RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2003-03881
            INDEX NUMBER: A91.05

      XXXXXXX    COUNSEL:  NONE

      XXXXXXX    HEARING DESIRED:  NO


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His undesirable discharge be upgraded to honorable.

_________________________________________________________________

THE APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

In essence, applicant requests that  his  discharge  be  upgraded  based  on
clemency.

At the time of  his  discharge,  he  was  young  and  insecure.   Since  his
discharge, he has married, raised six children, and been  an  active  member
of his community.  He has been employed with  the  Wisconsin  Department  of
Military Affairs for the past 18 years.

In support of the  appeal,  applicant  submits  his  personal  statement,  a
letter of recommendation, and a statement from his supervisor  of  the  past
nine years.

Applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant contracted his initial enlistment in the Regular Air Force  on  31
October 1956, for a period of four years.  On 24 June  1957,  the  commander
notified him that he was initiating administrative discharge action  against
him because he would not adjust to the military and refused  to  conform  or
accept military discipline.  Specifically, the applicant had  three  periods
of being Absent Without Leave (AWOL), a  civil  arrest  for  purchasing  and
drinking alcoholic beverage under age, apprehension by military  police  for
not having a Class “A” pass or valid leave orders  in  his  possession,  and
failed to read the Squadron Bulletin  Board.   For  these  offenses  he  was
counseled by the commander  and  first  sergeant;  given  a  Summary  Court-
Martial that reduced him to the grade of basic airman, confined him at  hard
labor for 30 days, and forfeiture of $35.00; and issued an Article  15  that
restricted him to the squadron area for a period of two  weeks.   He  waived
his right to  appear  before  a  board  of  officers  and  requested  to  be
discharged.  The discharge authority approved the discharge on 2 July  1957.
 On 16 July 1957, he was discharged  with  service  characterized  as  Under
Other than Honorable Conditions (UOTHC) and issued an Undesirable  Discharge
Certificate (DD Form 258AF).  He completed 7 months and  8  days  of  active
service, which excludes 38 days of lost  time  (AWOL  from  15 March  to  27
March 1957 (13 days) and hard labor confinement from 30  March  1957  to  23
April 1957 (25 days)).

Pursuant to the Board's request, the Federal Bureau of Investigation  (FBI),
Clarksburg, WV, has provided an arrest record that is at Exhibit E.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPRS recommends the application be denied and  states,  in  part,  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 has not submitted any evidence of  any  errors  or
injustices that occurred in the processing of his discharge.

The AFPC/DPPRS evaluation is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT’S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A complete copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to  the  applicant
on 19 December 2003, for review and response within 30 days.   In  addition,
a complete copy of the FBI Arrest Record was forwarded to him on 3  February
2004, for review and response within 30 days.  However,  as  of  this  date,
this office has received no response.

_________________________________________________________________

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.  The Board finds no impropriety in the  characterization  of  applicant's
discharge.   It  appears  that  responsible  officials  applied  appropriate
standards in effecting  the  separation,  and  we  do  not  find  persuasive
evidence that pertinent regulations were violated or that applicant was  not
afforded all the  rights  to  which  entitled  at  the  time  of  discharge.
Considered alone, we conclude the  discharge  proceedings  were  proper  and
characterization  of  the  discharge  was  appropriate   to   the   existing
circumstances.

4.  Consideration of this Board, however,  is  not  limited  to  the  events
which precipitated the discharge.  We have  a  Congressional  mandate  which
permits consideration of other factors; e.g.,  applicant's  background,  the
overall   quality   of   service,   and    post-service    activities    and
accomplishments.  Further, we may base our decision  on  matters  of  equity
and clemency rather than simply  on  whether  rules  and  regulations  which
existed at the time were followed.  This is  a  much  broader  consideration
than officials involved in the discharge were permitted,  and  our  decision
in no way discredits the validity of theirs.

5.  Under our broader mandate and after careful  consideration  of  all  the
facts and circumstances of applicant's case, the Board is persuaded that  he
has been a productive member of society since leaving the service.  In  view
of this, we believe an upgrade of the characterization  of  his  service  to
one under honorable conditions  (general)  is  warranted  on  the  basis  of
clemency.  However, in view of his overall record of  service,  we  are  not
persuaded that further upgrade  of  his  discharge  to  fully  honorable  is
warranted.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air  Force  relating
to APPLICANT be corrected to show that on 16 July 1957,  he  was  discharged
with service characterized as general (under honorable conditions).

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered  Docket  Number  BC-2003-03881
in Executive Session on 18 March and 20 April 2004, under the provisions  of
AFI 36-2603:

                       Mr. Thomas S. Markiewicz, Chair
                       Mr. Richard A. Peterson, Member
                       Mr. Grover L. Dunn, Member




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

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 24 Oct 03, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPRS, dated 16 Dec 03.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 19 Dec 03.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, FBI Arrest Record.
    Exhibit F.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 3 Feb 04.




                                   THOMAS S. MARKIEWICZ
                                   Chair

AFBCMR BC-2003-03881




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 16 July 1957, he
was discharged with service characterized as general (under honorable
conditions).








JOE G. LINEBERGER

Director

Air Force Review Boards Agency