AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

IN THE MATTER OF: 

DOCKET NUMBER:  97-01237 

HEARING DESIRED:  Yes 

Applicant requests that his undesirable discharge be upgraded to 
honorable.  Applicant's submission is at Exhibit A. 
Pursuant  to  the  Board's  request,  the  Federal  Bureau  of 
Investigation  (FBI),  Clarksburg,  West  Virginia,  provided  an 
investigative report which is attached at Exhibit C. 

The  appropriate Air  Force offices evaluated applicant's  request 
and  provided  advisory  opinions  to  the  Board  recommending  the 
application be  denied  (Exhibit D) .  The  advisory  opinions were 
forwarded to  the  applicant  and  counsel  for review and  response 
(Exhibit E) 
Counsel's  response to the advisory opinions is at 
Exhibit F. 

After  careful  consideration  of  applicant's  request  and 
available  evidence  of  record,  we  find  insufficient evidence 
error or injustice to warrant  corrective action.  The facts 
opinions  stated in the  advisory opinions appear to be  based 
the evidence of record and have not been  adequately rebutted 
applicant/counsel. 
Absent  persuasive  evidence  applicant 
denied rights to which entitled, appropriate regulations were 
followed, or appropriate  standards were not applied, we  find 
basis to disturb the existing record. 

' 

the 
of 
and 
on 
by 
was 
not 
no 

Accordingly, applicant's request is denied. 

The applicant's case is adequately documented and it has not been 
shown  that  a  personal  appearance with  or  without  counsel  will 
materially  add  to  our  understanding  of  the  issues  involved. 
Therefore, the request for a hearing is not favorably considered. 

The Board staff is directed to inform applicant of this decision. 
Applicant should also be informed that this decision is final and 
will only be  reconsidered upon the presentation of new relevant 
evidence  which  was  not  reasonably  available  at  the  time  the 
application was filed. 

. 

. 

b 

Members of the Board Ms.  Martha Maust, Mr.  Richard A.  Peterson, 
and  Mr.  Patrick  R.  Wheeler  considered  this  application  on 
4 August  1998  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  Air  Force 
Instruction 36-2603, and the governing statute, 10, U.S.C.  1552. 

&THA  MAUSV 
Panel Chair 

Exhibits : 
A.  Applicant's DD Form 149 
B.  Available Master Personnel Records 
C.  FBI Report 
D.  Advisory Opinions 
E.  AFBCMR Ltr Forwarding Advisory Opinions 
F.  Counsel's  Response 

DEPARTGEWT’OF THE AIR FORCE 

H E A D Q U A R T E R S  AIR FORCE P E R S O N N E L  C E N T E R  

R A N D O L P H  AIR  F O R C E  B A S E  TEXAS 

MEMORANDUM FOR AFBCMR 

FROM:  HQ AFPCDPPRS 

550 C Street West Ste 11 
Randolph AFB TX  78 150-47 13 

: Application for Correction of Military Record 

OCT  1 0  1997 

The applicant, while serving in the grade of private, was discharged from the Air Force 1 1 Dec 

50 under the provisions of AR 615-368 (Unfitness) and received an undesirable discharge.  He 
served 02 years, 07 month and 14 days total active service. 

Requested Action.  The applicant is requesting that his undesirable discharge be upgraded to 

honorable. 

Basis for Request.  Applicant states records showing 103 days lost time under AW 107 is 

incorrect.  He states the total lost time was 10 days, 25 minutes.  He m e r  states he was found 
not guilty of any criminal activity to include alleged theft of government property.  Master 
personnel record indicates applicant’s case was review by the Air Force Discharge Review Board 
(AFDRB) during Jan 69, Docket Number 68-3470.  Applicant has submitted character statement 
and letters of references since his discharge from the Air Force. 

Facts.  Applicant’s master personnel record does not contain the discharge case file.  However, 

a WD AGO Form 24A (Service Record) has recorded a Summary Court Martial Order Number 
19 for conviction for being AWOL for the period 17 Jan 50 to about 27 Jan 50 which resulted in 
a sentence to confinement at hard labor and forfeiture of$50.00 pay.  Applicant was given a 
second Summary Court Martial Number 69 for failure to repair on or about 1 Aug 50 which 
resulted in a forfeiture of $8.00. 

. -  

Based on information contained in applicant’s application, information 
Form 214 and the recorded misconduct on the WD AGO Form 24A, we find 

Recommendation. 
reflected on his DD 
.  .. I 
no evidence to indicate the applicant’s discharge, over 46 years ago, was incorrect, an injustice 
occurred to the applicant, or that the discharge did not comply with the discharge directive in 
effect at the time of his discharge.  Accordingly, we recommend applicant’s request for an 
upgrade of his discharge be denied.  He has not filed a timely request. 

