RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:  02-00725
		INDEX CODE:  110.00

		COUNSEL:  NONE

		HEARING DESIRED:  NO

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His Under Other Than Honorable Conditions discharge be upgraded to honorable.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

Because of his previous years of service, which were honorable, he should be granted an upgrade for his last period of service.

In support of the appeal, applicant submits a personal statement, a copy of all DD Forms 214, and four character references.

Applicant's complete submission is attached at Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 26 November 1963 for a period of 4 years.  On 25 May 1976, he reenlisted for the 3rd time.

On 8 November 1977, his commander notified the applicant that he was initiating action against him.  The reasons for his proposed actions were:  Applicant has shown serious misconduct which established a pattern of shirking his responsibilities.  He engaged in frequent acts of misconduct shown by his numerous violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.  For misbehavior, action was taken six times under Article 15, UCMJ, for ten offenses over a period of 1 year.  Because of his failure to maintain military deportment and multiple Article 15 actions, he was reduced in grade from the rank of staff sergeant, E-5 to Airman Basic, E-1.  On 19 October 1977, he received a letter of reprimand for disorderly conduct which took place on 12 October 1977.

On 25 July 1977, he was involved in an aggravated assault on a fellow airman when he struck the individual with a Samurai Sword causing bodily injury.  On several occasions he had shown disrespect and hostility toward personnel in the chain of command. He requested to be relieved of duties due to personal problems, which he would not discuss, because he felt he could not perform his duties, and he demanded an immediate return to the CONUS for the purpose of discharge action from the service.  In addition, he related to the commander that he had an alcohol problem.  When he was to enter Alcohol Rehabilitation he made no attempt to cooperate with the unit personnel or Social Actions to support the rehabilitation.  This would have been his second time in the Alcohol Rehabilitation Program.

The applicant, while serving in the grade of airman basic, was discharged from the Air Force on 20 March 1978 under the provisions of AFM 39-12 (involuntary discharge, misconduct, an established pattern of shirking) and received an under other than honorable conditions discharge.  He served 14 years, 3 months and 1 day total active service.  The applicant’s last enlistment was for 1 year, 9 months and 13 days.  He received three honorable discharges for his prior active duty time.  Applicant had 13 days lost time.

Pursuant to the Board’s request, the Federal Bureau of Investigation provided an investigative report which is attached at Exhibit C.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPRS states that they believe the discharge was consistent with the procedural and substantive requirements of the discharge regulation.  Additionally, the discharge was within the sound discretion of the discharge authority.  Therefore, they recommend denial of applicant’s request.

A complete copy of the evaluation is attached at Exhibit D.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

On 5 April 2002, a copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant for review and response within 30 days.  As of this date, no response has been received by this office.

On 10 June 2002, a copy of the FBI Report was forwarded to the applicant for review and response within 14 days.  As of this date, no response has been received by this office.

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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 error or injustice.  Evidence has not been provided which would lead us to believe that the applicant’s discharge was improper or contrary to the provisions of the regulation under which it was effected.  Based on numerous infactions committed by the applicant against the good order and discipline of the service, and according to his stated desire, discharge proceedings were initiated against the applicant.  He has provided no evidence indicating the information in his discharge case file was erroneous or that his commanders abused their discretionary authority.  We have noted the character references provided by the applicant but in view of the contents of the FBI investigative report, we do not find the evidence provided by the applicant warrants clemency in the form of recharacterization of his under other than honorable conditions discharge.  Accordingly, the applicant’s request is not favorably considered.

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THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified that the evidence presented did not demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; that the application was denied without a personal appearance; and that the application will only be reconsidered upon the submission of newly discovered relevant evidence not considered with this application.

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The following members of the Board considered this application in Executive Session on 8 October 2002, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

The following documentary evidence was considered:

	Exhibit A.	DD Form 149, dated 18 Feb 02, w/atchs.
	Exhibit B.	Applicant's Master Personnel Records.

	Exhibit C.	FBI Report.
	Exhibit D.	Letter, AFPC/DPPRS, dated 28 Mar 02.
	Exhibit E.	Letter, AFBCMR, dated 5 Apr 02.