RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2005-03551
            INDEX CODE:  110.00

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO


MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  25 MAY 07

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her general  (under  honorable  conditions)  discharge  be  upgraded  to  an
honorable discharge.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

Since discharge in 1999, she has proven to be a good citizen  and  an  asset
to the communities which she has resided  in.   She  further  indicates  she
seeks clemency.

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

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant’s records do not include a discharge package.   The  available
records indicate the following.

Applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 28 January 1994 in the  grade
of airman basic for a period of four (4) years.

The commander’s request for discharge in  lieu  of  trial  by  court-martial
indicates the following:

        The applicant was charged with one charge and one  specification  of
wrongful use of mushrooms and one specification of  wrongful  possession  of
mushrooms.  Between 3  August  1998  and  8 September  1998,  the  applicant
wrongfully possessed  14  grams,  more  or  less,  of  mushrooms  containing
psilocyn, a Schedule I controlled  substance.   On  6  September  1998,  the
applicant wrongfully  used  mushrooms  containing  psilocyn,  a  Schedule  I
controlled substance.

        On 9  April  1999,  the  commander  preferred  charges  against  the
applicant for actions (wrongful use of mushrooms and wrongful possession  of
mushrooms) serious enough to warrant trial  by  special  court-martial.   At
the advice of Counsel, the applicant elected to be discharged from  the  Air
Force according to AFI 36-320, Chapter 4, in lieu  trial  by  court-martial.
Evidence  indicated  the  applicant  had  problems   with   depression   and
alcoholism.  The heavy usage of alcohol combined  with  her  depression  may
have contributed to her drug use.  In addition, the evidence indicated  this
was a one-time use of mushrooms,  showing  that  the  applicant  was  not  a
recurring drug user and not a distributor.

        Furthermore,  the  applicant  was  extremely  cooperative  with  law
enforcement officials the night of the incident.  She  voluntarily  admitted
to the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) that  she  purchased  the  six
bags of mushrooms, consumed two of them and even produced the  bags  herself
for the OSI Investigator when he searched her  house.   After  the  incident
she successfully completed treatment at the  Alcohol  Rehabilitation  Center
(ARC) at Lakenheath, England, in October 1998.  She had been cooperative  in
attempts  to  rehabilitate  her  and  is  presently   attending   Alcoholics
Anonymous  meetings.   Based  on  these   extenuating   circumstances,   the
commander found that the applicant’s record merits a discharge  in  lieu  of
trial.

        At the time of the misconduct, the applicant did not have  a  mental
disease or defect that caused her to lack the  substantial  capacity  either
to appreciate the criminality (wrongfulness) of the acts or  to  conform  to
the law (AFI 44-109).  The applicant had  the  capacity  to  understand  the
nature of the proceedings and to assist in the defense.

        Derogatory data other than action by courts-martial  or  Article  15
follows:  Record of Individual Counseling, dated 23 August 1996,  Record  of
Individual Counseling, dated 7 January  1997,  Letter  of  Reprimand  (LOR),
dated 9 July 1997, LOR, dated 29 October 1997, LOR,  dated  18  March  1998,
Record of Individual Counseling, dated 21 September 1998, and an LOR,  dated
4 December 1998 with  an  Unfavorable  Information  File  (UIF)  created  on
9 December 1998.

The applicant was discharged on  14  June  1999,  in  the  grade  of  senior
airman, under the provisions of AFI 36-3208 (Triable By Court-Martial)  with
an under other than honorable  conditions  (UOTHC)  discharge.   She  served
5 years, 4 months, and 17 days of total active duty service.






On 25 January 2002, the Air Force Discharge Review Board (AFDRB)  considered
and denied the  applicant’s  request  to  upgrade  her  UOTHC  discharge  to
honorable.  They concluded the discharge was consistent with the  procedural
and substantive requirements of the discharge regulation and was within  the
discretion of the discharge authority and that the  applicant  was  provided
full administrative due process.  They further concluded that there  existed
no legal or equitable basis for  an  upgrade  of  discharge,  and  that  the
applicant’s discharge should not be changed.

