RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2013-04846 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD) be upgraded to a general. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: At this point in his life it is difficult to get and maintain gainful employment due to the fact he has a BCD. He is not seeking any benefits from the government. The Board should consider his application in the interest of justice. Instead of arresting him as a result of his misbehavior he should have received a lesser punitive discipline which was the norm. A copy of the applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: On 19 Jul 78, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force. According to General Court-Martial Order, Number 3, dated 3 Feb 82, the applicant was tried before a general court martial on 3 Nov 81. He was charged with 7 specifications of wrongful selling, possession and use of marijuana. The applicant pled guilty to all pleas and was found guilty of all the specifications and the charge. He was sentenced to a BCD, confinement with hard labor for 3 years, forfeiture in the amount of $367.00 per month for 6 months and was reduced to the grade of Airman Basic (AB, E-1). On 1 Dec 81, the convening authority adjudged the sentence. Only so much of the sentence that provided for a BCD, confinement at hard labor for 18 months, forfeiture of $360.00 per month for 6 months and reduction to the grade of AB was approved. According to General Court-Martial Order, Number 185, dated 1 Oct 82, the portion of the sentence to confinement at hard labor in excess of 15 months was remitted. On 5 Nov 82, he was discharged with a BCD and narrative reason for separation of conviction by court-martial, others. Pursuant to the Board’s request, the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) confirmed on 27 Jan 14 a criminal history investigation does exist. On 17 Jun 14, a request for post-service information was forwarded to the applicant for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibit E). As of this date, no response has been received by this office. ________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFLOA/JAJM recommends denial. Unfortunately, JAJM does not have any record of the applicant’s court martial so it is difficult to make a well informed recommendation. Through research, they determined that he filed a petition for grant of review with the United States Court of Military Appeals on 10 May 82 and the Court denied the petition on 23 Jun 82. JAJM notes that the applicant does not contend there was any error or injustice with the court-martial process. Rather, he is simply asking the Board for relief from the negative consequences of a BCD. JAJM does not believe this is a sufficient reason by itself to grant the applicant relief. The complete JAJM evaluation is at Exhibit C. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 14 Mar 14, for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibit D). As of this date, no response has been received by this office. ________________________________________________________________ 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. We note this Board is without authority to reverse, set aside, or otherwise expunge a court-martial conviction. Rather, in accordance with Title 10, United States Code, Section 1552(f), our actions are limited to corrections to the record to reflect actions taken by the reviewing officials and action on the sentence of the court- martial for the purpose of clemency. We find no evidence which indicates the applicant’s service characterization, which had its basis in his court-martial conviction and was a part of the sentence of the military court, was improper or that it exceeded the limitations set forth in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). We considered upgrading the discharge on the basis of clemency; however, after considering the applicant's overall quality of service, the court-martial conviction which precipitated the discharge, the seriousness of the offenses of which convicted, and the lack of documentation pertaining to his post-service activities, we cannot conclude that clemency is warranted. In view of the above, we find no basis to recommend approval based on the current evidence of record. ________________________________________________________________ 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. ________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered Docket Number BC-2013-04846 in Executive Session on 29 Jul 14, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member The following documentary evidence was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 17 Oct 13. Exhibit B. Applicant’s Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, AFLOA/JAJM, dated 6 Mar 14. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 14 Mar 14. Exhibit E. Letter, AFBCMR, dated 17 Jun 14, w/atch. 1 2