RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  02-02732
            INDEX CODE:  108.00

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His records be corrected to reflect a medical  discharge  based  on  a
diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The  bipolar  disorder  existed  prior  to  his  discharge.   Had  the
condition been known to exist at that time, it would have altered  the
outcome of his court-martial and discharge.

Applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant initially enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 31 Jan 79
in the grade of airman basic.  Prior to the matter under  review,  the
applicant was progressively promoted to the grade of staff sergeant.

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

      PERIOD ENDING    EVALUATION

      30 Jan 80        9
      15 Oct 80        9
      15 Oct 81        9
      17 Jul 82        9
      17 Jul 83        9
      29 Jan 84        9
       1 Jun 84        9

A General Court-Martial Order Number 16, dated  7  May  85,  indicates
that the applicant was tried by general court-martial.  He was charged
with attempted murder; attempted armed robbery;  attempted  possession
of heroin; possession of  drug  paraphernalia;  escape  from  custody;
possession of heroin, cocaine, marijuana and phenobarbital; and making
and uttering bad checks.  The applicant pled guilty  to  each  of  the
offenses, except for the attempted  murder  specification.   For  that
charge, he pled guilty to assault with a deadly weapon.

On 25 Jan 85, the applicant was sentenced  to  be  discharged  with  a
dishonorable discharge, to be confined for a period of  twenty  years,
forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and to be reduced  in  grade  to
airman basic (E-1).  The convening authority approved the sentence  as
adjudged  except  for  the  portion  of  the  sentence  pertaining  to
confinement, which he reduced to 18 years.

On 1 Aug 86, the approved sentence of the  general  court-martial  was
affirmed, except  for  the  portion  of  the  sentence  pertaining  to
confinement, which was reduced to 15  years,  and  the  discharge  was
ordered into execution.

Applicant was discharged with a dishonorable discharge  on  19 Nov 86.
He was credited with 5 years, 6 months and 28 days of active  military
service.

The remaining  relevant  facts  pertaining  to  this  application  are
contained in the letters prepared by the appropriate  offices  of  the
Air Force.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The Medical Consultant recommended denial indicating that there was no
evidence in the available medical records documenting a  diagnosis  of
bipolar disorder other  than  a  single  reference  in  Mar  93.   The
applicant clearly had a substance abuse disorder  with  narcotics  and
cocaine that can mimic symptoms of bipolar disorder.  When drug  abuse
is the cause of such symptoms it is  diagnosed  as  substance  induced
mood disorder and not bipolar disorder.  However, substance abuse  can
complicate bipolar disorder and symptoms of the bipolar  disorder  and
the substance abuse disorder become inextricably intertwined.

According to the Medical Consultant, there  was  no  evidence  in  the
record that the applicant exhibited symptoms of bipolar disorder prior
to his drug abuse.  Several  months  prior  to  his  arrest  for  drug
related offenses, a mental health  evaluation  found  no  evidence  of
mental illness.   The  evidence  of  the  record  indicated  that  the
applicant had been abusing drugs well before his criminal conduct, and
that his problems with drug abuse continued  following  his  discharge
when he was not in confinement.  The applicant had a  thorough  mental
health evaluation prior  to  the  court-martial  proceedings  and  was
presumably determined to be sane,  responsible  for  his  actions  and
mentally competent to stand trial.  He further had no evidence at that
time of a  medical  condition  that  would  have  been  unfitting  for
continued service  requiring  entry  into  the  Air  Force  Disability
System.  The action and disposition  in  this  case  were  proper  and
equitable reflecting compliance with the  Air  Force  directives  that
implement the law.  In the Medical Consultant’s opinion, no change  in
the records is warranted.

A complete copy of the Medical Consultant’s evaluation is  at  Exhibit
A.

AFLSA/JAJM recommended denial indicating that no  error  or  injustice
has occurred which  requires  the  correction  of  applicant’s  court-
martial record.  Additionally, while clemency is an option,  there  is
no reason for the Board to exercise clemency  in  this  case.   First,
there was no evidence that the applicant suffered  from  an  untreated
bipolar disorder at the time of or prior to his offenses in 1984.   To
the  contrary,  the  applicant’s  military  career   was   progressing
admirably until he chose to  start  using  drugs.   Additionally,  the
sanity board, specifically convened at the applicant’s request,  found
conditions related to  his  use  of  drugs,  but  concluded  that  the
applicant was in full possession of his faculties.  However,  even  if
the applicant suffered from bipolar disorder at the time of  or  prior
to his offenses in 1984, there was no reason to believe, based on  the
results of the sanity board, that it would have  affected  the  trial.
The applicant  pled  guilty  to  several  serious  charges,  including
assault with a deadly weapon for  shooting  a  pharmacist  during  the
course of an armed robbery.  He faced a maximum sentence that included
a  dishonorable  discharge  and  43.5  years   of   confinement.    In
mitigation, the defense presented testimony from a psychiatrist, Chief
of Mental Health Services, and the  president  of  the  sanity  board,
about the nature and duration of the applicant’s addiction  to  heroin
and why this addiction led the applicant to commit the  armed  robbery
and shooting of the pharmacist.  The applicant then told  the  members
about the difficulty he was experiencing during the time period of the
offenses.  The panel members considered this information and sentenced
the applicant to lengthy confinement and a dishonorable discharge.

In AFLSA/JAJM’s view, the applicant has  provided  no  evidence  of  a
clear error or injustice related to his  sentence  of  a  dishonorable
discharge, and has presented  insufficient  evidence  to  warrant  the
granting of clemency by the AFBCMR.

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

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to applicant on  21
Feb 03 for review and response.  As of this date, no response has been
received by this office (Exhibit E).

_________________________________________________________________

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.  The applicant's  submission  was
thoroughly reviewed, and his contentions were duly noted.  However, we
do not find the  applicant’s  assertions  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 of various  offenses,
including attempted assault with  a  deadly  weapon,  attempted  armed
robbery, and possession of illegal drugs.  He contends that he  had  a
bipolar disorder prior to his discharge, and, that had  the  condition
been known, it would have altered the outcome of his court-martial and
discharge.  No evidence has been presented  which  would  lead  us  to
believe that the applicant’s service characterization, which  had  its
basis  in  his  conviction  by  general  court-martial  was  improper.
Furthermore, based on the evidence presented, we are not  inclined  to
act favorably based  on  clemency  at  this  time.   In  view  of  the
foregoing, and in the absence of evidence to the  contrary,  we  agree
with the recommendations of the OPRs and adopt their rationale as  the
basis for our decision that the applicant has failed  to  sustain  his
burden of establishing that he has suffered  either  an  error  or  an
injustice.  Accordingly, we find  no  compelling  basis  to  recommend
granting the relief sought in this application.

_________________________________________________________________

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 AFBCMR Docket Number 02-
02732 in Executive Session on 25 Mar 03, under the provisions  of  AFI
36-2603:

      Mr. Robert S. Boyd, Panel Chair
      Ms. Ann-Cecile McDermott, Member
      Mr. James A. Wolffe, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 22 Aug 02.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, Medical Consultant, dated 18 Oct 02.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, AFLSA/JAJM, dated 3 Feb 03.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 21 Feb 03.




                                   ROBERT S. BOYD
                                   Panel Chair