * he was responsible for the design, contracting, and procuring COMSFOR coins, photograph boxes, and plaques * he tracked all work orders for building maintenance and repair of COMSFOR offices and billeting areas * he assisted the Tiger Team's mission during the visit of the President of the United States and was responsible for driving numerous very important persons * his highly professional attitude, teamwork, and ability to accomplish all tasks in a timely manner ensured the success of many COMSFOR administrative missions * his extensive computer knowledge contributed greatly to the overall efficiency of the administrative office * he skillfully and aggressively completed the mission while remaining sensitive to the multi-national forces responsible for providing support to the commander 5. The text of the JSCM Citation mirrors the accomplishments enumerated in the JSCM recommendation, dated 6 March 1998. 6. The accompanying JSCM Certificate shows he was awarded the JSCM for meritorious service for the Armed Forces of the United States from 24 September 1997 through 18 March 1998. 7. His DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) shows he was honorably discharged due to completion of required active service. He completed 8 years, 7 months, and 2 days of net active service during this period. Item 13 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) does not show he was awarded the POW Medal or the Purple Heart. Item 18 (Remarks) does not state he was a POW. 8. There is no evidence in his military records showing he was wounded as a result of hostile action or that he was held as a POW while serving in Bosnia-Herzegovina. 9. The applicant provided a VA Form 21-4138, which he signed on 20 November 2015, in support of his VA claim for benefits. It states: a. He has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by physicians and mental health experts, which is all well-documented in his VA medical records. He is receiving PTSD treatment at the Biloxi VA Mental Health Clinic and suffers from many ailments in addition to PTSD, including headaches, seizures, memory loss, depression and tinnitus. His PTSD is related to multiple events during his service in Bosnia-Herzegovina. b. In 1997, he was directly shot at along with another Soldier while performing guard duty at the Tuzla Airfield. The bullets were so close that they could hear them zip by. He was in another frightening and life-threatening incident while riding as an escort in the cab of a tractor trailer driven by a civilian contractor delivering mail to troops out in the field. They had gotten lost and ended up in an unknown town and had a difficult time getting back to the route. A massive group of people started gathering and they were throwing rocks and other items at their vehicle. He thought they were going to be killed. c. During his service in Bosnia-Herzegovina, he was at locations where he personally witnessed open graves and saw dead people littered on the ground. Many of those gruesome events still haunt him. He saw charred and burnt bodies and decaying men, women, and children. These mass graves were opened in territories that were disputed and in which ethnic cleansing had taken place, and the frightful images remain in his mind. d. Another incident occurred when he was an aide to General E____ S____ and to the executive officer, COL J____ G____. He was sent to the Sarajevo International Airport to retrieve items from the general's jet, when he and a supervisor were violently thrown to the ground by French military personnel. Their weapons were confiscated and the French soldiers shoved the muzzles of their weapons into the sides of their heads and held them to the ground so they could not move. They were held in this manner until a French commander cleared them. Also while assigned as the aide to the SFOR commander, they were either threated and yelled at or even hit with dirt, rocks, and other materials when dealing with Bosnian locals including Serbs, Croats, and Muslims. He was in danger numerous times while in bombed-out structures. e. In 1997 while on a convoy operation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Humvee he was a passenger in struck a landmine. There were injuries and he was violently thrown, thereby striking his head very roughly against the side of the vehicle. He continues to have ringing in his ears as a result of this incident. He was treated by medical professionals at the site for bruises and cuts. 10. He provided seven VA Forms 21-4138 from the following individuals on the following dates in support of his VA claim, which attest to their firsthand knowledge of his disabling PTSD symptoms and other physical ailments resulting from his tours in Bosnia-Herzegovina: * his wife, A____ C____, dated 4 January 2016 * his daughter, A____ K____, dated 4 January 2016 * his sister, L____ D____, dated 5 January 2016 * his father, W____ C____, dated 6 January 2016 * his step-mother, R____ C____, dated 6 January 2016 * his mother-in-law, L____ H____, dated 6 January 2016 * friend, name illegible, dated 10 January 2016 11. He provided a VA Form 21-4138 from COL (Retired) J____ G____, dated 12 January 2016, which states: a. During the period July 1997 through October 1998, he was the executive officer to the Commanding General, U.S. Army Europe, who was dual-hatted as the NATO Commander, SFOR, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The NATO command headquarters was in Sarajevo with numerous NATO nations' military represented in staff and support positions there, including a small detachment of U.S. military personnel assigned to support the NATO command and the U.S. Army general who was in command. b. While the forces within the NATO alliance generally worked well together, there were times of tension between soldiers of different nationalities. One of the periods of particular tension between U.S. Forces and French forces was in November and December 1997. French soldiers responsible for security of the military airport in Sarajevo would hassle and detain U.S. Soldiers for unnecessary security screening and deny U.S. Soldiers access to U.S. equipment. c. On one occasion around 18 November 1997, the French detachment detained the commander's U.S. Army personal security detail. This incident was resolved quickly, but a few of the French soldiers and leaders seemed to believe the United States had over-played its hand by interfering with their security of the airport. Based on international agreements, the French were responsible for the Sarajevo International Airport and its security. Some took it as a point of