ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS BOARD DATE: 8 November 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20190008960 APPLICANT REQUESTS: Correction of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show the Armed Forces Service Medal (AFSM) and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM). APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * DD Form 214 FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three year time frame provided in Title 10, United States Code (USC), section 1552(b); however, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. 2. The applicant states he served in Bosnia in support of Operation Joint Forge (OJF) from August 1998 to March 1999. At the time of his discharge, Congress had not determined what awards would be awarded for service in Bosnia. He feels it would be an injustice not correcting his DD Form 214 to include the awards due to not being able to obtain specialty license plates in Texas and by not having in is records awards he rightfully earned. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Medal is listed on his DD Form 214 as they were awarded the medal before departing Bosnia. 3. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 6 August 1997. 4. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service confirmed the applicant received hostile fire/imminent danger pay and combat zone tax exclusion for service in Bosnia during the period 1 August 1998 – 31 March 1999 (8 months). 5. In a previous application to the ABCMR, dated 27 September 2010, the applicant indicated he arrived in Bosnia on 28 August 1998. 6. The applicant was discharged on 20 September 1999. His DD Form 214 shows in: a. block 12f (Foreign Service) the entry "0000 05 14" indicating 5 months and 14 days of foreign service; b. block 13 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) the Army Service Ribbon and the NATO Medal; c. block 18 (Remarks) no entry for any deployments BOARD DISCUSSION: After review of the application and all evidence, the Board determined that there is sufficient evidence to grant partial relief. The applicant requested to add both the AFEM and the AFSM for the same operation to his DD Form 214. However, only one of these awards is awarded per operation. The AFEM is of a higher order of precedence than the AFSM. Therefore, the Board found sufficient evidence to add the AFEM to the applicant’s DD Form 214, but not the AFSM. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF : X :X :X GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief. 1. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by amending the applicant’s DD Form 214: * Enter in item 13 ((Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) – Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. 2. The Board further determined 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 Armed Forces Service Medal. 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. REFERENCES: 1. Title 10, USC, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within three years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the ABCMR to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the three-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states: a. The AFEM is awarded for qualifying service after 1 July 1958 in U.S. military operations, U.S. operations in direct support of the United Nations, and U.S. operations of assistance for friendly foreign nations. Table 2-4 of the regulation provides that qualifying service for this award includes service in Bosnia- Herzegovina in support of OJF during the period 21 June 1998 to 2 December 2004. b. The AFSM may be awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States for operations for which no other U.S. campaign or service medal is approved and who, after 1 June 1992, participate or have participated as members of U.S. military units in a U.S. military operation deemed to be a significant activity and encounter no foreign armed opposition or imminent threat of hostile action. Table 2-6 of the regulation provides that qualifying service for this award includes service in support of OJF during the period 21 June 1998 to 23 March 1999 but only for participants deployed in support of the Former Republic of Yugoslavia in Slovenia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia, and Hungary. c. Table 2-6, Note 5, states that only one award of either the AFEM of the AFSM is authorized for participation in direct support of OJF. d. The AFEM is a higher precedence than the AFSM. 3. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), in effect during the applicant's active duty service, prescribes the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. It provides standardized policy for the preparation of the DD Form 214 and states for: a. block 12f, enter the total amount of foreign service completed during the period covered by the DD Form 214; b. block 13, list awards and decorations for all periods of service in the priority sequence specified in Army Regulation 600-8-22; c. block 18, for an active duty Soldier deployed to a foreign country with his or her unit during their continuous period of active service, enter the statement "SERVICE IN (NAME OF COUNTRY DEPLOYED) FROM (inclusive dates for example, YYYYMMDD - YYYYMMDD)." NOTHING FOLLOWS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190008960 5 1