RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

          AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS




 IN THE MATTER OF:     DOCKET NUMBER:  01-01270
            INDEX CODE:  110.00


            COUNSEL:  NONE


            HEARING DESIRED:  NO




 _________________________________________________________________


 APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:


 His general, under honorable conditions, discharge be  upgraded  to
 honorable.


 _________________________________________________________________


 APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:


 The only major issue was possession of marijuana.  He  successfully
 completed a rehabilitation program while he was in  the  Air  Force
 but the Air Force has no record of  his  completion.   He  did  not
 attend some Social Actions appointments since he was told they were
 voluntary.  Another issue is the issue of driving a  motor  vehicle
 without a government license.  He was driving a truck for his whole
 term because that was the job that he was assigned.


 Applicant’s complete submission is attached at Exhibit A.


 _________________________________________________________________


 STATEMENT OF FACTS:


 On 20 Jan 81, the applicant  enlisted  in  the  Regular  Air  Force
 (RegAF) for a period of four years in the grade of airman basic.


 Applicant’s Airman Performance Report (APR) profile follows:


             PERIOD ENDING          OVERALL EVALUATION


               19 Jan 82                    8

               31 May 82                    7

               31 May 83                    8
               18 Sep 83                    7


 On 19 Sep  83,  applicant  was  notified  that  his  commander  was
 recommending that he be discharged from the  Air  Force  for  minor
 disciplinary infractions.  The reason for the  commander’s  actions
 were as follows:


            a.   Substance abuse (16 Nov 81).  He  was  enrolled  in
 the substance abuse rehabilitation  program  for  alcohol  for  his
 continued problem in the area.


            b.   Failure to go (16 Nov 81).  He failed to  attend  a
 required dental appointment.  He received a letter of  notification
 from the clinic and a letter of counseling (LOC) from the squadron.


            c.   Failure to safeguard  government  property  (18 Nov
 81).  He lost his room  key.   He  was  issued  a  replacement  and
 counseled on the protection of government property.


            d.   Failure to pay just debts (5 Jan 82).  He failed to
 keep his  account  with  the  Noncommissioned  Officer  (NCO)  Club
 current.  He received a letter of notification from  the  NCO  Club
 and was counseled by the squadron.


            e.   Substandard duty performance  (20 Jan  81 -  19 Jan
 82).   Although  he  received  an  overall  rating  of  8  on   his
 performance  report,  the  comments  of  his   reporting   official
 indicated that he had  difficulties  in  maintaining  standards  as
 required by AFR 35-10.


            f.   Substandard duty performance  (20 Jan  82 -  31 May
 92).  He received a performance report with an overall rating of 7.
  His reporting official indicated that  he  did  not  complete  his
 assigned task in a timely  manner,  had  a  short  attention  span,
 presented poor work habits, and tended to allow his  personal  life
 to interfere with his military duties and responsibilities.


            g.   Failure to go (5 Feb 82).   He  reported  late  for
 duty.  He received a letter of counseling for this incident.


            h.   Failure to go (1 Mar 82).  He failed to report  for
 a required appointment at social actions.  He was counseled.


            i.   Failure to pay just debts (5 Mar 82).  He failed to
 keep his account at the NCO Club current.  He received a letter  of
 notification from the NCO Club and was counseled by the squadron.


            j.   Failure to go (10 Mar 82).  He failed to  attend  a
 required social actions  appointment.   He  received  a  Letter  of
 Reprimand (LOR) on 15 Apr 82.


            k.   Failure to pay just debts (20 Mar 82).   He  failed
 to maintain his account at the NCO Club in a  current  manner.   He
 received a letter of notification from the NCO Club.


            l.   Failure to safeguard  government  property  (14 Apr
 82).  He lost his controlled area badge.  He was counseled  by  the
 squadron.


            m.   Traffic Violation (16 Apr 82).  He was operating  a
 government vehicle without a government drivers  license  when  the
 generator he was towing became detached from the vehicle and struck
 another object.  He received a citation from  the  security  police
 and was counseled by the squadron.


            n.   Possession of marijuana (5 Nov  82).   He  received
 punishment pursuant to Article 15 of the Uniform Code  of  Military
 Justice (UCMJ).


            o.   Failure to pay just debts (14 Jun 83).   He  failed
 to maintain his account with the NCO Club in a current manner.   He
 received written notice from the NCO Club and was counseled by  the
 squadron.


            p.   Failure to go (8 Jul 83).  He failed  to  attend  a
 required social actions appointment.  He was counseled.


            q.   Failure to go (22 Jul 83).  He failed to  attend  a
 required social actions appointment.  He was counseled.


            r.   Failure to go (29 Jul 83).  He failed to attend the
 required social actions  appointment.   Because  of  his  continued
 failure to attend appointments and his failure to comply  with  his
 rehabilitation program, he was removed  from  the  substance  abuse
 rehabilitation program.


