AIR FORCE DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD DECISIONAL DOCUMENT  
	CASE NUMBER

 FD-2021-00632	
					
GENERAL:  The applicant was discharged on 30 July 2010 with a Bad Conduct Discharge after being convicted of alcohol related offenses during a Special Court-Martial.  The applicant appealed for an upgrade of his discharge characterization.  The board was conducted on 3 March 2022.    

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 to approve the applicant’s request to upgrade his discharge characterization to General, to change the discharge narrative reason to Secretarial Authority, and to change the reenlistment eligibility code to 3K.

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 made no contentions.  He stated in his application the misconduct leading to his discharge had been a strain on his life and he regretted his actions.  He claimed at the time of his misconduct he was going through a divorce after returning from deployment.  He also claimed prior to his court-martial the base was experiencing a very high DUI rate and he believed his unit made an example of him as opposed to offering him assistance.  Finally, he claimed he has been successful since his discharge in both his career and with his family and he has maintained a clean criminal history.

A review of the applicant’s record revealed he received an Article 15 for underage drinking.  He then had a separate underage drinking incident that resulted in a DUI.  For this misconduct he faced court-martial charges.  At his trial he pled guilty and was found guilty.  He was sentenced to a reduction in rank to 
E-1, 75 days of confinement, and a Bad Conduct Discharge.   
 
Upon review of an applicant’s Bad Conduct Discharge as adjudged by a Special Court-Martial, the DRB may change the punitive discharge to an administrative discharge for the purposes of clemency, if warranted.  The DRB reviewed the applicant’s entire service record and determined that current procedures in the Air Force would have allowed for this type of misconduct to be disposed of through an administrative discharge, not a court-martial.  Therefore the DRB found the applicant’s punitive discharge was inequitable.   
 
CONCLUSION:  The board found neither the evidence of record, nor that provided by the applicant substantiated an impropriety.  However, sufficient evidence existed to convince the board the discharge was inequitable.  Therefore, the board determined the overall characterization of the applicant’s service was more accurately reflected by a General discharge and the discharge narrative reason was more accurately described as “Secretarial Authority.”  Additionally, the reenlistment eligibility code was changed to “3K.”  

The DRB results were approved by the board president on 9 March 2022.  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  

Attachment:
Examiner's Brief (Applicant Only)