AIR FORCE DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD DECISIONAL DOCUMENT  
	CASE NUMBER

 FD-2021-00344	
					
The applicant was discharged on 11 August 2006 in accordance with AFI 36-2020 with an Entry Level/ Uncharacterized discharge for Secretarial Authority.  The applicant appealed for an upgrade of his reenlistment eligibility code.  The Board was conducted on 4 November 2021.  

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/ psychologist 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 unanimously to deny the applicant’s request to upgrade his discharge characterization to Honorable and to change the reenlistment eligibility code to 3K.

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 leadership discharged the applicant to grant his request to resign from his commissioning program.  The applicant stated that he had no disciplinary actions taken against him regarding character, academics, or military etiquette. He explained that the Chief of Cadet Actions stated that “the period of observation was too limited to properly evaluate member for future officer training”. The member stated that since his actions did not warrant receiving an RE code that rendered him ineligible for reentry, the reentry code should be corrected.

The DRB reviewed the applicant’s service record and found no evidence of impropriety or inequity to warrant an upgrade of the discharge.  In accordance with AFI 36-3208, Airmen are in entry level status during the first 180 days of continuous active military service.  If separated during this time, they normally receive an Entry Level Separation that is not characterized.  Because it is Air Force policy to not characterize this type of separation, the “upgrade” it to Honorable could not be approved.  Also, the Reentry code was appropriate for the applicant’s situation.  

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 15 November 2021.  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)