RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-04560 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: Her Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD) be set aside and replaced with an administrative discharge of no less than General (Under Honorable Conditions). ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: Her BCD is an injustice that will impact her and her family for the rest of their lives. Prior to the allegations in this case, her military service was exceptional and the BCD she received is not consistent with the service she gave to the Air Force. It is a stain that will impact her family forever. Her defense counsel encouraged her not to file an appeal. The BCD is a considerable hurdle to finding meaningful employment. She can no longer serve in the military or in government and educational opportunities have been closed to her. Her federal conviction, combined with the fact that she served time in confinement and her career ended in shame, is sufficient punishment for her offenses. Granting her request will make it easier for her family to recover and give her a better chance to be a strong, contributing member of society. In support of her request, the applicant provides an expanded statement and copies of documentation related to her court- martial, which include the charge sheet, post trial documentation, her initial and final clemency requests, and the portion of the transcript of trial containing her defense counsel’s closing argument. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: The relevant facts pertaining to this application, extracted from the applicant’s military personnel records, are contained in the letter prepared by the appropriate office of the Air Force which is at Exhibit C. Accordingly, there is no need to recite these facts in this Record of Proceedings. ________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFLOA/JAJM recommends denial, indicating there is no evidence of an error or injustice. The applicant was tried at a general court-martial in 2007 where she was accused of claiming Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for her daughter for a locality in which the daughter did not reside. She was ultimately found guilty by a panel of officers and enlisted members of one specification of larceny, four specifications of making a false official statement, and one specification of dereliction of duty, all in violation of various articles of the UCMJ. She was sentenced to a BCD, confinement for six months, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and reduction in grade to airman basic (E-1). On 14 Feb 08, the convening authority approved only so much of the sentence that called for a BCD, confinement for 120 days, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and reduction in grade to airman basic. On 13 Mar 09, the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals granted the applicant’s motion to have her case withdrawn from appellate review. The applicant contends she was “encouraged” by her defense counsel to make such a motion; however, in doing so, she signed a statement indicating that she made the decision freely and voluntarily, that no one made her any promises that she would receive any benefits from the withdrawal, and that no one had forced her to make it. Her case was reviewed on 4 Aug 09 in accordance with Article 64(a) of the UCMJ, making the findings and sentence final and conclusive. On 19 Aug 09, the applicant’s BCD was ordered executed. The applicant has identified no error related to the processing of her court-martial. She alleges the fact of the BCD itself is an injustice. She was afforded all the procedural rights offered by the court-martial and appellate process. It is important to note the AFBCMR is without authority to reverse, set aside, or otherwise expunge a court-martial conviction that occurred on or after 5 May 50. Specifically, Title 10, United States Code, Section 1552(f)(1) permits the correction of a record to reflect actions taken by reviewing authorities under the UCMJ. Additionally, Section 1552(f)(2) of said title permits the correction of records related to action on the sentence of courts-martial for the purpose of clemency. While clemency is an option, there is no reason for the Board to exercise clemency as she has not provided any substantive argument or documentation in support of her request, and doing so would be unfair to those individuals who honorably served their country while in uniform. A complete copy of the AFLOA/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 25 Mar 11 for review and comment within 30 days. As of this date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit D). ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations. 2. The application was timely filed. 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 Title 10, United States Code, 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 have considered the applicant’s overall quality of service, the court-martial conviction which precipitated the discharge, and the seriousness of the offenses to which convicted. Based on the evidence of record, we cannot conclude that clemency is warranted. Therefore, we find no basis upon which to favorably consider this application. ________________________________________________________________ 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-2010-04560 in Executive Session on 25 Aug 11, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: The following documentary evidence was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 2 Nov 10, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, AFLOA/JAJM, dated 3 Feb 11. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 25 Mar 11.