national pride to enforce security and to dictate the ground rules to others. d. One evening the strain between the French and U.S. Soldiers became particularly tense when the French soldiers detained a U.S. vehicle and apprehended the U.S. Soldiers at gunpoint. The language barrier compounded the situation, increased the hostility of the situation, and caused tempers to flare. The French, who were armed with loaded side arms and rifles, felt that the U.S. Soldiers were violating security and were trying to illegally enter the French-controlled airport. The U.S. Soldiers, who were armed with M-16 rifles, did not have magazines inserted and were on a detail to obtain U.S. Postal Service mail and other U.S. equipment from the U.S. aircraft assigned to the commander. Confusion and threats continued to escalate the situation to the point where the French soldiers forcefully ordered the U.S. Soldiers to the ground. Some body contact was made and the French soldiers threatened the U.S. Soldiers by pointing their weapons directly at them. Once the U.S. Soldiers were on the ground, some reported weapons were pointed at their heads. e. Both sides of the incident believed the situation was rapidly approaching a potential shooting situation. Telephone calls were made from the NATO Commander's office to the commander of the French detachment at the airport. Several U.S. and international officers, as well as soldiers, went to the scene to deescalate the situation. With these interventions, the French allowed the U.S. Soldiers to get up off the ground and leave the area. When he interviewed the U.S. Soldiers after the incident, the Soldiers felt they were in a life and death situation. Several were angry they were treated in this manner. The situation was compounded by the language barrier and misunderstanding of each other's body language and motions with their weapons. Movements by each side were interpreted as hostile. After his incident, the international general officers met and resolved future situations by issuing new identification badges to individuals accessing the airport. f. He certifies the applicant served in Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of SFOR during the period September 1997 to March 1998 and was actively involved in the potentially life-threatening incident reported above as he was one of the Soldiers detained by the French soldiers. 12. The applicant did not provide a copy of his VA Rating Decision or medical records. 13. He provided a copy of email correspondence he sent to the President of the United States, dated 7 March 2017, wherein he requests assistance with his VA benefits and states he was captured and abused by the French Army in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. REFERENCES: 1. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual and unit awards. a. The POW Medal is authorized for any person who, while serving in any capacity with the U.S. Armed Forces, was taken prisoner and held captive after 5 April 1917. The POW Medal is to be issued only to those U.S. military personnel and other personnel granted creditable U.S. military service who were taken prisoner and held captive: (1) while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States; (2) while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; (3) while serving with friendly forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party; or (4) by foreign armed forces that are hostile to the United States, under circumstances which the Secretary concerned finds to have been comparable to those under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during periods of armed conflict. For purposes of this medal, past armed conflicts are defined as: World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam Conflict, Grenada, Panama, Southwest Asia Conflict, Somalia, and Iraq. b. The Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. Award of the Purple Heart may be made for wounds treated by a medical professional other than a medical officer provided a medical officer includes a statement in the service member's medical record that the extent of the wounds was such that they would have required treatment by a medical officer if one had been available to treat them. 2. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separations Documents), in effect at the time, established the standardized policy for preparing and distributing discharge documents. a. Awards and decorations for all periods of service would be entered on the DD Form 214 at item 13 in the priority sequence specified in Army Regulation 600-8-22. b. For a Soldier with POW documentation (whether or not eligible for award of POW Medal), enter "PRISONER OF WAR, (unit of assignment/country) (date of capture and release date)" in item 18 of the DD Form 214. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant contends he is authorized award of the POW Medal and Purple Heart. 2. The evidence of record shows the applicant deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina twice during his military service – from 24 January 1996 through 15 November 1996 and again from 21 September 1997 through 17 March 1998. 3. He provided numerous witness statements from family and friends in conjunction with his own statements to the VA, attesting to the many ailments from which he suffers, including PTSD, headaches, seizures, memory loss, depression, and tinnitus. 4. While the veracity of the statements is not called into question, these statements alone do not suffice to confirm the applicant sustained a wound as the result of hostile action that required treatment by medical personnel and was made a matter of his official record. 5. Evidence that would corroborate his claim to have been a POW, such as operations orders, duty status reports, morning reports, security debriefings, eyewitness statements, or casualty reports, is not of record. The incident he described did not involve enemy forces; rather, he was temporarily detained by allied forces until his status could be verified. 6. While COL (Retired) J____ G____'s detailed account of the incident the applicant experienced involving the French soldiers at the Sarajevo International Airport corroborates how stressful a situation that likely was, it does not suffice to support the applicant's contention he was held as a POW by enemy forces or sustained injuries as a result of the incident eligible for award of the Purple Heart. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160004345 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160004345 8 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2