RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-03132 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: YES APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD) be upgraded. APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: He had one bad urinalysis. He served 20 honorable years prior to his discharge and was highly decorated. He served on many difficult tours including two trips to Vietnam on Prisoner of War (POW)/Missing In Action (MIA) missions, numerous typhoon clean-up assignments in Guam and served as a coordinator for space shuttle missions at Moron Air Base, Spain. The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A. STATEMENT OF FACTS: On 15 November 1985, the applicant entered the Regular Air Force. According to General Court-Martial Order, Number 2, dated 19 June 2002, the applicant was found guilty by a general court- martial of wrongfully using cocaine on or near Moron Air Base, Spain on or about 2 April 2001 and on or about 9 April 2001, in violation of Article 112a, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). The sentence adjudged on 18 January 2002 was a BCD, confinement for 30 days and reduction to the grade of Senior Airman (SrA, E-4). On 24 September 2009, he was discharged with a BCD and a narrative reason for separation of “court martial.” He served 23 years, 9 months and 17 days on active duty. On 19 March 2015, the applicant’s case was administratively closed per his letter dated 25 February 2015 requesting an extension of time to obtain a copy of his FBI report. The applicant was informed his case would be reopened for further processing upon his request. In a letter dated 5 September 2015, the applicant requested his case be re-opened. The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are contained in the memorandum prepared by the Air Force Office of Primary Responsibility (OPR), which is attached at Exhibit C. AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFLOA/JAJM recommends denial as there was no error or injustice with the court-martial process. The punishment adjudged by the panel of officer members and approved by the convening authority was within the range of permissible punishments. The applicant was afforded all of his appellate rights. In accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 1552(f), the Board has no authority to overturn the court-martial conviction but may only on the basis of clemency, correct the actions taken by the reviewing authorities. The applicant submitted no evidence in support of clemency. On 19 June 2002, the convening authority approved the sentence as adjudged. On 16 December 2004, the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the findings and sentence in whole. On 14 February 2004, the applicant petitioned the Court of Appeal for the Armed Forces (CAAF) for review. On 27 October 2005, the CAAF denied the applicant’s petition for grant of review. Final action was taken on the applicant’s case on 12 December 2005. A complete copy of the AFLOA/JAJM evaluation is at Exhibit C. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: He is remorseful he has brought shame to himself, his family, the Air Force and his country. He believes he has been aptly punished and wishes to stand proud again with his peers. For 20 years of his life, he gave all he had and his record of awards is quite impressive. He volunteered on two missions to Vietnam to help locate POW/MIA remains. He also assisted in the construction of a clinic for Kurdish refugees from Iraq and left his family over Christmas to assist in a civil action team in Chuuk. He was also selected to attend a second Cobra Gold Exercise in Thailand. As the Noncommissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) of the clinic at Moron Air Base, Spain he assisted families in receiving full medical and dental care under a partnership with Rota Air Base, Spain. He was also the NCOIC of the NASA Space Shuttle Recovery Team and supervised and maintained thousands of dollars in equipment. While at Moron, he began to rely on alcohol too much and accidentally ingested cocaine during a Sunday soccer game. He was given a cigarette laced with cocaine. He felt his heart racing and could not sleep the night before the drug urinalysis that caused his court-martial, confinement, loss of grade and a dishonorable discharge. He made the wrong choice to smoke it. While still in the Air Force, he obtained his license as a registered nurse. He has obtained certifications as an emergency registered nurse, flight nurse and intensive care nurse. He has not touched cocaine knowingly again and have many drug urinalyses to prove it. As reflected in the FBI report, the drinking caught up with him. He was stopped numerous times in different states while intoxicated. The last time was in Pennsylvania where he was given the choice of intensive inpatient rehabilitation or prison. He has been clean and sober since 19 May 2007 and also serves as a sponsor to those who are trying to stay sober giving them the benefit of his knowledge, experience and the terrible path it has made for him. His choices have ruined his proud Air Force career and have taken away his numerous benefits. He has tried to side step his dishonorable discharge but it still lurks around every corner. He has ruined his life with the bad choices he has made. He asks the Board to reconsider the dishonorable discharge and grant him clemency. In support of his request, he provides letters of support and FBI report dated 24 June 2015. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit H. 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 an error or injustice. We note that this Board is without authority to reverse, set aside, or otherwise expunge a court-martial conviction. Rather, in accordance with 10 U.S.C. § Section 1552(f), actions by this Board 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 based on clemency; however, we find the information presented insufficient to warrant granting relief on that basis at this time. A key component of this determination is whether or not an applicant has a criminal record. While the applicant has provided a number of supporting statements attesting to the positive impact of his efforts in the community, the FBI report provided by the applicant reflects he has an arrest record, to include an arrest as recent as 2009 for Driving Under the Influence (DUI). Therefore, in view of the above, we find no basis to recommend granting the relief sought in this application. 4. The applicant’s case is adequately documented and it has not been shown that a personal appearance with or without counsel will materially add to our understanding of the issues involved. Therefore, the request for a hearing is not favorably considered. THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: The applicant be notified the evidence presented did not demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; the application was denied without a personal appearance; and 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 AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-03132 in Executive Session on 10 March 2016 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-03132 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 29 August 2014. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Memorandum, AFLOA/JAJM, dated 4 November 2014. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 17 November 2014. Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 10 February 2015. Exhibit F. Letter, applicant, dated 25 February 2015, Exhibit G. Letter, AFBCMR, undated. Exhibit H. Letter, Applicant, dated 5 September 2015, w/atchs.