RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2003-00047

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His discharge be upgraded to honorable.

_________________________________________________________________

THE APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The reason for his discharge was definitely his own fault  and  unacceptable
behavior that is not  tolerated  in  the  armed  forces.   However,  he  was
illegally set-up to buy hashish by an  undercover  narcotics  agent  of  the
Drug Suppression Team United States Air Force and Army Task Force,  and  was
arrested by Air Force Office of Special Investigation (AFOSI) agents.

The applicant states that there was no excuse for what he did,  and  he  has
vowed to never get involved in illegal drugs, or illegal  activities  again.
However, he feels that he and his family  have  been  punished  enough,  and
enough time has passed to  correct  what  he  has  done  wrong.   Since  his
discharge, he has worked steadily for 11  years  without  getting  into  any
trouble with the authorities, except speeding tickets.  He is  a  productive
citizen, a good and  loving  father,  and  husband.   Having  his  discharge
upgraded is very important because the one and only Federal offense that  he
has ever committed has tarnished his  military  record  forever.   He  would
also like his discharge upgraded  so  that  he  can  apply  for  a  security
position at a nuclear facility.

In support of  the  appeal,  the  applicant  submits  a  statement  with  42
signatures of family members, friends, or employers.

Applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________





STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force  on  30  March  1987  for  a
period of four years.   He  was  progressively  promoted  to  the  grade  of
sergeant on 1 July 1986.

On 22 August 1990, the commander notified the applicant  of  his  intent  to
impose nonjudicial punishment under  Article  15  of  the  Uniform  Code  of
Military Justice (UCMJ)  for  violating  Article  112a.   Specifically,  for
wrongfully  using  hashish  between  1 December  1989  to  31 July  1990  at
Kaiserslautern, Federal Republic of Germany, and  wrongfully  possessing  10
grams of hashish on 20 July  1990.   After  consulting  legal  counsel,  the
applicant waived his right to a trial  by  court-martial  and  accepted  the
nonjudicial punishment.  The  applicant  did  not  submit  oral  or  written
submissions to the commander for consideration.   On  24  August  1990,  the
commander determined that he did commit  the  alleged  offense  and  imposed
nonjudicial punishment consisting  of  reduction  to  the  grade  of  airman
basic, with new date of rank (DOR) of 24 August 1990, forfeiture of  $200.00
pay per month for 2 months, 45 days of extra duty, and 45  days  restriction
to Vogelweh/Kapaun AS complex and  Ramstein  AB.   He  did  not  appeal  the
punishment.

His Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) status was vacated on 22 August  1990  for
use and possession of illegal drugs.

In a letter, dated 19 October 1990, the commander notified the applicant  of
his intent to initiate administrative discharge action against him for  drug
abuse.  Specifically, for wrongfully using hashish and possessing  10  grams
of  hashish  for  which  the  applicant  received  an  Article  15.    After
consulting with military counsel,  the  applicant  submitted  a  conditional
waiver of his rights to a hearing before an administrative  discharge  board
(ADB) contingent upon receipt of no  less  than  a  general  discharge,  and
submitted statements in his own behalf. On 9 November 1990, he  acknowledged
that his and his  spouse’s  sworn  statements  of  20  July  1990  would  be
attached to his AF Form 3070, Record of Nonjudicial Punishment  Proceedings,
dated 22 August 1990, and would be viewed by the discharge authority.

The conditional waiver was rejected on 29 November 1990, and on  that  date,
the applicant submitted an unconditional waiver of his rights to an ADB.

On 10  January  1991,  the  discharge  authority  approved  the  recommended
discharge without probation and rehabilitation.

He was discharged on 18 January 1991, under  the  provisions  of  AFR  39-10
(Misconduct - Drug Abuse), with an under  other  than  honorable  conditions
(UOTHC) discharge.  He completed 7 years, 9 months, and 18  days  of  active
service.

On 31 July 1995, the Air Force Discharge  Review  Board  (AFDRB)  considered
and denied applicant’s request that his discharge be upgraded.

Pursuant to the Board's request, the Federal Bureau of Investigation  (FBI),
Clarksburg, WV, indicated that on the basis  of  the  data  furnished,  they
were unable to locate an arrest record (Exhibit E).

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPRS recommends the application be denied and states,  in  part,  that
the discharge was consistent with procedural  and  substantive  requirements
of the discharge regulation.  In addition,  the  discharge  was  within  the
discretion of the discharge authority.  The applicant has not submitted  any
new evidence or identified any errors or injustices  that  occurred  in  the
discharge processing.

The AFPC/DPPRS evaluation is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT’S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A complete copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to  the  applicant
on 31 January 2003 for review and response within 30 days.  However,  as  of
this date, this office has received no response.

_________________________________________________________________

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 thoroughly  reviewing  the  evidence
of record and  noting  the  applicant’s  complete  submission,  we  find  no
evidence of  error  or  injustice.   In  this  respect,  we  note  that  the
applicant’s discharge appears to be in compliance  with  the  governing  Air
Force Regulation in effect  at  the  time  of  his  separation  and  he  was
afforded all the rights to which entitled.  The applicant  has  provided  no
evidence to indicate that his  separation  was  inappropriate.  There  being
insufficient evidence to the  contrary,  we  find  no  compelling  basis  to
recommend granting the relief sought.

4.  We also find insufficient evidence to warrant a recommendation that  the
discharge be upgraded on the basis of  clemency.   We  have  considered  the
applicant’s overall quality of service, the  events  that  precipitated  the
discharge, and available evidence related  to  his  post-service  activities
and accomplishments.  On  balance,  we  do  not  believe  that  clemency  is
warranted.

_________________________________________________________________

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  Docket  Number  BC-2003-00047
in Executive Session on 21 August 2003, under  the  provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

                       Ms. Patricia D. Vestal, Panel Chair
                       Ms. Martha J. Evans, Member
                       Mr. E. David Hoard, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 30 Dec 02, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPRS, dated 22 Jan 03.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 31 Jan 03.
    Exhibit E.  Request for FBI Investigative Report.




                                   PATRICIA D. VESTAL
                                   Panel Chair