RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-02655
            INDEX CODE:  110.02

            COUNSEL:  GREGORY N. JONES

            HEARING DESIRED: NO

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His undesirable discharge be upgraded.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

His chain of command did not consider his maturity at the time.  He
was 20 years old and was having problems at home which  led  up  to
problems in the service.

In support of his appeal, applicant submitted  a  letter  from  the
Department  of  Veterans  Affairs,  County  of  Los  Angeles,  with
attachment; a copy of a photo of applicant in  Army  service  dress
uniform, dated 14 Dec 82; a copy of DD Form 214 (Air Force),  Armed
Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge,  dated
24 Aug 70; DD Form 214 (Army Reserve), Certificate  of  Release  or
Discharge from Active  Duty,  dated  27  Feb  84;  certificates  of
training from the Army, dated 29 Sep 77 and 18 Feb 82; a copy of an
Army Commendation Medal citation, dated 9  Jun  83;  a  copy  of  a
promotion  certificate  to  the  rank  of  Staff  Sergeant,   dated
1 Apr 82, and copies of honorable discharge certificates  from  the
Army, dated 27 Nov 80, 27 Feb 84, and 27 Feb 87.

Applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force  on  1  Oct  68  for  a
period of 4 years in the grade  of  airman  basic.   Prior  to  the
events under review,  he  was  promoted  to  the  grade  of  airman
effective 13 Nov 68.

On 21 Jan 69, the applicant received an Article 15 for not  storing
his knife, which was in excess of 6  inches  in  length,  with  the
Security Police and for three instances of failure  to  go  to  his
appointed place of duty (7, 9, and  10  Jan  69).   His  punishment
consisted of reduction to the grade of airman basic, forfeiture  of
$20 per pay for one month and 30 days of correctional custody.

On 29 Apr 69, applicant was convicted by Special Court-Martial  for
breach of restraint on 5  Feb  69,  while  undergoing  correctional
custody; being absent without leave (AWOL 5 Feb - 19  Feb  69;  and
being AWOL 20 Feb until 25 Mar 69.   His  punishment  consisted  of
confinement at hard labor for six months and forfeiture of $73  pay
per month for six months.

In Oct 69, applicant was restored  to  duty.   While  TDY,  he  was
accused of stealing from an airman’s room and from another airman’s
automobile.  No disciplinary action was cited for this offense.

On 30 Jul 70, after consulting  with  counsel  applicant  requested
discharge for the good of the  service.   He  further  acknowledged
that he understood that if his application was approved,  that  his
separation could result in an undesirable discharge, that he  would
not be entitled to settlement for  accrued  leave,  that  this  may
deprive  him  of  veteran  benefits,  and  that  he  may  encounter
substantial prejudice in civilian life in situations where the type
of service rendered in any branch of the Armed Forces or  the  type
of discharge received may have a bearing.

On that same date, the squadron section  commander  and  the  group
commander recommended that his request for discharge  be  approved.
The squadron section commander cited the above listed incidents  in
his recommendation.

The staff judge advocate  found  the  case  legally  sufficient  to
support discharge and recommended applicant receive an  undesirable
discharge.

On 13 Aug  70,  the  base  commander  recommended  approval  of  an
undesirable discharge.

On 18 Aug 70,  the  discharge  authority  approved  an  undesirable
discharge  and  directed   that   the   applicant   be   issued   a
DD Form 258AF, “Undesirable Discharge Certificate.”  On 24 Aug  70,
applicant was discharged under the provisions  of  AFM 39-12,  with
service characterized as other than  honorable.   He  was  credited
with 1 year, 2 months, and 20 days of active duty service (excludes
248  days  lost  time  due  to  correctional  custody,   AWOL   and
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:

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to  the  applicant
on 12 Sep 03 for review and comment within 30  days.   As  of  this
date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit E).

On 17 Oct 03, a copy  of  the  FBI  report  was  forwarded  to  the
applicant and his counsel for comment.  At that time, the applicant
was also invited to provide evidence pertaining to  his  activities
since leaving the  service  (Exhibit  F).   As  of  this  date,  no
response has been received by this office.

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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 and that  provided  by  the
applicant, we found no evidence that the actions  taken  to  effect
his discharge were improper or contrary to the  provisions  of  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.  Based on his overall record  of  service,  and  in
view of the contents of the FBI Report of Investigation, we are not
persuaded that an upgrade of the characterization of his  discharge
is warranted.  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 request.

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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.

___________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket  Number
BC-2003-02655 in Executive Session on 5 November  2003,  under  the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Ms. Brenda L. Romine, Panel Chair
      Mr. James W. Russell III, Member
      Ms. Leslie E. Abbott, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 5 Aug 03, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  FBI Report of Investigation.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPRS, dated 29 Aug 03.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 12 Sep 03.
    Exhibit F.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 17 Oct 03.




                                   BRENDA L. ROMINE
                                   Panel Chair