AIR FORCE DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD DECISIONAL DOCUMENT  
	CASE NUMBER

 FD-2021-00056	
					
The applicant was discharged on 3 February 2020 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 Honorable.  The Board was conducted on 19 October 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, 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 and Letters of Reprimand.  His misconduct included:  on divers occasions, wrongfully used marijuana; on divers occasions, wrongfully distributed marijuana; with intent to deceive, make a false official statement, that, he had never been in a place where people were smoking marijuana and denied that he smoked marijuana with another Airman; failure to obey, dereliction, compromised installation security; failed fitness assessment; negligently discharged firearm; and was arrested by local authorities. 

Due to evidence of mental health condition/s found in the applicant’s medical record, the Board considered the case based on the liberal consideration standards required by guidance from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and/or 10 USC §1553.

The member requested an upgrade to a General discharge. The member stated that the offenses that he was accused of and punished for did not meet the standards for a UOTHC discharge. The applicant explained that he accepted the NJP and waived his rights to an admin discharge board in anticipation that he would receive an outcome that was within the Air Force’s normal standards of policies, practices, and procedures. He stated that per defense counsel’s statement, he received the harshest punishment that the counsel had seen in 4+ years. The member explained that he spent 146 days in pretrial confinement, was reduced three pay grades, and received maximum forfeitures in pay.

The DRB reviewed the applicant’s entire service record and found insufficient evidence to grant the applicant’s request. 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 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/ psychologist, the DRB found no conclusive indication that any mental health issues had a direct impact on the applicant's misconduct or discharge. There is no evidence the applicant’s misconduct was caused nor mitigated by an underlying mental health condition. There is evidence the applicant attended mental health sessions during his time in service, however, the providers repeatedly documented the applicant was not engaged in treatment and his presentation to mental health was always in response to trouble he was in with his unit leadership. Additionally, the providers frequently noted the applicant was unwilling to accept responsibility for his actions and there is no evidence this was due to a mental health condition.

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 26 October 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)