Oct                                                                                                                                                      AIR FORCE DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD DECISIONAL DOCUMENT  
	CASE NUMBER

 FD-2017-00455	
					
GENERAL:  The applicant was discharged on 3 Apr 13 in accordance with AFI 36-3208 with an Under Other Than Honorable Conditions discharge for Misconduct (Other).  The applicant appealed for an upgrade of his discharge characterization to General.  The board was conducted on 11 Oct 18.  

The applicant was offered a personal appearance before the Discharge Review Board (DRB), but declined and requested the board be completed based on a records only review.  The applicant was not represented by counsel.    

Pursuant to 10 USC §1553, the board included a member who is a psychiatrist with training on mental health issues connected with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury (TBI), and training on mental health disorders.

The attached examiner’s brief (provided to applicant only), extracted from available service records, contains pertinent data regarding the circumstances and character of the applicant’s military service. 
  
FINDING:  The DRB voted 4 to 1 to deny the applicant’s request to upgrade his discharge characterization to General.

DISCUSSION:  The DRB, under its responsibility to examine the propriety and equity of an applicant’s discharge, is authorized to change the characterization of service and the narrative reason for discharge if such changes are warranted.  If applicable, the board can also change the applicant’s reenlistment eligibility code.  In reviewing discharges, the board presumes regularity in the conduct of governmental affairs unless there is substantial credible evidence to rebut the presumption, to include evidence submitted by the applicant.  The board completed a thorough review of the circumstances that led to the discharge and the discharge process to determine if the discharge met the pertinent standards of equity and propriety.  

The applicant’s record of service included Summary Court-Martial Conviction, three Article 15’s, three Letters of Reprimand, one Letter of Counseling, and one Record of Individual Counseling.  His misconduct included:  guilty finding for failure to go at time prescribed to appointed place of duty, and wrongful use of spice; made a false official statement; theft of property from base exchange; failure to go at time prescribed to appointed place of duty (x3); failure to adhere to dress and appearance standards; failure to return rental car on time; failure to pay debt for rental car; failure to refrain from use of government travel card for unauthorized purchases; and failure to pay overdue balance on government travel card.

The applicant made no contentions that the discharge was inequitable or improper.  The applicant accepts responsibility for the misconduct and believes that he has learned from his mistakes.  The applicant is requesting the upgrade in order to obtain access to Veterans Affairs benefits.

After reviewing the service record, the DRB found no evidence to indicate the applicant was unaware of the Air Force policy of zero tolerance for illegal drug use.  The board understood the applicant’s present service characterization renders him ineligible for Department of Veteran Affairs education benefits.  However, the board found the negative aspects of the applicant’s willful misconduct outweighed the positive aspects of his military service.  

After a thorough review of the service record and inputs from the board’s psychiatrist, the DRB found no conclusive indication that any mental health issues had a direct impact on the applicant's misconduct or discharge.

CONCLUSION:  The board found insufficient evidence of an inequity or impropriety that would warrant a change to the applicant’s discharge.  Therefore, the discharge received by the applicant was deemed to be appropriate and his request was not approved. 

The DRB results were approved by the board president on 29 Oct 2018.  If desired, the applicant can request a list of the board members and their votes by writing to:  
Air Force Review Boards Agency
Attn: Discharge Review Board
1500 West Perimeter road, Suite 3700
Joint Base Andrews, NAF Washington, MD 20762-6602  

Attachment:
Examiner's Brief