RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:                       DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2004-01140
                                       INDEX CODE:  110.02
      XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX                   COUNSEL: VFW

      XXXXXXXXXXX                            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His undesirable discharge be upgraded to honorable.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He has not been in any kind of trouble since his discharge.

The  applicant  provided  no  evidence  in  support  of  his  appeal.    The
applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 2 March 1973 at  the  age
of 26 for a period of four years in the grade of  Airman  Basic  (E-1).   He
was promoted to the grade of airman (E-2) with a date  of  rank  of  2  July
1973.  On 9  July  1973,  the  applicant  was  arrested  for  possession  of
marijuana and a depressant drug.  On 16 July 1973, he  pled  guilty  to  the
charge  of  possession  of  a  depressant  drug;  however,  the  charge   of
possession of marijuana was dismissed on the State’s motion.  The  applicant
was sentenced to 30 days of confinement, fined $300.00 plus court costs  and
paroled for one year.  On 24 August 1973, the  applicant  was  arrested  for
possession of marijuana by civilian authorities.  On 11  October  1973,  the
applicant pled guilty to the charge; was convicted  by  the  City  Court  of
Arkansas, Kansas; and sentenced to confinement for a  period  of  one  year.
On 24 December 1973, the applicant was released  from  civilian  confinement
by Governor’s pardon.  His duty  status  was  changed  from  confinement  to
Absent Without Leave (AWOL) when he failed to  report  for  duty  after  his
release.  Effective 23 January 1974, his duty status was changed  from  AWOL
to desertion.   On  11  February  1974,  the  applicant  voluntarily  turned
himself in to Air Force authorities.

On 13 February 1974, his commander notified the applicant of his  intent  to
discharge him with an undesirable discharge under provisions of  AFM  39-12,
Chapter 2, Section C, Paragraph 2-23, for his conviction  of  possession  of
marijuana.   The  applicant  waived  his  right  to  a  hearing  before   an
administrative discharge board, chose not to submit a statement in  his  own
behalf,  and  requested  not  to  be  considered  for  the   probation   and
rehabilitation (P&R) program.

On 27 February 1974, his commander notified the applicant of his  intent  to
impose nonjudicial punishment under United States Code of  Military  Justice
(UCMJ), Article 15 for making himself absent from his organization  from  24
December 1973 to 11 February 1974.  The applicant acknowledged  receipt  and
waived his right to a trial by court-martial.  Punishment  imposed  included
reduction to the grade of airman basic, forfeiture of $70,  and  restriction
to the limits of McConnell Air Force Base for a  period  of  14  consecutive
days.  The applicant chose not to appeal the punishment.

On 28 February 1974, his commander recommended the applicant  be  discharged
under the provisions of AFM 39-12, Chapter 2,  Section  C,  Paragraph  2-23,
without P&R and be furnished an undesirable discharge.   On  8  March  1974,
the staff judge advocate found the  case  to  be  legally  sufficient.   The
discharge authority approved the discharge on 18 March 1974 and  ordered  an
undesirable characterization without  P&R.   The  applicant  was  discharged
effective 2 May 1974 under the provisions of AFR 39-12 with an  under  other
than  honorable  conditions  (UOTHC)  characterization  of   service.    The
applicant served one year, two months and one day  on  active  duty.   While
the applicant’s discharge package indicates he had 170 days  lost  time  due
to civilian confinement, AWOL and desertion; his  DD  Form  214,  Report  of
Separation From Active Duty, reflects no time lost.

Pursuant to the  Board’s  request,  the  Federal  Bureau  of  Investigation,
Clarksburg, WV, provided a copy of an  Investigation  Report  pertaining  to
the applicant, which is at Exhibit E.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPRS recommends denial.  DPPRS states  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 evidence or identify any errors  or  injustices
that occurred in the  discharge  processing.   Additionally,  the  applicant
provided no facts warranting a change to  his  character  of  service.   The
DPPRS evaluation is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Copies of the Air Force evaluation and the FBI report were forwarded to  the
applicant on 28 May 2004 and 24 June 2004 for review and  comment  (Exhibits
D and F).  On 10 June 2004, the  applicant  was  given  the  opportunity  to
submit comments about his post service activities (Exhibit G).  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 probable error or injustice.  The  applicant  did  not  provide
persuasive evidence showing  the  information  in  the  discharge  case  was
erroneous, his substantial rights were  violated,  or  that  his  commanders
abused their discretionary authority.   The  characterization  of  discharge
which was issued at  the  time  of  the  applicant’s  separation  accurately
reflects the circumstances  of  his  separation  and  we  do  not  find  the
characterization of discharge to be in error or unjust.  While we  note  the
applicant’s assertion that  he  has  not  been  in  any  trouble  since  his
separation, the seriousness of the offenses  for  which  the  applicant  was
discharged, i.e., repeated drug use, and  the  well-publicized  consequences
of  drug  use  by  military  members,  we  do  not  believe  upgrading   the
applicant’s UOTHC discharge is appropriate.  Therefore, we conclude that  no
basis exists upon which to recommend favorable action on  his  request  that
it be changed.

___________________________________________________________________

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 this application in  Executive
Session on 11 August 2004, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                 Mr. Thomas S. Markiewicz, Chair
                 Ms. Martha J. Evans, Member
                 Ms. Martha A. Maust, Member

The following documentary evidence for AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2004-01140
was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 15 Mar 04.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPRS, dated 24 May 04.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 28 May 04.
    Exhibit E.  FBI Report #51597M1, dated 10 Jun 04.
    Exhibit F.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 24 Jun 04
    Exhibit G.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 10 Jun 04.




                                   THOMAS S. MARKIEWICZ
                                   Chair