RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  98-01243
            INDEX CODE:  A68.00

            COUNSEL:  RICHARD DUGGER

            HEARING DESIRED:  YES


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His bad conduct discharge (BCD) be upgraded to honorable  for  medical
reasons.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The actions for which he was court-martialed  were  the  result  of  a
mental breakdown.  The breakdown was brought  on  by  wartime  stress,
family illnesses, deaths, and tragedies, especially the death  of  his
cousin, T--- W---.

The social worker he had seen at  the  Charleston  AFB  Mental  Health
Clinic failed to diagnose his condition.

His condition was made worse by the guilt and shame  he  carries,  his
BCD, and his sentence to confinement.

His defense attorney failed to pursue his mental illness as a defense,
and the Air Force prosecutors  wrongfully  withheld  evidence  by  not
turning his mental health records over to his defense attorney.

The BCD, his 18 months of parole, and his loss of wages  and  benefits
were unjust because he was punished for having a brain disease.

In  support  of  his  appeal,  the   applicant   provided   supporting
statements,  to   include   statements   from   a   psychiatrist   and
psychologist, several affidavits from his parents, relatives, teacher,
and commissioner, extracts from his  military  personnel  and  medical
records, and other documents associated with the matter under review.

Applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 29 Aug 89 for a  period
of 4 years.  Prior to the impostion of Article  15  punishment  on  21
August 1991, he was progressively promoted  to  the  grade  of  airman
first class (E-3).   He  received  two  Enlisted  Performance  Reports
(EPRs) for the periods ending 28 Apr 1991 and 28 Apr  1992,  in  which
the overall evaluations were 4 and 1, respectively.

On 5 Jul 91, the applicant received a letter of reprimand for  failing
to go to an appointment on 3 Jul 91.

On 21 Aug 91, the  applicant  received  nonjudicial  punishment  under
Article 15 for two occasions of failing to go to his  place  of  duty.
His punishment consisted of a suspended  reduction  to  the  grade  of
airman, forfeiture of $150.00 and 14 days of extra duty.

On 17 Jan 92, the applicant received  an  Article  15  for  disorderly
conduct.  He was disorderly in that he allegedly ran  naked  down  the
hallway of his barracks.  He punishment consisted of  a  reduction  to
the grade of airman basic and 14 days of extra duty.

On 7 Jul 92, the applicant pled guilty and was sentenced at a  general
court-martial  for  wrongful  use   and   distribution   of   lysergic
diethylamide (LSD) on divers occasions in violation of  Article  112a,
Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), and for wrongfully  leaving
the scene of an accident in  violation  of  Article  134,  UCMJ.   The
applicant was sentenced to a BCD, confinement for 30 months, and total
forfeitures of all pay and allowances.  On 5 Aug 93,  the  applicant’s
conviction was affirmed on appeal.  His BCD was executed on 31 Aug 93.
 He had served 2 years, 10 months and 11 days  on  active  duty.   The
period of 7 July 1992 through 28 August 1993 was considered time lost.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The BCMR Medical Consultant reviewed this application and  recommended
denial.  The Medical Consultant indicated  that,  while  there  is  no
question that numerous family illnesses and  deaths  occurred  in  the
time span indicated, if these events were  having  an  impact  on  the
applicant, he did  not  seek  help  for  his  mental  anguish  through
acceptable medical channels.  No medical records  entries  were  found
that indicated that he sought such counsel.   Instead,  the  applicant
apparently turned to drugs for escape  as  indicated  by  the  charges
brought against him for use and distribution of lysergic  diethylamide
(LSD) in Aug and Oct 91.  There was no indication that  the  applicant
did not know right from wrong during this period of time, and, indeed,
he accepted responsibility for his actions and cooperated  fully  with
an OSI investigation into the drug situation at his  base  of  record.
In  addition  to  the  court-martial   charges,   other   disciplinary
infractions in this same time period were recorded, perhaps, one might
argue, yet additional indications of his disturbed mindset.  In  spite
of those growing number of infractions, the applicant failed  to  seek
help for his situation, help that is readily available to  all  active
duty personnel upon request.  The applicant was not  hindered  in  his
ability to choose between right  and  wrong  and  pursued  a  downward
spiral that led  to  his  BCD.   The  discharge  medical  history  and
physical examination performed on 29 Jun 93 showed a negative response
to the query of ever having depression or excessive worry and  nervous
trouble of any sort, noting his statement that his  health  was  good.
In the opinion of the Medical Consultant, no change in the records  is
warranted.

A complete copy of the BCMR Medical Consultant is at Exhibit C.

The Military Justice Division, AFLSA/JAJM, reviewed  this  application
and  recommended  denial.   According  to  JAJM,  no  legal  error  or
injustice occurred during the applicant’s  court-martial  which  would
justify upgrading his BCD to an honorable discharge.  Considering that
the applicant’s schizophrenic tendencies did not become apparent until
several years after he was released from  confinement,  there  was  no
indication that the applicant’s  military  experience  aggravated  his
condition.  JAJM stated  that,  although  they  sympathized  with  the
applicant and  his  family  regarding  his  condition,  there  was  no
evidence  that  indicated  the  applicant’s  condition  was   service-
connected.   In  addition,  there  were  no  legal  errors   requiring
correction.   In  JAJM’s  view,  the  applicant  was  aware   of   the
consequences of his actions at the time of trial.

A complete copy of the JAJM evaluation is at Exhibit D.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

In his response, the applicant indicated that there is disagreement as
to whether his paranoid schizophrenia was evident during his Air Force
service.  His appeal package contains numerous documents testifying to
the fact that he went into service normal and came out sick.

Applicant’s complete response and additional documentary  evidence  is
at Exhibit F.

_________________________________________________________________

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  probable  error  or  injustice.   The  applicant's
complete submission was thoroughly reviewed, and his contentions  were
duly noted.  However, we do not find the  applicant’s  assertions  and
the documentation presented in  support  of  his  appeal  sufficiently
persuasive to override the rationale provided by the Air Force offices
of primary responsibility (OPRs).  The evidence  of  record  indicates
that the applicant was convicted by general court-martial for wrongful
use and distribution of LSD and given a  BCD.   He  asserts  that  his
actions for which he was court-martialed was related  to  his  medical
condition.  While we note that the applicant has been diagnosed  as  a
paranoid schizophrenic since  his  discharge,  no  evidence  has  been
presented which has shown  to  our  satisfaction  that  the  condition
existed while he was in the Air Force.  We  note  that  our  authority
with respect to court-martial records is  restricted  by  law  to  the
correction  of  records  to  reflect  actions   taken   by   reviewing
authorities and to review a sentence for  the  purposes  of  clemency.
After reviewing all the evidence provided, we find no basis to disturb
the either the record of the reviewing officials or  the  sentence  of
the court-martial.  Therefore, in  the  absence  of  evidence  to  the
contrary, we adopt the Air Force rationale and conclude that no  basis
exists to recommend granting the relief sought in this application.

4.  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 DETERMINES THAT:

The  applicant  be  notified  that  the  evidence  presented  did  not
demonstrate the existence of probable  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  this  application  in
Executive Session on 3 Aug 99, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Robert W. Zook, Panel Chair
      Ms. Dorothy P. Loeb, Member
      Ms. Peggy E. Gordon, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 14 May 98, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, BCMR Medical Consultant, dated 23 Jun 98.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, AFLSA/JAJM, dated 6 Aug 98.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MIBR, dated 31 Aug 98.
    Exhibit F.  Letter, applicant, dated 16 Oct 98.




                                   ROBERT W. ZOOK
                                   Panel Chair