RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  00-01883
            INDEX CODE:  110.00, 100.00

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His 1982 general discharge and reenlistment eligibility (RE)  code  of
2C be changed  to  allow  eligibility  to  enlist  in  the  Air  Force
Reserves.
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The eight drug tests he was administered were  all  negative  and  the
drug possession accusation was based on hearsay.

In support of his request, the applicant submits a personal  statement
and additional documents associated  with  the  issues  cited  in  his
contentions.  These documents are appended at Exhibit A.
_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Prior to the service under review, the applicant was enlisted  in  the
Regular Air Force from 27 Jul 72 until he  was  released  from  active
duty and transferred to the Air Force Reserve on 2  Jun  76.   He  was
progressively promoted to the permanent grade of  sergeant,  with  the
effective date and date of rank of 1 Feb 75.  The applicant had  prior
enlisted status in the Air Force Reserve during the period 3 Jun 76  -
1 Apr 80.

On 2 Apr 80, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Air  Force  in  the
grade of staff sergeant (E-5) for a period of four years.  At the time
of his enlistment, the applicant had a total of 4 years and 4 days  of
active military service and 1 year, 11 months and 26 days of  inactive
military service.

The applicant received two on-base traffic tickets for  speeding,  one
on 23 Dec 80 (26 MPH in a 15 MPH zone) and one on 26 Sep 81 (20 MPH in
a 15 MPH zone).  On 7 Jun 82,  the  applicant  received  a  Letter  of
Reprimand (LOR), as a result of an  AFOSI  preliminary  investigation,
for possession of marijuana on or about 31 Oct 81.

He received a General (Under Honorable Conditions) discharge on 29 Sep
82 under the provisions of AFM 39-12 (Misconduct -  Drug  Abuse).   He
had completed 2 years, 5 months and 28 days and  was  serving  in  the
grade of staff sergeant (E-5) at the time of discharge.   He  received
an RE Code of 2C, which defined means "Separated under AFM 39 with  an
honorable discharge".

Applicant's request for upgrade of  his  discharge  to  honorable  and
change of reason for discharge was denied by the Air  Force  Discharge
Review Board (AFDRB) on 2 April 1984.  A copy  of  the  AFDRB  Hearing
Record is appended at Exhibit C.

Pursuant to the Board's request, the Federal Bureau of  Investigation,
Clarksburg, WV, provided an investigative report which is attached  at
Exhibit D.
_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The Separations Branch, HQ AFPC/DPPRS, stated that the  discharge  was
consistent with the procedural and  substantive  requirements  of  the
discharge regulation at the time of his discharge  from  active  duty.
Further, the  discharge  action  was  within  the  discretion  of  the
discharge authority and the applicant was provided full administrative
due process.  The records indicate the  applicant’s  military  service
was  properly  reviewed  and  appropriate  action  was  taken.   DPPRS
indicated that the applicant did not submit any new evidence, identify
any errors in the discharge processing or provide facts  that  support
an upgrade of his discharge, a change  in  his  narrative  reason  for
separation or the separation code he was  given.   Accordingly,  DPPRS
recommended the applicant’s records remain unchanged and  his  request
be denied (Exhibit E).


The Reenlistment Programs and Policy Branch, HQ AFPC/DPPAES,  reviewed
this application and recommended denial.  DPPAES stated  that  the  RE
Code of 2C is correct (Exhibit F).
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force  evaluation  was  forwarded  to  applicant  on
25 August 2000 for review and response.  As of this date, no  response
has been received by this office (Exhibit  G).   A  copy  of  the  FBI
Report was forwarded to the applicant on 9 November 2000 for review.

In  response  to  the  AFBCMR’s  26  October  2000  letter  concerning
submission of documents relating to his post-service  activities,  the
applicant submitted a personal statement, character reference  letters
and additional documents associated  with  the  issues  cited  in  his
appeal.  These documents are appended at Exhibit H.
_________________________________________________________________

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 evidence of  record
reflects that the applicant was separated due to his wrongful use of a
controlled substance.  There is no indication in the evidence provided
that the  applicant’s  discharge  was  improper  or  contrary  to  the
provisions of the discharge directive under which it was effected.  We
noted the applicant’s contention that he never used any drugs and  has
provided  copies  of  his  drug  test  results  to  substantiate   his
assertion.  In this respect, we  note  that  the  evidence  of  record
contains signed statements indicating otherwise and that the  incident
under review happened in October 1981 and the drug  test  results  are
subsequent to that time (April-July 1982).  While the applicant’s post-
service adjustment has been good, this fact, in and  of  itself,  does
not mandate favorable action on his requests based  on  clemency.   We
base our decision in this matter on the fact that,  at  the  time  the
applicant committed the cited misconduct,  he  was  a  noncommissioned
officer in his second term of  enlistment.   The  DoD  and  Air  Force
policies concerning drug use have always been highly publicized.   Yet
the applicant chose to ignore  that  policy  and  to  use  an  illegal
substance, thereby, in  our  view,  committing  a  serious  infraction
against the good order and discipline of the service.  In view of  our
opinion in this matter  and  in  the  absence  of  evidence  that  the
applicant’s substantial rights were  violated,  that  the  information
contained in the discharge  case  file  was  erroneous,  or  that  his
superiors abused their discretionary authority, we are not inclined to
favorably consider his requests.
_________________________________________________________________

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 14 December 2000, under the provisions of AFI 36-
2603:

                  Mr. Thomas S. Markiewicz, Panel Chair
                  Mr. Joseph A. Roj, Member
                  Ms. Patricia D. Vestal, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 4 Jul 00, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  AFDRB Hearing Record
   Exhibit D.  FBI Identification Record, 527665.
   Exhibit E.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPRS, dated 8 Aug 00.
   Exhibit F.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPAES, dated 10 Aug 00.
   Exhibit G.  Letters, SAF/MIBR, dated 25 Aug 00, and
                 AFBCMR, dated 26 Oct 00 and 9 Nov 00.




                                   THOMAS S. MARKIEWICZ
                                   Panel Chair