AIR FORCE DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD DECISIONAL DOCUMENT  
	CASE NUMBER

FD-2021-00034	
					
The applicant was discharged on 09 Sep 13 in accordance with AFI 36-3208 with a General discharge for misconduct (other).  The applicant appealed for an upgrade of his discharge characterization to Honorable.  The Board was conducted on 30 Mar 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 applicant appeared and testified before the Discharge Review Board (DRB), without counsel, via video teleconference using Zoom on 30 Mar 21.  No witnesses were present on the applicant’s behalf.  

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, to change the discharge narrative reason to Secretarial Authority, and to change the reenlistment eligibility code to 2C / 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 record of service included an Article 15.  His misconduct included: underage drinking and driving under the influence of alcohol.

Applicant is requesting an upgrade discharge. Member stated that the upgrade will give him the educational benefits he needs to help support his financial struggle.  He states that he was very immature and reckless as a young Airman. Towards the end of his four-year contract, he lost sight of what his goals were and had lost purpose after coming back from deployment. He states that his lack of guidance, immaturity, easy influence of alcohol, and bad decisions in a small town, coming from a big city, ended his dishonor career. He claims years later, and he has have gathered himself back to what he likes to call "par." He states that he works at Tinker AFB as a certified A and P mechanic and Avionics tech on the new KC-46 refueler as a government employee. He states he is trying to get an engineering degree to get involved in the "REACT program here on base, where they do reverse engineering.

The DRB recognized the applicant was 22 years old when the discharge took place, but noted he was no younger than the vast majority of first-term Airmen who properly adhere to Air Force standards of conduct. The Board was pleased to see the applicant has been successful since leaving the Air Force. It determined that, through the administrative actions taken by the chain of command in this case, the applicant had ample opportunities to change his negative behavior. The Board found the seriousness of the applicant’s willful misconduct offset the positive aspects of his service. 

The DRB reviewed the applicant’s entire service record and 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.   

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 5 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)