RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-01740 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: The Nonjudicial Punishment (NJP) under Article 15 imposed on 28 Apr 14 be set aside. APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: Her Article 15 should be set aside because her treatment during the case was unfair and unjust and maintains her innocence regarding the incident. Her case involved her and her roommate. She pled not guilty to the charges and appealed the Article 15; however, her appeal was denied. Then, she was notified of administrative discharge action, while her roommate received an honorable discharge due to mental health reasons. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. STATEMENT OF FACTS: On 14 Mar 14, the applicant was offered nonjudicial punishment under Article 15, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). She was charged with, between on or about 7 Jan and 7 Feb 14, for wrongful use of oxycodone in violation of Article 112a, UCMJ. The applicant was afforded the opportunity to consult with defense counsel, accepted the Article 15 and waived her right to demand trial by court-martial. She elected to present written matters and requested a personal appearance before the commander. On 3 Apr 14, the commander decided that the applicant had committed the offense alleged. The commander imposed punishment consisting of a forfeiture of $765.00 pay per month for two months. On 8 Apr 14, the applicant appealed the commander's decision and sought to have the Article 15 set aside. However, her appeal was denied. On 15 Apr 14, the Article 15 action was reviewed and determined to be legally sufficient. On 30 May 14, the applicant was discharged with service characterized as general, under honorable conditions, in the grade of airman first class (A1C/E-3). She was credited with 7 months and 23 days of active service. AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFLOA/JAJM recommends denial indicating there is no evidence of an error or an injustice. JAJM notes, the applicant claimed in her appeal letter that she ingested a pill from her roommate, which she believed to be a common painkiller such as Ibuprofen, and that she did not knowingly take a Percocet pill. After taking a random drug urinalysis test in Feb 14, the Air Force Drug Testing Laboratory reported in Mar 14, the applicant tested positive for oxycodone, the active ingredient in Percocet. After carefully reviewing the record and the package submitted by the applicant, JAJM cannot find good cause to reverse or otherwise change the commander's decision, even after considering the information provided by the applicant that she did not knowingly take the Percocet pill. In this case, the applicant's commander was in the best position to review the evidence presented at the time of the Article 15, and to determine the veracity of such evidence. The applicant had consulted counsel and accepted the Article 15. Furthermore, the applicant appealed the Article 15, and the Appellate Authority, after considering all of the evidence upheld the Article 15. JAJM did not find any facts indicating any irregularities with the Article 15 process. If the applicant disagreed with the misconduct allegations she could have turned down the Article 15 and gone to trial, but she chose not to do so at the time. 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 27 Jun 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 timely filed. 3. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an injustice regarding the applicant’s request that her Article 15 be set aside. We took notice of the applicant’s complete submission in judging the merits of the case; however, we agree with the opinion and recommendation of the Air Force office of primary responsibility and adopt its rationale as the basis for our conclusion the applicant has not been the victim of an error of injustice. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no basis to recommend granting the requested relief. 4. Notwithstanding the above, sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an injustice to warrant corrective action. In this respect, while we believe the Article 15 action taken against the applicant was in accordance with the applicable governing instructions; nonetheless, after a thorough review of the facts and circumstances of this case, we find the applicant’s character of service and reason for separation, to be overly harsh. The available evidence indicates this was a one-time incident that ultimately resulted in her separation, and while we do not condone the applicant’s action, in our view, the applicant more than likely would not have repeated the incidents which led to her discharge. Therefore, in order to correct the injustice of improperly characterizing the applicant, we believe her character of service should be upgraded to honorable and her narrative reason for separation should be changed to “Secretarial Authority.” Accordingly, we recommend the applicant’s record be corrected to the extent indicated below. THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to the APPLICANT be corrected to show that on 30 May 14, she was honorably discharged under the provisions of AFI 36-3208, paragraph 1.2., (Secretarial Authority) with a separation code of “KFF.” The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-01740 in Executive Session on 11 Mar 15 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member All members voted to correct the records as recommended. The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-01740 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 24 Apr 14, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Pertinent Excerpts from Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, AFLOA/JAJM, dated 11 Jun 14. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 27 Jun 14.