AIR FORCE DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD HEARING RECORD

llTIAL)

PERSONAL  APPEARANCE

GRADE

AB
x	RECORD REVIEW

YES	No
x

ADDRESS AND OR ORGANIZATION  Of COUNSEL

MEMBER SITTING

HON
x x x x

GEN	UOTHC

OTHER	DENY

x

ISSUES

A94.54

INDEX NUJ\.1BER

A67.50

1	ORDER APPOINTING THE BOARD
2	APPLICATION FOR REVIEW OF DISCHARGE
3	LETTER OF NOTIFICA T!ON
4	BRIEF OF PERSONNEL FILE COUNSEL'S RELEASE TO THE BOARD
ADDITIONAL EXHIBITS SUBMITTED AT TIME OF
PERSONAL APPEARANCE
TAPE RECORDING OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE

HEARING   DATE	CASE NUMBER

01Feb  2005	FD-2004-00395

Case heard at Washington, D.C.

Advise applicant of the decision of the Board.

Names and votes will be made available to the applicant at the applicant's request.

SAF/MRBR
550 C STREET W	, SUITE 40
RANDOLPH AFB, TX 78150-4742

AFHQ FORM 0-2077, JAN 00

SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE PERSONNEL COUNCIL AIR FORCE DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD
1535 COMMAND DR. EE WING, 3RD ROOR
ANDREWS AFB, MD 20702-7002

(EF-V2)	Previous edition will be used

AIR FORCE DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD DECISIONAL RATIONALE	CASE NUI\.1BER

FD-2004-00395	

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

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

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

FINDINGS:  The Board grants the requested relief.

The Board finds that neither the evidence of record or that provided by applicant substantiates an impropriety that would justify a change of discharge.  However, based upon the record, the Board finds the applicant's  discharge inequitable.

ISSUE:

Issue 1. Applicant was discharged for a pattern of misconduct.  The records indicated the applicant received an Article 15, and two Letters of Reprimand for misconduct.  His infractions were smoking during technical training class hours, sleeping in class, and failing to obey an order to hold his security forces weapon  properly.  At the time of the discharge, member waived his right to consult counsel, or to submit statements in his own behalf.  The records disclosed that member was a technical training eliminee from another technical  school at Sheppard AFB, TX, before being retrained into the Security Forces career field.  While in the    latter tech school, he was washed back twice for both academic reasons and medical reasons.  He was hospitalized twice in an in-patient psychiatric unit due to displays of unusual behavior, hallucinating, assaulting colleagues without reason, and speaking to inanimate objects, all of which was witnessed by several different people.  Over the course of 4 months he was diagnosed with an adjustment disorder with disturbance of conduct, and then with a psychotic disorder not otherwise specified, and a bi-polar disorder  and anti-social personality.  But he was subsequently deemed to have no further extant diagnosis and was world-wide qualified and returned to duty.  While the DRB did not condone member's misconduct, and recognized he was in a training environment, they opined that his mental health conditions may have contributed to that conduct.  The Board concluded the discharge characterization was too harsh and that the member's mental health factors were of sufficient mitigation or extenuation to warrant an upgrade.

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

However, in view of the foregoing findings, the Board further concludes that the overall quality of applicant's service is more accurately reflected by an Honorable discharge. The applicant's characterization should be changed to Honorable under the provisions of Title 10, USC 1553.

Attachment: Examiner's Brief