RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  01-02805
            INDEX NUMBER:  110.02


            COUNSEL:  NONE


            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His bad conduct discharge (BCD) be upgraded to  honorable.   On  2 Jan
02, applicant amended his application  and  requests  upgrade  of  his
discharge from a BCD to general under honorable conditions.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was young and immature.  He was dealing with problems at  home  and
feels that his  situation  was  viewed  wrongly.   He  says  he  never
intended to hurt anyone.   Since  his  discharge,  he  has  completely
turned his life around and become more mature and feels that  violence
and anger are not a way to solve a problem.  He has devoted  his  life
to religion.

In support  of  his  appeal,  the  applicant  submitted  a  letter  of
character reference from his pastor and deacon board; a copy of his DD
Form 214, Report of Separation from the Armed  Forces  of  the  United
States and his  Air  Force  Discharge  Review  Board  (AFDRB)  Hearing
record.

Applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 23 May 1951, applicant enlisted in  the  Regular  Air  Force.   His
highest grade held was  airman  third  class  (A3C/E-2).   Applicant’s
grade at time of discharge was airman basic (AB/E-1).

Applicant received character and efficiency ratings of excellent  from
3 Aug – 11 Oct 51; from 19 May – 12 Aug 52, ratings were unknown; from
19 Nov – 26 Nov 52, character and efficiency ratings  were  excellent,
and from 1 Dec – 7 Dec 52, his character rating was very good and  his
efficiency rating was satisfactory.

On 25 Jan 52, applicant was convicted  by  Summary  Court-Martial  for
failure to obey a lawful order issued by an officer on or about 18 Jan
52.  He was restricted to the base for 21 days and forfeited $25.00.

On 12 Mar 52, applicant was convicted  by  Summary  Court-Martial  for
being disrespectful in language toward a non-commissioned  officer  on
or about 28 Feb 52.  He was sentenced to  confinement  at  hard  labor
(CHL) for one month and forfeiture of $20.00 for one month.

On 6 May 53, applicant was  convicted  by  Summary  Court-Martial,  in
that, on or about 11 Apr 53, he unlawfully struck a female on the face
with his hand.  He was restricted to the limits of the  base  for  one
month and forfeiture of $25.00.

On 18 Aug 53, applicant was convicted  by  Summary  Court-Martial,  in
that, on or about 7 Aug 53, he was  disorderly  in  station.   He  was
sentenced to a reduction to the grade of airman basic, CHL for 45 days
and forfeiture of $25.00.

On 12 May 54, applicant was convicted  by  Summary  Court-Martial  for
failure to obey a lawful order issued by a  senior  officer.   He  was
sentence to CHL for 30 days and forfeiture of $34.00.

On 15 Oct 54, applicant was convicted  by  Special  Court-Martial  for
being drunk and disorderly in a public place on 21 Aug 54  and  1  Sep
54.  He was sentenced to a bad conduct discharge, CHL for four  months
and forfeiture of $34.00 per month for four months.

On 17 Jan 55, he was discharged under the  provisions  of  AFR  39-18,
with a bad conduct discharge.  He was credited with 3 years, 2 months,
and 3 days active service (excludes 172 days of lost time due to three
periods of confinement).

On 29 October  1959,  the  AFDRB  considered  and  denied  applicant’s
request for an upgrade  of  his  BCD  to  under  honorable  conditions
(general) (See review of discharge at Exhibit B).

Pursuant to the Board’s request, the Federal Bureau of  Investigation,
Clarksburg, West Virginia, provided an investigative report  which  is
attached at Exhibit C.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

On 13 November 2001, HQ AFPC/DPPRS  recommended  denial.   They  found
that the discharge was consistent with the procedural and  substantive
requirements of the  discharge  regulation.   Additionally,  that  the
discharge was within the sound discretion of the discharge  authority.
They also noted that although the applicant  submitted  two  character
references, he did not submit any new evidence or identify any  errors
or injustices that occurred in the discharge processing or provide any
facts warranting an upgrade of his discharge.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit D.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant indicated that he did not recall all or some of the specific
events leading up  to  his  discharge.   He  reiterated  his  personal
problems surrounding the period in question and  that  he  was  within
four to five months of completing his full four-year contract and  was
led to believe that he would have completed the full  term.   He  also
states that when he was discharged, he was told that in six months his
discharge would be upgraded.

Applicant further states that he was charged with  172  days  of  lost
time yet he only spent one week  in  the  guardhouse  prior  to  being
discharged.

He has worked successfully with the US Marine Corps Post Exchange  for
over 15 years, bought and paid for his house, and is an active  member
in his church.  He says he had three and a half years of good time and
that time should be good enough for his upgrade request.

Applicant’s complete response is at Exhibit F.

On 25 Feb 02, the FBI Report of Investigation  was  forwarded  to  the
applicant for review and comment.  At that  time,  the  applicant  was
also  invited  to  provide  additional  evidence  pertaining  to   his
activities since leaving the service (Exhibit G).  As of this date, no
response has been received by this office.

_________________________________________________________________

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  error  or  injustice.   We  took  notice  of   the
applicant's complete submission in judging the  merits  of  the  case,
including the letters of character reference submitted in  his  behalf
indicating that his associates hold him in high esteem.   Nonetheless,
in view of the seriousness of the misconduct which led to his numerous
courts-martial actions and subsequent discharge, and in  view  of  the
contents of the FBI Report of Investigation, we are  not  inclined  to
recommend  upgrade  of  the  characterization   of   the   applicant’s
discharge.  Therefore, based on the available evidence of record,  the
applicant’s request for upgrade of his  discharge  to  general  (under
honorable conditions) is not favorably considered.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The  applicant  be  notified  that  the  evidence  presented  did  not
demonstrate the existence of 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  AFBCMR
Docket Number 01-02805 in Executive Session on 2 April 2002, under the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Ms. Patricia D. Vestal, Panel Chair
      Mr. Michael K. Gallogly, Member
      Mr. Robert S. Boyd, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 1 Nov 01, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  FBI Report of Investigation.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPRS, dated 13 Nov 01, w/atchs.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 30 Nov 01, w/atchs.
    Exhibit F.  Statement from Applicant, dated 2 Jan 02,
                        w/atchs.
    Exhibit G.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 25 Feb 02, w/atchs.




                                   PATRICIA D. VESTAL
                                   Panel Chair