RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2004-02509
            INDEX CODE:  110.02

      XXXXXXX    COUNSEL:  NONE

      XXXXXXX    HEARING DESIRED: NO

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

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

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He discovered the possibility of a status  upgrade  in  July  2004.
Otherwise, he would have  petitioned  within  the  three-year  time
frame.  He was working for a major airline for 13 ½ years prior  to
being laid off after the events of September 11.  During his search
for a new job, it became apparent, due to the heightened  security,
his discharge could affect his ability to secure the same level  of
job responsibility.

He feels his general discharge is unjust for one mistake he made in
his twenties so many years ago which now  impairs  his  ability  to
provide the best possible living for his family.

In support of his appeal, applicant submitted a personal  statement
and a copy of his DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or  Discharge
from Active Duty, dated 2 May 88.

Applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

___________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 24 Apr 85, the applicant enlisted in the Regular  Air  Force  in
the grade of airman basic for a period of four years.  He  received
two performance reports  with  overall  evaluations  of  8  and  9,
respectively.

On 13 Apr  88,  the  squadron  commander  initiated  administrative
discharge action against the applicant for drug abuse.   The  basis
for the proposed discharge action was that:

On  15  Mar  88,  applicant  received  nonjudicial  punishment  for
knowingly and wrongfully using marijuana between  12  Jan  88   and
26 Jan 88.  His punishment consisted of a  suspended  reduction  to
airman basic, forfeiture of $150 pay per month for two  months  and
45 days of extra duty.

On 15 Apr 88, after consulting with counsel, applicant  waived  his
right to submit statements in his own behalf.  On 22  Apr  88,  the
Group Staff Judge Advocate found the case to be legally  sufficient
to support discharge without probation and rehabilitation (P&R).

On 27 Apr 88, the discharge authority  approved  a  general  (under
honorable conditions)  discharge  and  stated  that  probation  and
rehabilitation were considered and deemed inappropriate.

On 2 May 88, applicant  was  discharged  under  the  provisions  of
AFR 39-10, by reason of  misconduct  -  drug  abuse,  with  service
characterized as  general,  under  honorable  conditions.   He  was
credited with 3 years and 9 days of active duty service.

Pursuant  to  the  Board’s   request,   the   Federal   Bureau   of
Investigation, Clarksburg, WV, indicated on 28 Oct 04, that, on the
basis of data furnished,  they  are  unable  to  locate  an  arrest
record.

___________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPRS recommended applicant’s request be denied.  Based  on
available documentation in  the  file,  they  found  the  discharge
consistent with the procedural and substantive requirements of  the
discharge regulation.  Additionally, the discharge was  within  the
sound discretion of  the  discharge  authority.   They  also  noted
applicant did not submit any new evidence or identify any errors or
injustices that occurred in the discharge processing  and  provided
no other facts warranting a change to his character of service.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit C.

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

On 28  Dec  04,  applicant  provided  additional  documentation  to
support his appeal.  This included letters of  character  reference
from a family member and several letters from former co-workers and
current and former supervisors.

Applicant’s complete response is at Exhibit F.

___________________________________________________________________

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.  Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to  demonstrate
the existence of error or injustice.  The applicant  has  requested
that his general discharge be upgraded to honorable.  After careful
consideration of the evidence of record, a majority  of  the  Board
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 majority of the Board  does  not  condone  the
behavior which led to the applicant’s non-judicial  punishment  and
subsequent discharge.  However, in  view  of  the  absence  of  any
derogatory information  on  the  FBI  Report  and  the  letters  of
character reference submitted in his behalf, they  believe  he  has
overcome the behavioral traits which led to his discharge, and  has
been a responsible citizen and productive member of  society  since
his separation.  Therefore, the majority of the Board finds that an
upgrade of the characterization of his discharge  to  honorable  is
warranted on the basis of clemency.  Accordingly, the  majority  of
the Board recommends that the applicant’s records be  corrected  as
indicated below.

___________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the  Air  Force
relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that on 2 May 1988,  he
was honorably  discharged  and  furnished  an  Honorable  Discharge
Certificate.

___________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket  Number
BC-2004-02509 in Executive Session on 11 January  2005,  under  the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Gregory H. Petkoff, Panel Chair
      Mr. Patrick C. Daugherty, Member
      Mrs. Barbara R. Murray, Member

By a majority vote, the members voted to  upgrade  the  applicant’s
discharge to honorable.  Mrs. Murray voted to deny the request  and
did  not  desire  to  submit  a  minority  report.   The  following
documentary evidence was considered:

     Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 29 Aug 04, w/atchs.
     Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
     Exhibit C.  FBI Report of Investigation.
     Exhibit D.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPRS, dated 3 Sep 04.
     Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 10 Sep 04.
     Exhibit F.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 24 Nov 04.
     Exhibit G.  Letter, Applicant, dated 21 Dec 04, w/atchs.




                                   GREGORY H. PETKOFF
                                   Panel Chair