RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2013-03217 COUNSEL: HEARING DESIRED: NO ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD) be upgraded to general (under honorable conditions). ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: His divorce and mental breakdown caused him to fail. In support of his request, the applicant provides copies of his DD Form 293, Application for the Review of Discharge from the Armed Forces of the United States; DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and Standard Forms 600, Chronological Record of Medical Care. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: On 13 Jun 2001, the applicant entered the Regular Air Force. According to General Court-Martial Order No. 5, the applicant pled and was found guilty of desertion in violation of Article 85, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and wrongful use and possession of marijuana in violation of Article 112a, UCMJ. On 10 Feb 2005, a military judge sentenced him to be reduced to the grade of Airman (Amn, E-1), 6 months confinement and a BCD. On 28 Jun 2007, he was separated with a BCD. He served 5 years, 2 months and 13 days of active service. Pursuant to the Board's request, the Air Force Office of Special Investigation determined a criminal record does exist. On 7 Apr 2014, a request for post-service information was forwarded to the applicant for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibit C), as of this date, no response has been received by this office. ________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFLOA/JAJM recommends denial. JAJM states that there was no error or injustice with the court-martial process. On 10 Feb 2005, a military judge sitting as a general court-martial found the applicant guilty of desertion in violation of Article 85, UCMJ and wrongful use and possession of marijuana in violation of Article 112a, UCMJ. The military judge sentenced the applicant to be discharged from the Air Force with a BCD, confined for six months, and to be reduced to the grade of Amn. On 10 Feb 2005, the United States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals concluded that the approved findings and sentence are correct in law and fact and that there is no error prejudicial to the substantial rights of the applicant. The complete JAJM evaluation is at Exhibit D. ________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF THE AIR FORCE EVALUATION: On 14 Nov 2013, a copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant for review and comment within 30 days. As of this date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit E). ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations. 2. The application was not timely filed; however, it is in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file. 3. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of error or injustice. We note this Board is without authority to reverse, set aside, or otherwise expunge a court-martial conviction. Rather, in accordance with Title 10, United States Code, Section 1552(f), our actions are limited to corrections to the record to reflect actions taken by the reviewing officials and action on the sentence of the court- martial for the purpose of clemency. We find no evidence which indicates the applicant’s service characterization, which had its basis in his court-martial conviction and was a part of the sentence of the military court, was improper or that it exceeded the limitations set forth in the UCMJ. We considered upgrading the discharge on the basis of clemency; however, after considering the applicant's overall quality of service, the court-martial conviction which precipitated the discharge, the seriousness of the offenses of which convicted, and noting the lack of documentation pertaining to his post-service activities, we cannot conclude that clemency is warranted. In view of the above, we cannot recommend approval based on the current evidence of record. ________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: The applicant be notified that the evidence presented did not demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; that the application was denied without a personal appearance; and that the application will only be reconsidered upon the submission of newly discovered relevant evidence not considered with this application. ________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR BC-2013- 03217 in Executive Session on 6 May 2014, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member The following documentary evidence was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 30 Jun 2013, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, AFBCMR, digitally signed 17 Mar 2014, w/atch. Exhibit D. Letter, AFLOA/JAJM, dated 1 Nov 2013. Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 14 Nov 2013. Panel Chair