RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2002-03458
		INDEX CODE:  110.02

		COUNSEL:  NONE

		HEARING DESIRED: NO

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His discharge be upgraded from Bad Conduct to General, Under Honorable Conditions.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

His trial (Special Court Martial) was not fair and he should’ve been granted a hardship discharge.  There was no evidence of any wrongdoing except the word of a sergeant.

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments is at Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant contracted his enlistment in the Regular Air Force on 10 August 1950.  He was progressively promoted to the grade of Airman 2nd Class (A2C/E-3) with an effective and date of rank of 30 June 1952.

On 30 June 1952, the applicant was punished with an Article 15 resulting in reduction in grade from A2C to Airman 3rd Class for being Absent Without Leave (AWOL) from 8 to 11 May and 16 to    30 June 1952.  Applicant was AWOL for four additional periods (8 –15 July 1952, 8–20 August 1952, 1–14 September 1952 and 27 Oct to 1 November 1952) for which he received punishment of 3 months confinement with hard labor and a fine of $34 per month for two months on 9 December 1952.  Applicant failed to report to duty on 20, 23, 28 and 29 April 1953 and, on 30 April 1953, was charged with willfully disobeying an order to remove rank insignia that the applicant was not authorized to wear.  On 22 May 1953, the applicant was punished for the failure to report and disobeying an order by being confined for four months with hard labor and forfeiture of $40 per month for four months (reduced to $34 per month for four months by 31 August 1953 Review Board), and a Bad Conduct Discharge.

The record does not indicate when the applicant returned to the United States (sometime after 16 September 1953), but picks up on 1 December 1953 with the applicant being declared AWOL from his personnel processing squadron at Parks AFB in California.  On   31 December 1953 the applicant was formally charged as a deserter.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) apprehended the applicant on 11 March 1954 in Pennsylvania and returned him to military custody at the --- Air Defense Group in Wilmington, Delaware.  The applicant was confined in Wilmington after being charged AWOL for the period 23 through 29 March 1954.  During the discovery period the record shows that the applicant was released on or about 13 May 1954 after officials in Wilmington, DE determined that the applicant should’ve been discharged upon arrival at the personnel processing squadron at Parks AFB, California.

A special court-martial was convened on 4 June 1954 in Wilmington to address the applicant’s two outstanding AWOL charges,         1 December through 12 March 1954 and 23 through 29 March 1954, where the applicant was found guilty and consequently sentenced to confinement with hard labor for six months and fined $34 per month for six months.  The sentence was disapproved and the charges dismissed as the HQ Eastern Defense Force commander found that the applicant had, in fact, been discharged from the Air Force with a Bad Conduct Discharge on 14 May 1954.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPRS recommends denial.  DPPRS contends that the documentation in the applicant’s file confirms that the discharge was consistent with the procedural and substantive requirements of the discharge regulation and that the discharge was within the discretion of the discharge authority.  Additionally, DPPRS notes a lack of any new evidence or identification of errors or injustices that occurred during the discharge processing.  

AFPC/DPPRS evaluation is at Exhibit C.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force Evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 27 November 2002, for review and comment within 30 days.  As of this date, this office has received no response.  

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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 material error or injustice.  After a special court-martial for several offenses, the applicant was discharged with a bad conduct discharge.  It appears that the responsible officials applied appropriate standards in effecting the discharge, and the applicant has not provided persuasive evidence that pertinent regulations were violated or that he was not afforded all the rights to which he was entitled. The applicant has failed to sustain his burden of demonstrating he suffered either an error or an injustice and we conclude that no basis exist to recommend favorable action on his request.

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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 AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2002-03458 in Executive Session on 23 April 2003, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

	Panel Chair
	Member
	Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 5 Nov 02, w/atchs. 
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPRS, dated 21 Nov 02.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 27 Nov 02.