 On 22 Sep 83, after consulting with counsel, applicant submitted  a
 written statement.


 On 13 Oct 83, the applicant was discharged from the Air Force under
 the  provisions  of  AFR   39-10   (Misconduct-Pattern   of   Minor
 Disciplinary  Infractions)  with  an  under  honorable   conditions
 (general) discharge in the grade of airman  first  class.   He  was
 credited with 2 years, 8 months, and 24 days of active service.


 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.


 _________________________________________________________________


 AIR FORCE EVALUATION:


 AFPC/DPPRS reviewed this application  and  recommended  applicant’s
 records remain the same and his request be denied.   Based  on  the
 documentation in the file, the discharge was  consistent  with  the
 procedural  and   substantive   requirements   of   the   discharge
 regulation.  Additionally,  the  discharge  was  within  the  sound
 discretion of the discharge authority.  While the applicant  stated
 in his request letter that his possession of marijuana was the only
 major issue against him, he was discharged for a pattern  of  minor
 disciplinary infractions.  He did not submit any  new  evidence  or
 identify any errors or injustices that occurred  in  the  discharge
 processing.  He provided no other facts warranting  an  upgrade  of
 the discharge.


 A complete  copy  of  the  Air  Force  evaluation  is  attached  at
 Exhibit D.


 _________________________________________________________________


 APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:


 A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded  to  applicant  on
 27 Jul 01 for review and response.  As of this  date,  no  response
 has been received by this office.


 On 19 Sep 01, a copy of the FBI report was forwarded  to  applicant
 for review and response.  The  Board  requested  applicant  provide
 additional evidence pertaining to his post-service activities  (see
 Exhibit F).


 Applicant provided a personal statement indicating that,  since  he
 has been out of the Air Force, he has run a dry  cleaning  business
 with his parents.  After his father passed away a  few  years  ago,
 they decided to sell the business.  After  working  as  a  forklift
 driver for several years, he decided to go back to school.  He  has
 been enrolled in a community college fulltime for under a year now.
  He is working on his Associate’s Degree in Dental Laboratory.  The
 applicant provided a statement from the Director of  Admissions  of
 the Lexington Community College, and a statement from his mother.


 Applicant’s complete response, with  attachments,  is  attached  at
 Exhibit G.


 _________________________________________________________________


 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
 careful consideration of the circumstances of this case, we are not
 persuaded that the discharge action was in error or unjust.   While
 the applicant contends that the only major issue was possession  of
 marijuana, the evidence of record supports the stated  reasons  for
 his discharge,  i.e.,  an  Article  15,  numerous  counselings  for
 missing appointments or being late for work, and  for  not  keeping
 his  base  club  account  current.   Therefore,  in  our   opinion,
 responsible officials applied appropriate  standards  in  effecting
 the  applicant’s  involuntary  separation,  and  we  did  not  find
 persuasive evidence that pertinent regulations were violated at the
 time of his discharge.  If, as he  asserts,  he  has  overcome  his
 difficulty, then  we  applaud  him.   However,  the  applicant  was
 discharged from the Air Force based on the facts  that  existed  at
 the time of his separation.  We are not persuaded that  an  upgrade
 of the characterization of the applicant’s discharge  is  warranted
 on the basis of clemency.  In view of the  foregoing,  and  in  the
 absence of evidence to the contrary,  we  conclude  that  no  basis
 exists to recommend favorable action on the applicant’s request.


 _________________________________________________________________


 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 6 December 2001, under the provisions  of  Air
 Force Instruction 36-2603:


                  Mr. John L. Robuck, Panel Chair
                  Mr. Philip Sheuerman, Member
                  Mr. Laurence M. Groner, Member


 The following documentary evidence was considered:


      Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 18 May 01, w/atchs.
      Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C.  FBI Identification Record.
      Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPPRS, dated 27 Jun 01.
      Exhibit E.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 27 Jul 01.
      Exhibit F.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 19 Sep 01, w/atchs.
      Exhibit G.  Letter fr applicant, undated, w/atchs.








                                    JOHN L. ROBUCK
                                    Panel Chair