AIR FORCE DISCHARGE  REVIEW BOARD HEARING RECORD

NAME OF SERVICE MEMBER (LAST, FIRST MIDDLE INITIAL)

GRADE

AFSN/SSAN

TYPE	PERSONAL  APPEARANCE
NAME OF COUNSEL AND OR ORGANIZATION

••RECORD  REVIEW

x

ADDRESS AND OR ORGANIZATION OF COUNSEL

YES	No
x

MEMBER SITTING
x
•••rir11m1111	x
x x x

ISSUES

A94.53

INDEX NUMBER

A70.00

l	ORDER APPOINTING THE BOARD
2	APPLICATION  FOR REVIEW OF DISCHARGE
3	LETTER OF NOTIFICATION
4	BRIEF OF PERSONNEL FILE COUNSEL'S RELEASE TO THE BOARD
2	
HEARING DATE	CASE NUMBER

ADDITIONAL EXHIBITS SUBMITTED AT TIME OF

23 Sep 2003

FD-2003-00286

PERSONAL  APPEARANCE
TAPE RECORDING OF PERSONAL APPERANCE

Case heard at Washington, D.C.

Advise applicant of the decision of the Board, the right to a personal appearance with/without counsel, and the right to submit an application to the AFBCMR

TO:	FROM:
SAF/MRBR
550 C STREET WEST, SUITE 40 RANDOLPH AFB, TX 78150-4742

SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE PERSONNEL COUNCIL AIR FORCE DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD
1535 COMMAND DR, EE WING, 3RD FLOOR ANDREWS AFB, MD 20762-7002

AFHQ FORM 0-2077, JAN 00	(EF-V2)	Previous edition will be used

procedural and substantive requirements of the discharge regulation and was within the discretion of the discharge authority and that the applicant was provided full administrative due process.

In view of the foregoing findings the board further concludes that there exists no legal or equitable basis for upgrade of discharge, thus the applicant's discharge should not be changed.

Attachment: Examiner's Brief

AIR FORCE DISCHARGE  REVIEW BOARD DECISIONAL RATIONALE	CASE NUMBER

FD2003-00286	

GENERAL:  The applicant appeals for upgrade of discharge to honorable.

The  applicant  was  offered  a personal  appearance  before  the  Discharge  Review  Board  but  declined  to exercise this right.

The attached brief contains available pertinent data on the applicant and the factors leading to the discharge.

FINDINGS:  Upgrade of discharge is denied.

The Board finds the applicant submitted no issues contesting the equity or propriety of the discharge, and after a thorough review of the record, the Board was unable to identify any.

Issues.  Applicant received an Under Other Than Honorable Conditions (UOTHC) discharge pursuant to his request to be discharged in lieu of trial by court martial.  Additionally, member had two Articles 15, one for absenting himself from his unit for 13 days, and the other for wrongfully downloading and viewing pornographic materials on a government computer on divers occasions.  Without further evidence to the contrary, the Board concluded member's apparent misconduct was incompatible with Air Force standards and an extremely significant departure from conduct expected of all military members.  For the period of service under review, his misconduct was sufficient reason for receiving a UOTHC discharge.  The Board further notes that applicant voluntarily submitted his request for discharge in lieu of trial by court martial, thus not attempting to establish his innocence or present any extenuating or mitigating factors.  In doing so he acknowledged that under these circumstances his characterization of service could be deemed under
other than honorable conditions in accordance with discharge regulations, wherein airmen so discharged usually do have their service characterized as UOTHC.  Furthermore, since the discharge documents are not available for review, and lacking any evidence from the applicant to the contrary, the Board must rely on
the presumption of regularity and found no wrongful action by the Air Force, and finds the discharge proper and without basis for upgrade.

CONCLUSIONS:   The Discharge Review Board concludes that the discharge was consistent with the