($Ab& 

OHN C. WOOTEN, GS-9 
Military Personnel Mgmt Spec 
Separations Branch 
Dir of Personnel Program Management 

.- 

c 

D E P A R T M E N T  O F  THE A I R   F O R C E  

H E A D Q U A R T E R S  AIR  FORCE  P E R S O N N E L C E N T E R  

R A N D O L P H  AIR  FORCE  B A S E  TEXAS 

19 December 1997 

US. AIR FORCE B 

1 9 4 7  -  1 9 9 7  

MEMORANDUM FOR AFBCMR 

FROM:  HQ AFPCIJA (Major Reed) 

550 C Street West Ste 44 
Randolph AFB TX 78 150-4746 

SUBJECT:  Application for Correction of Military Records 

I 

REQUESTED ACTION:  Applicant requests upgrade of his undesirable discharge to 

honorable. 

BASIS FOR REQUEST:  Applicant believes that the record which shows 103 days lost 

time is incorrect, that his total lost time is 10 days and 25 minutes, and that he was not found 
guilty of any criminal activity. 

FACTS:  Applicant entered the United States Air Force on 15 Jan 48 and was discharged 
in the grade of Private, E-1, on 11 Dec 50 with an undesirable discharge.  Applicant’s records are 
aged (47 years have passed since his discharge) and incomplete.  They do not include his 
discharge case file.  Furthermore, his records were damaged in the fire at the records repository 
in St. Louis, and portions of what few records remain are illegible due to a combination of age 
and heat.  The following facts can be pieced together from applicant’s application and the 
available records. 

From about 17 Jan 50 to about 27 Jan 50, applicant was AWOL from his unit.  For this 
offense, he was convicted by summary court-martial and sentenced to 30 days confinement and 
forfeiture of $50.00 pay.  On about 1 Aug 50, applicant failed to report for duty and was once 
again convicted by a summary court-martial.  For this offense, he was ordered to forfeit eight 
dollars pay. 

Applicant’s service records indicate that there were 103 days of lost time.  Page 7 of the 
service records indicates that applicant was AWOL from 24 Oct 49 to 30 Oct 49, a total of seven 
days;  at he was AWOL again from 17 Jan 50 to 26 Jan 50, a total of 10 days; that he was in 
confinement from 2 Feb 50 until 25 Feb 50, a period of 24 days; and that he was again confined 
from & illegible date in Aug 50 until 16 Nov 50, a total of 62 days.  The aggregate time lost 
under A.W.  107 for reason of AWOL and confinement according to applicant’s records would 
have been  103 days. 

The only other pertinent record in applicant’s files is a partially burned form indicating 
that the Air Force Board for the Correction of Military Records reviewed applicant’s case and 
that on 24 Jan 69 (Docket Number 68-3470) determined that “No corrective action [was] 
indicated in this case.” 

DISCUSSION:  This application could be denied on three separate grounds.  First, it was 
not timely filed, having been filed 47 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  The 
combination of the scarcity of records in this case, caused by both the passage of time and the 
destruction of the records by fire, makes this a perfect case for exercise of the statutory three year 
limitation.  Second, applicant appears to have already filed a petition with the Board 
approximately 18 years ago.  While we do not know the substance of his application, applicant 
clearly had the opportunity at that time to present his claims, and he thus should be barred at this 
time.  Finally, applicant’s claim should be barred as not merited by the facts. 

Applicant alleges that he was never convicted of a criminal offense, and that the 103 days 

of lost time on his DD Form 2 14 are incorrect.  He is in error on both counts.  First, applicant’s 
records clearly show that he was twice convicted by summary court-martial for the criminal 
offenses of failure to repair and AWOL.  His own submissions verify these convictions. 
Additionally, applicant’s records indicate a period of 62 days of unexplained confinement.  This 
confinement does not include the confinement ordered as part of the summary courts-martial. 
We, in fact, have no basis of telling where the confinement was generated-civil confinement 
and confinement as a result of a court-martial would have been recorded simply as confinement. 
It is quite possible that applicant had a civilian conviction or a third court-martial conviction for 
which no record exists.  In any event, absence reliable evidence to the contrary-and applicant 
has presented absolutely none-the  Air Force is entitled to a presumption that these records are 
correct.  Even without the presumption that applicant was convicted a third time, the records of 
the two convictions certainly support his discharge and the characterization as undesirable. 

Second, applicant’s claim that his DD Form 214 is in error is clearly and unequivocally 

wrong.  Lost time is not generated by AWOL alone.  Lost time can include confinement and 
periods of disability caused by misconduct.  Applicant’s records clearly record 103 total days of 
lost time, the total to which applicant objects and the total correctly reflected on applicant’s DD 
Form 214. 

RECOMMENDATION:  Because the application has not been filed in a timely manner, 
and because applicant has failed to establish the existence of an error or injustice in his Air Force 
records, we recommend that this application be denied.