RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  00-01820

            COUNSEL:  BERNARD L. SMITH

            HEARING DESIRED:  YES



APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

1.    His records be corrected  to  show  that  he  was  not  discharged  on
12 July 1961, but was continued on active duty until the  end  of  his  last
term of enlistment (e.g. 1 September 1965).

2.    He receive retroactive pay and allowances for the period from 12  July
1961 through 1 September 1965.

3.    He be honorably discharged and retired for length of service.


APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

His personal life did not affect his ability to  perform  his  duties  as  a
serviceman.

The applicant states that despite his almost 19 ½ years of service,  he  was
involuntarily discharged.  However, his separation  was  not  mandatory  per
AFR 35-66 and a transfer was not considered.  Furthermore,  no  respect  was
given to the letters of performance and  letters  of  commendation,  by  the
discharge board.

In support of the appeal, applicant submits copies of his  Revocable  Living
Trust and Will, extracts from the Discharge Board, and  his  DD  Forms  214,
Armed Forces of the United States Reports of Transfer or Discharge.

The applicant’s complete submission is attached at Exhibit A.


STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 2 September 1959, the applicant reenlisted in the Regular Air  Force  for
a period of 6 years, in the grade of senior master sergeant (E-8).

An Administrative Discharge Board  convened  on  22  and  23  June  1961  to
determine  whether  the  applicant  should  be  discharged  prior  to  other
applicable directives, or retained in the Air  Force.   In  addition,  since
the applicant held a  reserve  commission  as  a  captain,  the  board  also
considered whether he should retain his appointment as a reserve of the  Air
Force commissioned officer. The board found the applicant  was  a  Class  II
homosexual, as defined in AFR 35-66, paragraph 12b, and  recommended  he  be
discharged  under  the  provisions  of  AFR  39-17  from   all   Air   Force
appointments and issued a General discharge certificate.

On 7 July 1961, the discharge authority approved the recommendation  of  the
discharge board and directed the applicant’s discharge.

On 12 July 1961, the applicant was discharged under the  provisions  of  AFR
39-17 (Unfitness - Homosexual - Board Hearing), with  service  characterized
under honorable conditions (general).  He completed 19 years, 5 months,  and
21 days active service.


AIR FORCE EVALUATIONS:

The Directorate of Personnel Program Management,  AFPC/DPPRS,  reviewed  the
application and states that based upon the documentation in the  file,  they
believe the discharge was consistent with  the  procedural  and  substantive
requirements of the discharge regulation.  The applicant appeared before  an
Administrative Discharge Board which considered  evidence  that  included  a
sworn statement by the applicant to the AFOSI indicating  he  had  performed
homosexual acts.  The board found the applicant to be a Class II  homosexual
and recommended he be discharged and given  an  under  honorable  conditions
(general) discharge.  The discharge was within the sound discretion  of  the
discharge authority.  The applicant did  not  submit  any  new  evidence  or
identify any errors or injustices that occurred in the discharge  processing
and provided no facts warranting a change  in  the  discharge  he  received.
Therefore, they recommend the application be denied.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit C.

The Directorate of Personnel Program Management, AFPC/DPPRRP,  reviewed  the
application and states that Section  8914,  Title  10,  United  States  Code
(USC) provides that an enlisted member must have 20 years  of  total  active
federal military service (TAFMS)  to  be  eligible  to  voluntarily  retire.
Applicant did not have 20 years of service at the time of his discharge,  as
evidenced by his DD Form 214.  Therefore, they recommend the application  be
denied.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit D.





APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATIONS:

The applicant reviewed the Air Force evaluations and states that  he  was  9
days short of having completed 19 ½ years of service.  At the  time  of  the
discharge board, the only evidence considered was  his  personal  statement.
For this reason alone, the  proceedings  should  be  considered  biased  and
discriminatory.  Furthermore, the discharge board never  even  mentioned  or
discussed a possible alternative as allowed  in  AFR  35-66  or  11-1.   The
decision of the discharge  board  was  irrational  and  arbitrary  since  he
upheld his military code of honor  by  being  truthful  when  questioned  by
officers and was the only one discharged with 19 years,  5  months,  and  21
days of service.

The applicant’s complete response is attached 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.  After  thoroughly  reviewing  the
evidence of record and  noting  the  applicant’s  contentions,  we  are  not
persuaded that his discharge should be upgraded. We find no  impropriety  in
the  characterization  of  the  applicant's  discharge.   It  appears   that
responsible  officials  applied  appropriate  standards  in  effecting   the
separation,  and  we  do  not  find  persuasive  evidence   that   pertinent
regulations were violated or that applicant was not afforded all the  rights
to which entitled at the time of discharge.  We  conclude,  therefore,  that
the discharge proceedings were proper and characterization of the  discharge
was appropriate to the existing circumstances.

4.    We also find insufficient evidence to warrant  a  recommendation  that
the discharge be upgraded on the basis  of  clemency.   We  have  considered
applicant's overall quality of service, the events  which  precipitated  the
discharge, and available evidence related  to  post-service  activities  and
accomplishments.  On balance, we do not believe that clemency is warranted.

5.    Having found no error or injustice with  respect  to  the  applicant’s
discharge, we find no compelling basis upon which to favorably consider  his
requests that his records be corrected to show  that  he  was  continued  on
active duty until the end of his term of enlistment, with  retroactive  back
pay and allowance, and that he was retired for length of service.

6.    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 issue(s) 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 17 October 2000, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                  Mr. Benedict A. Kausal, IV, Panel Chair
                  Ms. Dorothy P. Loeb, Member
                  Mr. Richard A. Peterson, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

      Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 22 Jun 00, w/atchs.
      Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPRS, dated 24 Jul 00.
      Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPPRRP, dated 14 Aug 00, w/atchs.
      Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MIBR, dated 25 Aug 00.
      Exhibit F.  Letter, Applicant, dated 15 Sep 00, w/atchs.




             BENEDICT A. KAUSAL, IV
                                  Panel Chair