RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  02-02855
            INDEX CODE:  110.02

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED: NO

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His undesirable discharge be upgraded to general  (under  honorable
conditions).

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He had an alcohol problem at that time and  feels  that  he  should
have received a general under honorable conditions  discharge.   He
states that if he were being discharged now, it would not have been
an undesirable.

Applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force on  10  Jun  55  for  a
period of four years, in the grade of airman basic  (AB/E-1).   His
highest grade held was airman second class (A2C/E-3).

On 19 Aug 57,  the  commander  initiated  administrative  discharge
action against  the  applicant  for  unfitness,  stating  that  the
applicant was considered unfit for continued  service  in  the  Air
Force due to the fact that he had repeatedly committed offenses and
did not respond to attempts at rehabilitation.  The commander cited
the following summary court-martial actions:

            8 Dec 55, for being disorderly in station on 2 Dec  55.
He was sentenced to reduction in grade to basic airman, confinement
at hard labor (CHL) for 30 days and forfeiture of $50.

            21 Jun 57, for being disorderly in station  on  10  May
57, disorderly in a public place on 6 Jun 57  and  violation  of  a
lawful general regulation.  He was sentenced to reduction in  grade
to basic airman, confinement at hard labor (CHL) for  30  days  and
forfeiture of $55.

            14 Aug 57, for being drunk in station on 8 Aug 57.   He
was sentenced to one month CHL and forfeiture of $65.

Applicant acknowledged  receipt  of  the  administrative  discharge
action and waived his entitlement  to  appear  before  a  board  of
officers and requested discharge in lieu of board proceedings.   He
further acknowledged that he understood that if his application was
approved, that his separation could be under conditions other  than
honorable and that he could receive an undesirable  discharge,  and
that this may deprive him of rights as a veteran under both federal
and state legislation.

On  3  Sep  57,  the  group  commander  recommended   approval   of
applicant’s request for discharge.  On  10 Sep  57,  the  discharge
authority approved the Discharge for Unfitness.

On 1 Oct 57, applicant was discharged under the provisions  of  AFR
39-17 by reason of unfitness, with an  undesirable  discharge.   He
was credited with 2 years, 2 months, and 1 day  of  active  service
(excludes 51 days of lost time due to confinement).

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:

HQ AFPC/DPPRS reviewed the applicant’s request and recommended  his
request be denied.  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  the
applicant did not submit any new evidence or identify any errors or
injustices that occurred in the discharge processing  and  that  he
provided no other facts warranting an upgrade of the discharge.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit D.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant provided a personal statement  in  response  to  the  FBI
Report; he states that he has led a clean life since 1966.  He gave
a brief summary of his military service,  the  circumstances  which
subsequently led to his discharge and his life  since  leaving  the
service (Exhibit G).

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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.   After  careful
consideration of the evidence of record, we found  no  evidence  to
indicate that the actions taken to affect the applicant’s discharge
were improper or contrary to the governing regulations in effect at
the time, or that the actions  taken  against  the  applicant  were
based on factors other than his own misconduct.   In  addition,  in
view of the applicant’s overall record  of  service,  specifically,
the pattern of misconduct which led to his  Summary  courts-martial
and subsequent discharge, and the available  evidence  relating  to
his post-service activities and conduct, we are not persuaded  that
the characterization  of  the  applicant’s  discharge  warrants  an
upgrade to general, under honorable conditions,  on  the  basis  of
clemency.  Having  found  insufficient  evidence  of  an  error  or
injustice with regard  to  the  actions  that  occurred  while  the
applicant was a military member, we conclude that no  basis  exists
to grant favorable action on his requests.

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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.

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The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket  Number
02-02855 in Executive Session on 7 May 2003, under  the  provisions
of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Joseph G. Diamond, Panel Chair
      Ms. Kathleen F. Graham, Member
      Ms. Dorothy P. Loeb, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 23 Aug 02, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  FBI Report of Investigation
    Exhibit D.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPRS, dated 24 Sep 02.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 4 Oct 02.
    Exhibit F.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 21 Mar 03, w/atchs.
    Exhibit G.  Letter, Applicant, dated 1 Apr 03.




                                   JOSEPH G. DIAMOND
                                   Panel Chair