RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2006-00749
            INDEX CODE:  110.02
      XXXXXXX    COUNSEL:  NONE

      XXXXXXX    HEARING DESIRED: NO

MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE: 15 SEPTEMBER 2007

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

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

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He requests his  discharge  be  upgraded  due  to  his  mental  state  after
returning from Vietnam. He has a 20% service-connected  disability  as  well
as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression.  He  feels  he  has
suffered enough; however, he is accountable for his actions.  He  was  young
and an alcoholic.  He had, however, a clean record leading up to  the  event
(AWOL) and a clean record in civilian life after the  military,  to  include
sobriety for 21 years.  He is grateful for  his  country  and  the  Veterans
Affairs (VA). He never knew about a 15-year limit until recently.  He  would
consider it an honor to live out the remainder  of  his  life  as  honorably
discharged.

In support of his request, applicant provided a copy of DD Form  214,  Armed
Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge.

Applicant's complete submission, with attachment, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant entered into the Air Force on 7 September 1968, for a term  of
four years and was progressively promoted to the grade of sergeant (E-4).

From 24 May 1971 until 17 June 1971, he was AWOL from his duty location  for
which he  received  nonjudicial  punishment  under  Article  15,  UCMJ.  The
applicant went AWOL a second time from     9 July 1971 until 25  July  1971.
For this offense, the suspended portion of his first nonjudicial  punishment
was vacated and he was reduced to the  grade  of  airman  first  class.  The
applicant subsequently received a  mental  evaluation  which  determined  he
possessed a character and behavior disorder that interfered  with  his  duty
performance. He also admitted  to  a  civilian  psychiatrist  that  he  used
various  controlled   substances,   including   LSD,   Mescaline,   cocaine,
marijuana, and amphetamines while serving in the Air Force.

The  applicant  was  discharged  for  unsuitability-character  and  behavior
disorders on 9 December 1971 with a  general  (under  honorable  conditions)
discharge. He served 3 years, 3 months and 3 days of total  active  military
service.

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 and states based on the documentation  on  file
in the master personnel records,  the  discharge  was  consistent  with  the
procedural and substantive requirements of the  discharge  regulation.   The
discharge was within the discretion of the discharge authority.

The applicant did not submit any new evidence  or  identify  any  errors  or
injustices that occurred in the discharge processing.  He provided no  facts
warranting a change to his character of service.

AFPC/DPPRS' complete evaluation is at Exhibit C.

AFPC/JA recommends denial and states this application was not  timely  filed
and should be denied on that basis alone. The applicant  possessed  all  the
information necessary to  pursue  his  claim  long  before  the  statute  of
limitations expired and he offers  no  meaningful  explanation  for  why  he
waited 34 years for his discharge to be reviewed. He claims in his  petition
to the AFBCMR that he was not aware that the "option to correct  this  error
of judgment was available". In JA's opinion, the interest of  justice  would
not be served by excusing the  applicant's  failure  to  submit  this  issue
within  the  required  time  period;  such  waivers  should  be  limited  to
situations to preclude an actual injustice.

AFPC/JA's complete evaluation is at Exhibit D.

_________________________________________________________________



APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the  applicant  on  14
April 2006, for review and comment within 30 days.  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.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence of an error or injustice warranting an upgrade in the  applicant’s
discharge.   After  a  thorough  review  of  the  evidence  of  record   and
applicant's submission, we are not persuaded that the actions taken  against
him were improper, contrary to the provisions of the  governing  regulations
in effect at the time, or based on factors other than  his  own  misconduct.
Therefore, we agree with the opinion and recommendation  of  the  Air  Force
office of primary responsibility and adopt its rationale as  the  basis  for
our conclusion that the applicant has not been the victim  of  an  error  or
injustice.  In the absence of persuasive evidence to the contrary,  we  find
no compelling  basis  to  recommend  granting  the  relief  sought  in  this
application.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified that the evidence presented  did  not  demonstrate
the existence of probable 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  Docket  Number  BC-BC-2006-
00749 in Executive Session on 6 June 2006, under the provisions of  AFI  36-
2603:

                       Mr. James W. Russell III, Panel Chair
                       Mr. Elwood C. Lewis III, Member
                       Ms. Janet I. Hassan, Member



The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 23 Feb 06, w/atch.
    Exhibit B. Applicant's Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPPRS, dated 24 Mar 06.
    Exhibit D. Letter, AFPC/JA, dated 10 Apr 06
    Exhibit E. FBI Report, dated 8 May 06.
    Exhibit F. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 14 Apr 06.





                                             JAMES W. RUSSELL III
                                             Panel Chair