ADDENDUM 

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-00039 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 HEARING DESIRED: NO 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

His general (under honorable conditions) discharge be upgraded 
to honorable. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

On 21 June 2011, the Board considered and denied a similar 
request. For an accounting of the facts surrounding his 
previous request and the rationale of the Board’s earlier 
decision, see the Record of Proceedings at Exhibit E (with 
Exhibits A thru D). 

 

In the original request, the applicant was given 30 days in 
which to provide post-service information, however, his 
documentation was not received until after the board had already 
concluded and rendered its decision. 

 

By letter, the applicant responded to the 12 May 2011, request 
for post-service information. He states his first two and a 
half years in the Air Force went very well. After completing 
basic military training (BMT), he received his first stripe to 
the grade of airman third class. His first duty station was 
Ladd Air Force Base (AFB), Fairbanks, Alaska, where he was a 
crash fire fighter and was very proud of it. He was promoted to 
driver of a crash truck while in Alaska, however, promotion to 
the grade of airman second class kept passing him by and he did 
not know why because he thought he was good airman. Always on 
time for work, doing his job well and not causing any problems. 

 

The misconduct which led to his discharge was due to his choice 
of hanging out with the wrong group of guys. They would drink 
too much and spend a lot of time with their girlfriends. After 
being discharged from the Air Force in 1962, he went home to 
live with his parents until he found a job working for the Twin 
City Transit Lines Bus Company. During that time, he married 
and had a daughter. 

 

In 1966, he moved his family to Los Angeles, CA, where he became 
an apprentice carpenter with four years of schooling and on-the-


job training. He stayed with his trade for over 30 years, the 
work was hard but it paid well for an uneducated person. 

 

For the last 50 years, he has kept his military discharge secret 
from his friends and relatives with the exception of his 
previous wife and daughter. 

 

In support of his request, the applicant provides copies of a 
personal statement, a character reference statement from the 
United Brotherhood of Carpenters Local Union Number 409 and a 
letter from his daughter. 

 

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments is at 
Exhibit F. 

 

_______________________________________________________________ 

 

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 

 

After a thorough review of the evidence of record, we see no 
evidence to show that the applicant’s discharge was erroneous or 
unjust. We have thoroughly reviewed the circumstances 
surrounding the applicant's discharge and we find no impropriety 
in the characterization of his service. Notwithstanding the 
above, consideration by this Board, is not limited to the events 
which precipitated the discharge. We may base our decision on 
matters of equity and clemency rather than simply on whether 
rules and regulations which existed at the time were followed. 
Under our broader mandate and after careful consideration of all 
the facts and circumstances of the applicant's case, we are 
persuaded that corrective action is appropriate on the basis of 
clemency. Since it has been over 49 years since his discharge 
and it appears he has led a productive and stable life, we 
believe it would be an injustice for him to continue to suffer 
from the adverse effects of the general discharge. Therefore, 
we believe that on the basis of clemency the applicant’s 
discharge should be upgraded to honorable. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: 

 

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air 
Force relating to the APPLICANT, be corrected to show that on 
4 October 1961, he was discharged under the provisions of AFR 
39-10, paragraph 1-2, (Secretarial Authority) with Separation 
Program Designator (SPD) Code KFF, with service characterized as 
honorable. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

 


The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2011-00039 in Executive Session on 11 July 2011, under 
the provisions of AFI 36-2603: 

 

 Panel Chair 

Member 

 Member 

 

All members voted to correct the records as recommended. The 
following additional documentary evidence was considered: 

 

 Exhibit E. Record of Proceedings, dated 24 June 2011, 

 w/exhibits A through D. 

 Exhibit F. Letter, Applicant, undated, w/atchs. 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair