RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-01212
            INDEX CODE:  110.02
            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

1.  The narrative reason for his discharge be  changed  to  "Convenience  of
the Government" or "Secretarial Authority".

2.  His reenlistment eligibility (RE) code be changed to 3A.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

During the  time  he  served  on  active  duty  he  was  suffering  from  an
Adjustment Disorder.  His Adjustment Disorder led to his decision  to  admit
to use of marijuana.  He had in fact not used marijuana and made  the  false
statement out of hopelessness.  Up to that point,  his  service  record  was
clean.  Prior to completing drug  and  alcohol  rehabilitation  he  received
treatment at Sembach Mental Health  Clinic.   His  last  performance  report
prior to going  overseas  indicated  a  lower  marking  in  Adaptability  to
Military Life and Bearing and Behavior, which should have indicated that  he
was having problems.  He sought counseling from the Chaplain  while  he  was
in technical training.  His mother was ill and eventually passed  away.   He
requested a hardship discharge, but his request was denied.  These  combined
problems in addition to his assignment overseas  clearly  indicated  he  was
having problems.  A previously approved AFBCMR case, Docket Number  BC-2002-
01549, is similar to his situation.

In support of his request, applicant  provided  a  personal  statement,  his
mother's obituary, documentation associated with his  request  for  hardship
separation action, his Airman Performance Reports (APRs) closing 31  Jan  87
and 12 Dec 87, his Letter of Evaluation (LOE) closing 30 Oct  86,  documents
extracted from  his  medical  records,  documentation  associated  with  his
discharge  action,  and  his  training  and  education  certificated.    His
complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 23 Oct 85.  He  was  promoted
to the grade of airman first class having assumed that grade  effective  and
with a date of rank of  7  Dec  85.   On  15  Dec  87,  applicant  requested
voluntary separation for humanitarian/hardship reasons.  On 29 Dec  87,  his
request was  disapproved.   The  discharge  authority  determined  that  his
stated  reasons  did  not  qualify  for  early  separation  and  that  early
separation was not in the best interest of the  Air  Force.   On  4 May  88,
applicant was notified by his commander that he was recommending that he  be
honorably discharged from the Air Force under the provisions of  AFR  39-10,
paragraph 5-49c, for drug  abuse.   The  reason  for  this  action  was  his
admission that he used marijuana while on active duty.   The  applicant  was
advised of his rights  in  this  matter  and  acknowledged  receipt  of  the
notification on that same date.  After consulting counsel,  he  elected  not
to submit statements on his own behalf.  In  a  legal  review  of  the  case
file, the Staff Judge Advocate (SJA)  found  the  case  legally  sufficient.
The SJA did not concur with the commander's recommendation for an  honorable
discharge  and  recommended  discharge  with  a  general  (under   honorable
conditions) discharge without probation or  rehabilitation.   The  discharge
authority  concurred  with  the  SJA  recommendation  and  directed  he   be
discharged and issued a general discharge.  The applicant was discharged  on
8 Nov 88.  He served 3 years and 16 days on active duty.

On 11 Jan 01, the  Air  Force  Discharge  Review  Board  (AFDRB)  considered
applicant's request for upgrade of his discharge to honorable and to  change
his reason for discharge.  The AFDRB granted  his  request  to  upgrade  his
discharge to honorable and denied his request to change the reason  for  his
discharge.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The BCMR Medical  Consultant  recommends  denial.   The  Medical  Consultant
states the applicant developed symptoms of depressed mood due to the  stress
associated with his parents divorce and his mother's  ongoing  difficulties.
His first duty station was close to home enabling him to  provide  emotional
support.  However, when he  received  orders  to  Germany,  he  applied  for
separation.  He presented to the mental  health  clinic  shortly  after  his
arrival to Germany with symptoms  of  depressed  mood.   The  mental  health
encounters did not result in a recommendation for administrative  separation
and on 29 Mar 8, he admitted to the use and possession  of  marijuana  while
on active duty.  He was issued a Letter of  Reprimand.   His  mental  health
provider noted that drug abuse was a method he used as  an  attempt  to  get
out of the Air Force.  When the attempt failed,  he  expressed  thoughts  of
suicide to  accomplish  his  goal.   The  commander  subsequently  initiated
discharge action.

The applicant was diagnosed with Adjustment Disorder  with  Depressed  Mood.
One of the features of Adjustment Disorder is that  the  condition  resolves
with relief of the  stressors.   Not  all  members  who  develop  Adjustment
Disorder are automatically recommended for administrative  discharge.   When
the member is able to continue performing their military  duties,  a  period
of treatment often results in satisfactory resolution of  symptoms  and  the
ability to remain on active duty.  The documentation indicates he  was  able
to perform his duty but was  not  motivated  for  therapy.   The  Adjustment
Disorder did not render him  unable  to  distinguish  right  from  wrong  or
unable to conform his behavior to the law.   His  statement  admitting  drug
use was a willful act to achieve his desire to separate from the Air  Force.
 The fact that he is functioning well at this  time  at  home  confirms  his
diagnosis of Adjustment Disorder, however it does not predict that  he  will
at  this  time  respond  well  to  the  stresses  of  military   operations,
deployment, or combat when separated  from  his  familiar  surroundings  and
usual support system.  Further, his post-service  civilian  experience  with
recurrent Adjustment Disorder is further predictive of an increased risk  of
recurrence of symptoms of Adjustment Disorder if re-exposed  to  the  rigors
of military service.  The Medical Consultant Evaluation is at Exhibit C.

AFPC/DPPRS  recommends  denial.   DPPRS  states  that  the   discharge   was
consistent  with  the  procedural  and  substantive  requirements   of   the
discharge  regulation  and  was  within  the  discretion  of  the  discharge
authority.  The applicant did not submit any new evidence  or  identify  any
errors in his discharge processing.  Separation for the "Convenience of  the
Government" is a generic term used to describe a  number  of  voluntary  and
involuntary separations, and these separations  have  their  own  separation
codes and narrative reason as designated by the DoD.  The  DPPRS  evaluation
is at Exhibit D.

AFPC/DPPAE recommends denial.  The RE code 2C "involuntarily separated  with
an honorable discharge; or entry level separation  without  characterization
of service" is  correct.   No  additional  evidence  has  been  provided  to
support changing the RE code.  The DPPAE evaluation is at Exhibit E.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant states that the Medical Consultant missed the  fact  that  had  he
been sent to Mental Health prior to his overseas assignment  he  could  have
possible been diagnosed and entered into a  treatment  program  or  received
counseling.  Upon his arrival at Germany he  was  suffering  from  a  severe
Adjustment Disorder  for  which  he  is  still  on  medication.   He  cannot
describe the hopelessness and depression that he  was  experiencing  at  the
time of his statement of drug use.  While himself and others are ashamed  of
having seen a mental health professional, they are there to  help.   He  has
been through a program and received help and functions successfully  in  any
environment.  His complete submission is at Exhibit G.

_________________________________________________________________

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 error or injustice that would warrant a change  in  his  reason
for discharge.  In this respect, we note that the narrative reason  for  the
applicant's discharge from the Air Force reflects "Misconduct-Other  Serious
Offenses."  While we do not find his admission to drug abuse, in an  attempt
to affect his discharge from the Air Force appropriate,  a  thorough  review
of the evidence of record does not reveal any  additional  behavior  on  the
applicant's part.  In addition, we note that in  previous  consideration  of
his  case,   the   Air   Force   Discharge   Review   Board   upgraded   the
characterization of his service from general to honorable.   Accordingly  it
is our opinion that his records should be  corrected  to  reflect  that  the
narrative reason for his discharge is "Secretarial Authority" and  recommend
his records be corrected as indicated below.

4.  Notwithstanding the  above,  insufficient  relevant  evidence  has  been
presented to demonstrate the existence of error or  injustice  with  respect
to his request for a change of  his  RE  code.   His  contentions  are  duly
noted; however, we do not find his  assertions  sufficiently  persuasive  to
warrant  upgrading  his  RE  code.   It   appears   that   the   applicant's
difficulties adapting to military life  had  its  basis  in  his  not  being
assigned to a preferred duty station.  While it appears that he has  made  a
successful adjustment in the less-stressful civilian environment, we see  no
evidence, which would lead us to believe that he would now be  amendable  to
the demands of military life.   Therefore,  we  agree  with  the  Air  Force
offices of primary responsibility and adopt their  rationale  as  the  basis
for our conclusion that he has not been the victim of an error or  injustice
with regards to this matter.

________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air  Force  relating
to APPLICANT  be  corrected  to  show  that  on  8  November  1988,  he  was
discharged under the provisions of AFR  35-10,  paragraph  1-2  (Secretarial
Authority), with a Separation Program Designator (SPD) code of KFF.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered  Docket  Number  bc-2003-01212
in Executive Session on 13 Nov 03, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Richard A. Peterson, Panel Chair
      Mr. Gregory H. Petkoff, Member
      Mrs. 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 15 Apr 03, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, BCMR Medical Consultant, dated 7 Jul 03.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPPRE, dated 25 Jul 03.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, AFPC/DPPAE, dated 30 Sep 03.
    Exhibit F.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 10 Oct 03.
    Exhibit G.  Letter, Applicant, not dated.




                             RICHARD A. PETERSON
                                             Panel Chair
AFBCMR BC-2003-01212




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 on 8 November 1988, he was
discharged under the provisions of AFR 35-10, paragraph 1-2 (Secretarial
Authority), with a Separation Program Designator (SPD) code of KFF.








  JOE G. LINEBERGER

  Director

  Air Force Review Boards Agency