RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-04091
            INDEX CODE:
            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

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

2.  His enlistment grade be corrected to a higher pay  grade  based  on  his
prior time in the Air National Guard.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

His recruiter stated he would enter the Air  Force  in  the  grade  of  E-2,
progress to the grade of E-3 after completion of  basic  military  training,
and would become an E-4 after a period of one  year.   However,  he  entered
active duty as an E-1 and his progression ended as an E-3.  Because  of  the
error in his pay grade,  he  was  financially  unable  to  sustain  adequate
living  and  financial  problems  which  resulted  in   minor   disciplinary
problems.  He believes that a general discharge is unjust because the  minor
disciplinary problems were not enough to justify a general discharge.

In support of his request, applicant provided documentation  extracted  from
his military records, his enlistment contract, and documentation  associated
with  his  Air  National  Guard  service.   His  complete  submission,  with
attachments, is at Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant served in the Army National Guard from 8  Jan  80  to  12 Oct  83.
During that period he was credited with 8  months  and  15  days  of  active
military service.  He enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 18 Nov 83 in  the
pay grade of E-2.

On 30  Aug  85,  applicant  was  notified  by  his  commander  that  he  was
recommending that he be discharged from the Air  Force  in  accordance  with
AFR 39-10 for misconduct - a pattern of minor  disciplinary  problems.   The
specific reasons for this action were that he was received four  letters  of
counseling, two letters of reprimand, nonjudicial punishment  under  Article
15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and a  notice  of  indebtedness.
He was advised of his rights in this matter and acknowledged receipt of  the
notification on that same date.  On 3 Sep 85, after consulting  counsel,  he
submitted a statement on his own behalf.  In a legal  review  of  the  case,
the staff judge advocate, found the case legally sufficient and  recommended
that  he  be  discharged  with  a  general  (under   honorable   conditions)
discharge, without probation and rehabilitation.   The  discharge  authority
concurred with the recommendation and directed that he be discharged with  a
general discharge.  Applicant was discharged from the Air Force  on  24  Sep
85.  He served 1 year, 10 months, and 7 days on active duty.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPAEQ recommends denial.  DPPAEQ  states  the  applicant's  enlistment
grade (E-2) was correctly  determined  in  accordance  with  AFR  33-3.   He
signed and initialed his enlistment  contract  acknowledging  an  enlistment
pay grade of E-2 and that he understood he had no claim to a  higher  grade.
The DPPAEQ evaluation is at Exhibit C.

AFPC/DPPRS recommends denial.  DPPRS states the  applicant's  discharge  was
consistent  with  the  procedural  and  substantive  requirements   of   the
discharge  regulation  and  was  within  the  discretion  of  the  discharge
authority.  He did not  submit  any  evidence  or  identify  any  errors  or
injustices that occurred in his discharge processing.  The DPPRS  evaluation
is at Exhibit D.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the  applicant  on  20
Feb 04 for review and comment within 30 days.  As of this date, this  office
has received no response.

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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  that  would  warrant  an  upgrade  of  his
discharge to honorable.  Evidence has not been provided which would lead  us
to believe that the action taken to affect his discharge from the Air  Force
was improper or contrary to the provisions of the governing  regulations  at
the
time; or, that the characterization of his  service  was  based  on  factors
other than his own  misconduct.   With  respect  to  his  request  that  his
enlisted grade be changed to a higher grade based on his prior time  in  the
National Guard, after careful review of the evidence of record,  it  is  our
opinion  that  the  applicant's  entry  grade  was  properly  determined  in
accordance established policy.  Therefore, we agree with  the  opinions  and
recommendation of 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.   In  the  absence  of  evidence  to  the
contrary, we find no compelling basis upon which to recommend  granting  the
relief sought in this application.

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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-
04091 in Executive Session on 31 Mar 04, under the  provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

      Mr. Thomas S. Markiewicz, Chair
      Ms. Leslie E. Abbott, Member
      Ms. Renee M. Collier, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 8 Jan 04, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPAEQ, dated 4 Feb 04.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPPRS, dated 17 Feb 04.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 20 Feb 04.




                                   THOMAS S. MARKIEWICZ
                                   Chair