On 14 January 2003, the Air Force Board for Correction of  Military  Records
(AFBCMR) considered  and  partially  approved  the  applicant’s  request  to
upgrade her discharge.  She requested an upgrade from  UOTHC  to  honorable;
however, the  Board  upgraded  her  UOTHC  discharge  to  a  general  (under
honorable conditions) discharge based on clemency.

Pursuant to the  Board's  request,  the  Federal  Bureau  of  Investigation,
Clarksburg,  West  Virginia,  indicated  that  on  the  basis  of  the  data
furnished, they were unable to locate an arrest record (Exhibit C).

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPRS recommended denial indicating there is no  documentation  in  the
applicant’s records relating to the  discharge  process.   The  original  DD
Form 214 issued to the applicant indicates  she  was  discharged  under  the
provisions of AFI  36-3208  and  received  an  under  other  than  honorable
conditions discharge.  The Separation Program Designator  (SPD)  was  “KFS,”
which indicates this was a voluntary discharge - triable by court-martial  -
request for discharge in lieu of trial by court-martial.

According to the previous advisory  to  the  AFBCMR,  court-martial  charges
were preferred against the applicant on 9 April 1999, for  wrongful  use  of
hallucinogenic mushrooms and wrongful possession of  mushrooms  (schedule  1
controlled substance) between 3 August 1998 and  8  September  1998.   Other
misconduct included four LORs, dated 9 July 1997, 29 October 1997, 18  March
1998, and 4 December 1998,; and  three  Records  of  Individual  Counseling,
dated  23 August  1996,  7  January  1997,  and   21 September   1998.    An
Unfavorable Information File was created on the applicant in  December  1998
and on 19 April 1999, the applicant requested discharge in  lieu  of  court-
martial.

The misconduct of the applicant was a serious breech of military  discipline
and rendered her subject to trial by court-martial.   The  negative  aspects
of the misconduct, in this case wrongful use  of  hallucinogenic  mushrooms,
far outweigh any positive aspects  of  good  duty  performance  after  being
discharged.

The applicant did not submit any new evidence  or  identify  any  errors  or
injustices that occurred in the discharge processing.  Nor did  she  provide
facts warranting a further upgrade of her discharge to honorable.

The evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit D.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

On 13 January 2006, a copy of the evaluation was forwarded to the  applicant
for review and response within thirty  (30)  days.   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.    Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to  demonstrate  the
existence of an error or injustice warranting the applicant’s  discharge  be
upgraded to an  honorable  discharge  based  on  clemency.   The  applicant’
contentions are duly noted; however, the Board  notes  that  on  14  January
2003, the AFBCMR upgraded the  applicant’s  UOTHC  discharge  to  a  general
(under honorable conditions) based on  clemency.   The  Board  applauds  the
applicant’s apparent successful transition to civilian  life,  as  evidenced
by  her  post-service  accomplishments  and  encourages  her  to   continue;
however, the Board is of the  opinion  that  the  applicant  did  not  serve
honorably while on active  duty  and  that  a  characterization  of  general
(under  honorable  conditions)  best  describes  the   applicant’s   overall
service.  Therefore, in view of the above, and in the  absence  of  evidence
to the contrary, we find no compelling basis to recommend the  discharge  be
upgraded on the basis of clemency.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified the evidence presented  did  not  demonstrate  the
existence of an error or an injustice; the application was denied without  a
personal appearance; and 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 AFBCMR Docket Number  BC-2005-
03551 in Executive Session on 7 March 2006, under the provisions of AFI  36-
2603:

                 Mr. James W. Russell III, Panel Chair
                 Ms. Barbara R. Murray, Member
                 Ms. Kathleen B. O’Sullivan, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 11 November 2005, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  Negative FBI Report.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPPRS, dated 9 January 2006, w/atchs.
   Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 13 January 2006.




                 JAMES W. RUSSELL III
                 Panel Chair