RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2005-03027
            INDEX CODE:  110.00

            COUNSEL:  MICHAEL VITERNA

            HEARING DESIRED:  “UNSURE”

MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  7 APRIL 2007

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His general discharge be upgraded to an honorable discharge.

The applicant’s request to have his date of birth corrected on his  DD
Form 214 has been administratively corrected.  Hence, no Board  action
is required.
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He turned himself in for drug use while in the service, there  was  no
arrest made.  Since he turned himself in, he believes this  should  be
grounds for an honorable  discharge.   He  also  cooperated  with  the
police   during   the   investigations.    He   never   completed    a
substance/alcohol rehabilitation program.  Applicant indicated that he
is currently incarcerated.

In support of his  request,  the  applicant  submits  a  DD  Form  293
(Application for the Review of Discharge or Dismissal from  the  Armed
Forces of the United States), a copy of his DD Form 214 and separation
order and personal statements.  The applicant’s  complete  submission,
with attachments, is at Exhibit A.
_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant contracted his  enlistment  in  the  Regular  Air  Force  on
1 August 1980.  He was progressively promoted to the grade  of  airman
first class (E-3), with an effective date and date of rank of 1 August
1981.  He was reduced to the grade of airman (E-2),  with  a  date  of
rank (DOR) of 16 April 1982, pursuant to an Article 15.

On 13 January 1981, applicant received a Letter of Admonishment  (LOA)
for being drunk and  disorderly  and  for  tampering  with  government
property (fire extinguisher) on or about 10 January 1981.

On 16 January 1981, applicant entered an Alcohol Abuse  Rehabilitation
Program, which he successfully completed (AF Form  1611,  Notification
of Alcohol Abuse Information, dated 14 July 1981).

On 13 October 1981, he received  a  Letter  of  Counseling  (LOC)  for
failure to go to his scheduled appointment.

On 28 January 1982, applicant received a Letter of Reprimand (LOR) for
failure to be at his proper duty location at the time  prescribed,  in
violation of Article 86, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

On 1 February 1982, an OSI investigation was conducted as a result  of
a request by the commander of a numbered Air Base  Wing,  Offutt  AFB,
NE, based on information the  applicant  had  smoked  marijuana  while
assigned to the base.

On 17 March 1982, applicant received an LOA  for  failure  to  obey  a
rule/regulation, in violation of Article 92, UCMJ.

On 30 March 1982, applicant was notified of his commander's intent  to
impose nonjudicial punishment on him  under  Article  15,  UCMJ.   The
misconduct applicant had  allegedly  committed  was  wrongful  use  of
marijuana on or about 29 January 1982, in violation  of  Article  134,
UCMJ.  The applicant consulted a lawyer, waived his  right  to  demand
trial by court-martial and  accepted  nonjudicial  punishment.   After
considering all matters presented to  him,  the  commander  found  the
applicant did commit  one  or  more  of  the  offenses  alleged.   The
commander imposed punishment of reduction to the grade of  airman  (E-
2), with a new date of rank.  The  applicant  submitted  documentation
indicating he appealed the nonjudicial punishment on  26  April  1982.
His request was denied.

A Medical Evaluation – Potential Substance Abuse (AF Form 2737), dated
20 April 1982, reveals the applicant was evaluated on 15 April 1982 as
a drug abuse user.  During this evaluation,  he  admitted  to  use  of
marijuana and speed while in  the  Air  Force.   Since  this  was  the
applicant’s second substance abuse charge,  separation  from  the  Air
Force rather than rehabilitation was  recommended.   A  Rehabilitation
Committee  Review  of  11  May  1982  recommended  the  applicant   be
discharged.

On 25 June 1982, the applicant received notification that he was being
recommended for discharge due to misconduct as  evidenced  in  an  OSI
Report, dated 16 February 1982, which resulted in an  Article  15  for
wrongful use of marijuana.  The applicant acknowledged receipt of  the
notification.  On 8 July 1982, an evaluation officer indicated he  had
interviewed and counseled the applicant concerning  his  rights.   The
applicant declined to submit any written  statements  in  his  behalf.
The evaluation officer stated the  applicant  should  be  furnished  a
general discharge and should not  be  considered  for  rehabilitation.
The  base  legal  office  reviewed  the  case  and  found  it  legally
sufficient to support separation.  On  15  July  1982,  the  discharge
authority approved the recommended separation and  directed  that  the
applicant  be  issued  a  general  discharge,  without  probation  and
rehabilitation.

He received a general discharge on 16 July 1982 under  the  provisions
of AFM 39-12 (misconduct – drug abuse).  He had completed a total of 1
year, 11 months and 16 days and was serving in the grade of airman (E-
2) at the time of discharge.
_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPRS recommends the  application  be  denied.   DPPRS  states
that, based on the documentation on file, the discharge was consistent
with the procedural and  substantive  requirements  of  the  discharge
regulation.  The applicant did not submit any evidence or identify any
errors or injustices that occurred in the discharge  processing.   The
HQ AFPC/DPPRS evaluation is at Exhibit C.
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:


The  applicant  reviewed  the   advisory   opinion   and   noted   the
administrative correction  made  to  his  DD  Form  214.   As  to  his
discharge, applicant  feels  he  should  have  received  an  honorable
discharge.  The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit E.

_________________________________________________________________

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.   We   thoroughly   reviewed
applicant’s  entire  record  and  the  circumstances  surrounding  the
discharge in 1982 and found no  evidence  that  responsible  officials
applied  inappropriate  standards   in   effecting   the   applicant’s
discharge, that pertinent Air Force regulations were violated or  that
the applicant was not afforded all the rights to which entitled at the
time of discharge.  In view  of  the  above  and  in  the  absence  of
evidence that the applicant’s substantial rights were  violated,  that
the information contained in the discharge case file was erroneous, or
that his superiors abused their discretionary authority,  we  are  not
inclined  to  favorably  consider  his  request  for  upgrade  of  his
discharge.
_________________________________________________________________

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 14 December 2005, under the provisions of AFI 36-
2603:

                  Mr. Thomas S. Markiewicz, Chair
                  Mr. Wallace F. Beard Jr., Member
                  Ms. Josephine L. Davis, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered in  connection  with
AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2005-03027.

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 23 Sep 05, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPRS, dated 27 Oct 05.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 4 Nov 05.
   Exhibit E.  Letter from Applicant, dated 16 Nov 05.




                                   THOMAS S. MARKIEWICZ
                                   Chair