RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2004-00365
            INDEX CODE:  110.02

      XXXXXXX    COUNSEL:  NONE

      XXXXXXX    HEARING DESIRED: NO

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His undesirable discharge be upgraded.

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was given an AFR  39-17  discharge  with  no  chance  to  defend
himself.  He states that he had no court-martial and  that  he  has
never been dishonorable in his whole life.

He has been a model citizen, raised a family, and is now  65  years
old.

Applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

___________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force  on  9  Sep  55  for  a
period of four years.  His highest  grade  held  was  airman  third
class (A3C/E-2).  Applicant’s grade at time of discharge was airman
basic (AB/E-1).

On 22 Apr 57, he received an  Article  15  punishment  for  willful
intent to evade payment of a debt, on or about 3 Apr  57.   He  was
reduced to the grade of airman basic.

On 9 Sep 58, he received an Article 15 punishment  for  failure  to
obey a lawful  order,  on  or  about  8  Sep  58.   His  punishment
consisted of reduction in grade to the rank of airman basic with an
effective date and date of rank of 8 Sep 58.

On 2 Mar 59, applicant received a medical evaluation stating he had
no physical or mental conditions warranting  separation  under  the
provisions of AFM 35-4.

On 18 Mar 59,  the  commander  initiated  administrative  discharge
action against the applicant for his  complete  disregard  for  his
financial responsibilities and his  careless  attitude  toward  any
type of improvement.  The commander counseled applicant on at least
ten different occasions regarding his  financial  responsibilities,
including the incidents he was involved in off base, with little or
no results.  He had demonstrated over the past  15 months  that  he
was the type of airman that would not progress and  would  continue
to be a burden to the Air Force.

On  that  same  date,  applicant  acknowledged   receipt   of   the
administrative discharge  action  and  waived  his  entitlement  to
appear before a board of officers and requested discharge  in  lieu
of board proceedings.  He further acknowledged he  understood  that
if his application was approved,  his  separation  could  be  under
conditions other than honorable, he could  receive  an  undesirable
discharge, and that this may deprive him of  rights  as  a  veteran
under both federal and state legislation.

On 24 Mar 59, the group  commander  recommended  the  applicant  be
discharged.   The  discharge  authority  approved  an   undesirable
discharge  and  directed   that   the   applicant   be   issued   a
DD Form 258AF, “Undesirable Discharge Certificate.”  On 27 Mar  59,
applicant was discharged under the provisions  of  AFR 39-17,  with
service characterized as under other than honorable conditions.  He
was credited with 3 years, 6 months, and 19  days  of  active  duty
service.

Pursuant  to  the  Board’s   request,   the   Federal   Bureau   of
Investigation, Clarksburg, West Virginia, provided an investigative
report which is attached at Exhibit C.

___________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPRS 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.

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to  the  applicant
on 26 Mar 04 for review and comment within 30  days.   As  of  this
date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit E).

On 26 Apr 04, a copy  of  the  FBI  report  was  forwarded  to  the
applicant for comment.   At  that  time,  the  applicant  was  also
invited to provide additional evidence pertaining to his activities
since leaving the  service  (Exhibit  F).   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.   After careful consideration of  the  evidence  of  record,  we
found no evidence that the actions taken to effect the  applicant’s
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.  The applicant has had to  live  with  the  adverse
effects of his undesirable discharge for over 45 years,  and  while
it may have been appropriate at the time, we believe it would be an
injustice for him to continue to suffer from its  effects.   Except
for two incidents with legal authorities in 1966 and 1967, there is
no evidence of any further misconduct.  Certainly we do not condone
the  behavior  that  led  to  applicant’s  undesirable   discharge.
Nonetheless, since it serves no useful purpose to the Air Force  or
to society in general to continue the nature of  his  discharge  at
this time, we believe that an upgrade of  the  characterization  of
his service to honorable is warranted on the basis of clemency.

___________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the  Air  Force
relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that on 24 March  1959,
he was honorably discharged and furnished  an  Honorable  Discharge
Certificate.

___________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket  Number
BC-2004-00365 in Executive  Session  on  8  July  2004,  under  the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Gregory H. Petkoff, Panel Chair
      Ms. Martha A. Maust, Member
      Mr. Robert H. Altman, Member

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

     Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 29 Jan 04.
     Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
     Exhibit C.  FBI Report of Investigation.
     Exhibit D.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPRS, dated 23 Mar 04.
     Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 26 Mar 04.
     Exhibit F.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 26 Apr 04.




                                   GREGORY H. PETKOFF
                                   Panel Chair


AFBCMR BC-2004-00365




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 XXXXXXX, XXXXXXX, be corrected to show that on 24
March 1959, he was honorably discharged and furnished an Honorable
Discharge Certificate.






            JOE G. LINEBERGER
            Director
            Air Force Review Boards Agency