RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-00331

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His  under  other  than  honorable  conditions  (UOTHC)  discharge  be
upgraded to honorable.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

When he was 19 and 20 years old, he made awful mistakes.  He had never
drunk alcohol, or smoked any marijuana  before  in  his  life.   After
trying this lifestyle, he failed his country, his family and  himself.
He has spent the last 20 years trying to live an honorable  life.   He
has been married 12 years and has 3 beautiful children and a wonderful
wife.  He has been a  self-employed  painter  for  13  years.   He  is
currently attending junior college to obtain an  associate  degree  in
business, and an associate degree in technology.  He has regretted the
mistakes he made during his youth and has strived not fail as an older
man.  Yet, with all he has and all he is trying to accomplish,  he  is
still half of a person.  The part of his past that he destroyed  as  a
youth forever lingers as a bad dream.  Therefore, he  is  asking,  and
not begging the Board to show mercy on him  and  change  his  past  by
upgrading his discharge to an honorable.  Please forgive him  for  the
disgrace he has brought upon the USAF, his country and let him die  an
honorable member the of the United States of America.

In support of  his  request,  he  submits  a  copy  of  DD  Form  293,
Application for the Review of Discharge or Dismissal  From  the  Armed
Forces of the United States, copies of birth certificates, letters  of
support from Hinds Community College, Cade Chapel  Missionary  Baptist
Church, Jackson Public School District and a  copy  of  his  personnel
evaluation sheet.

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

_________________________________________________________________




STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force as an airman basic  on
7 February 1979.  The applicant was involuntarily discharged under the
provision of AFR 39-12 (frequent involvement of a discreditable nature
with civil and military authorities)  with  service  characterized  as
under other than honorable conditions (UOTHC) on 22 May  1981  in  the
grade of airman basic.  He served 2 years, 3 months  and  16  days  of
active service.

On 8 October 1981, the applicant was notified by his commander that he
was recommending applicant for a discharge  because  of  his  frequent
involvement  of  a  discreditable  nature  with  civil  and   military
authorities.  Basis for the action: 18  March  1981,  he  received  an
Article 15 for being disorderly on station;         31  October  1980,
he received a Letter of Reprimand for failure to report  to  duty;  24
September 1980, he received an Article 15 for wrongful  possession  of
marijuana; and 4  September  1980,  he  received  an  Article  15  for
striking another individual in the  mouth  with  his  fist.   He  also
received notification for writing  a  dishonorable  check.   Applicant
consulted  with  counsel  and  on      9  April  1981,   submitted   a
conditional  waiver  to  an  administrative  discharge  board  hearing
contingent upon receipt of  an  honorable  discharge.   The  commander
waived his right to a board and he did  not  submit  statements.   The
base legal office reviewed the case and found it legally sufficient to
support the discharge.  They recommended  a  UOTHC  discharge  without
probation  and  rehabilitation  (P&R).   Upon  review,  the  discharge
authority stated the member’s behavior was too serious  to  warrant  a
general discharge and ordered a UOTHC discharge without P&R.

On 17 November 1982, the Air Force Discharge Review Board  denied  the
applicant’s request for upgrade of his discharge.

Pursuant to the Board's request for  information,  the  FBI  indicated
that, on the basis of the  evidence  provided,  they  were  unable  to
locate an arrest record pertaining to the applicant (Exhibit C).

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPRS recommended denial.  Based  on  the  documentation  in  the
file, DPPRS believes the discharge was consistent with the  procedural
and   substantive   requirements   of   the   discharge    regulation.
Additionally, the discharge was within the discretion of the discharge
authority.  Applicant did not submit any new evidence or identify  any
errors or injustices that occurred in the discharge proceedings.   The
applicant provided no facts warranting an upgrade of the discharge.

AFPC/DPPRS complete evaluation is attached at Exhibit D.

_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 7
March 2003, for review and comment within 30 days.  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. Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate  the
existence of an error or injustice.  Even  though  the  applicant  has
provided no evidence to show that his discharge was improper or not in
compliance  with  appropriate  directives,  it  is  our  opinion  that
approval of some relief is warranted in this case.  It appears  likely
that he has led a stable and productive life and it appears that there
is no evidence that he has had any subsequent serious involvement of a
derogatory nature since his separation from the Air Force.   In  light
of the above, we believe that it would be  an  injustice  for  him  to
continue to suffer the adverse effects of UOTHC discharge.   Therefore
on the basis of clemency, we believe an upgrade of  his  discharge  to
general (under honorable conditions) is warranted.   His  request  for
upgrade to honorable  was  considered;  however,  in  the  absence  of
evidence by the applicant other than his own statements pertaining  to
the quality of his service, the facts  and  circumstances  surrounding
his separation, or his activities since leaving the service, we do not
believe that an upgrade to a fully honorable discharge  is  warranted.
Accordingly, we recommend that his records be corrected  as  indicated
below.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the  Department  of  the  Air  Force
relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that at the  time  of  his
discharge  on  7  February  1979,  he  was  discharged  with   service
characterized as general (under honorable conditions).

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the  Board  considered  this  application  in
Executive Session on 3 June 2003, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

            Mr. Wayne R. Gracie, Panel Chair
            Mr. George Franklin, Member
            Ms. Carolyn J. Watkins-Taylor, Member

All members  voted  to  correct  the  records,  as  recommended.   The
following documentary evidence was considered:

      Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 10 Feb 03, w/atchs.
      Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C. FBI Report, dated 21 Feb 01.
      Exhibit D. Letter, AFPC/DPPRS, dated 26 Feb 03.
      Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 7 Mar 03.






                                   WAYNE R. GRACIE
                                   Panel Chair

AFBCMR BC-2003-00331




MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF OF STAFF

      Having received and considered the  recommendation  of  the  Air
Force Board for Correction of Military Records and under the authority
of Section 1552, Title 10, United States Code (70A Stat  116),  it  is
directed that:

      The pertinent military records of  the  Department  of  the  Air
Force relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that at the time  of
his discharge on 7 February  1979,  he  was  discharged  with  service
characterized as general (under honorable conditions).






      JOE G. LINEBERGER
      Director
      Air Force Review Boards Agency