AIR FORCE DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD DECISIONAL DOCUMENT  
	CASE NUMBER

 FD-2021-00002	
					
The applicant was discharged on 4 Aug 20 in accordance with AFI 36-3504 with a General discharge for Secretarial Authority.  The applicant appealed for an upgrade of his discharge characterization to Honorable.  The Board was conducted on 6 May 21.  

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.    

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 unanimously deny the applicant’s request to upgrade his discharge characterization to Honorable.

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 states that the discharge was unfair as it was based on one isolated incident in 48 months of service with no other adverse action. He states that he was discharged from the academy because he failed to disclose a one-time prior usage of an illicit substance. The member states that he is angry and ashamed of himself and that he knew what he was doing was wrong but felt he was justified as it was just a one-time use and should stay in the past as he was never going to do it again. The member concludes that due to financial hardship, he would be greatly hindered at furthering his education without the GI Bill. 

Upon review of the applicant’s service record, the board was not able to find any documentation regarding the discharge.  Since the board relies on the presumption of regularity, it concluded the discharge received by the applicant was appropriate.

The DRB recognized the applicant served 4 years before the discharge was initiated, but concluded the seriousness of the applicant’s willful misconduct offset the positive aspects of his service. It reviewed the entire service record but found no evidence of impropriety or inequity to warrant an upgrade of the discharge.  The Board understood the applicant’s present service characterization renders him ineligible for Department of Veterans Affairs education benefits.  However, this is not a matter of inequity or impropriety which would warrant an upgrade. The characterization of the discharge received by the applicant was deemed to be appropriate.
 
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 18 May 21.  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
3351 Celmers Lane
Joint Base Andrews, NAF Washington, MD 20762-6602  
Instructions on how to appeal an AFDRB decision can be found at 
https://afrbaportal.azurewebsites.us

Attachment:
Examiner's Brief (Applicant Only)