RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

      IN THE MATTER OF:            DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2007-00044
            INDEX CODE: 110.00
      XXXXXXX                     COUNSEL:  NONE

                                   HEARING DESIRED:  NO

MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE: 13 JUL 08

______________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

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

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

His discharge was changed from a voluntary  early  out  with  an  honorable
discharge to a general discharge on the day he out-processed.  He was  told
his discharge would be automatically upgraded to  an  honorable  after  six
months. He believes he encountered blatant racism and he just  accepted  it
without argument in order  to  hurry  up  and  leave.   In  retrospect,  he
believes he has since  matured  and  is  highly  self-motivated,  reliable,
dependable and should have  questioned  the  decision.   He  now  wants  to
correct what he believes was poor judgment on his part.

In support of his request, the applicant submits a personal  statement  and
character references.

His complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 28 Dec 89. On 29 Aug 91,  he
was notified by his commander that he was  recommending  he  be  discharged
from the Air Force  under  the  provisions  of  AFR  39-10,  Administrative
Separation  of  Airman  for  misconduct  (pattern  of  minor   disciplinary
infractions).  The specific reasons for this action were on 21 Aug  91,  he
received an Article 15 for failure to go to his appointed place of duty and
failing to obey a lawful order; on 14 Aug 91, he was  verbally  reprimanded
for being disrespectful to noncommissioned and commissioned officers; on  6
Aug 91. he received a  Letter of Counseling (LOC) for  dereliction  in  the
performance of his duties; on 6 Aug 91,  he  received  a  LOC  because  his
uniform shirt was unserviceable;  on  22 May 91,  he  received  a  LOC  for
dereliction in the performance of his duties; on 9 Apr 91, he was  verbally
counseled for being disrespectful to a noncommissioned officer; on  19  Dec
90, he received an LOC for willfully failing to obey a lawful  order  of  a
noncommissioned officer; on 3 Dec 90, he received  a  Letter  of  Reprimand
(LOR) for failure to go to his appointed place of duty; on 26  Nov  90,  he
received an LOC for dereliction in the performance of his duties; on 13 Aug
90, he received a  LOR for dereliction in the performance  of  his  duties;
and, on 29 Jun 90, he received an LOC for failure to go  to  his  appointed
place of duty.  On 30 Aug 91, he acknowledged receipt and consulted counsel
but elected not to submit statements on his own behalf.  In a legal  review
of his  case  the  base  legal  office  found  it  legally  sufficient  and
recommended a general discharge.  Applicant was discharged in the grade  of
airman on 25 Sep 91.  He served a total of 1 year, 8 months and 28 days  on
active duty.

Pursuant to the Board’s  request,  the  Federal  Bureau  of  Investigation,
Clarksburg, WV, indicated on  15  Feb  05,  that,  on  the  basis  of  data
furnished, they are unable to locate an arrest record. (Exhibit C).

________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPRS recommends denial.  DPPRS states the  discharge  was  consistent
with  the  procedural  and  substantive  requirements  of   the   discharge
regulation.  In addition, the discharge was within the sound discretion  of
the discharge authority.  He did not submit any new  evidence  or  identify
any errors or injustices that occurred in his  discharge  processing.   The
complete DPPRS evaluation is at Exhibit D.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant states he was never notified of being discharged  because  he
had opted for an early out.  He never spoke directly to the  commander  but
someone under the commander.  He was told he would be approved for an early
out and would receive an honorable discharge.  His legal counsel  indicated
a general (under honorable conditions) was the same thing, as an  honorable
discharge and it would be upgraded to an honorable  automatically  after  a
few months had expired.  He was told if he submitted a statement, it  would
most likely halt his out-processing and if he waived his  right,  he  would
receive  an  honorable  discharge.   Applicants  states  he  visited  legal
personnel concerning the issue of racism; however, he was  told  there  was
nothing that could be done and it was best  if  he  just  got  out  of  the
military.  He was advised to get out of the military before any real damage
could be done.  He does remember a few arguments  resulting  from  the  “N”
word.  He states this should be on file from his mental health  visit.   He
believes some of his infractions he honestly earned; however, the  majority
were brought on by inappropriate actions or words spoken to him.  He admits
he was young and could have handled some  of  the  situations  with  better
judgment. He now has the opportunity to help his community  by  becoming  a
highway patrol man; however, this hinges on his discharge being upgraded.

________________________________________________________________

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.   After  careful  consideration  of  the
available evidence, the Board found  no  indication  the  actions  taken  to
affect his discharge and characterization  of  his  service  were  improper,
contrary to the provisions of the governing regulations  in  effect  at  the
time, or based  on  factors  other  than  his  own  misconduct.   The  Board
considered  upgrading  his  discharge  based  on  clemency.   However,   the
applicant did not provide sufficient information  pertaining  to  his  post-
service activities and accomplishments to conclude that he has overcome  the
behavioral traits which caused the discharge.  Therefore, the  Board  agrees
with the opinion and recommendation of  the  Air  Force  office  of  primary
responsibility and adopts its rationale as the basis  for  their  conclusion
that the applicant has not been the victim of an error or injustice.

________________________________________________________________

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 AFBCMR Docket Number  BC-2007-
00044 in Executive Session on 28 Mar 07, under the  provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

                 Mr. Jay H. Jordan, Panel Chair
            Ms.  Debra K. Walker, Member
            Ms. Barbara R. Murray, Member


The following documentary evidence pertaining  to  Docket  Number  BC-2007-
00044 was considered:

      Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 3 Jan 07, w/atchs.
      Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C.  FBI Report, dated 15 Feb 07.
      Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPPRS, dated 22 Jan 07.
      Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 16 Feb 07.
      Exhibit F.  Applicant’s response, dated 13 Mar 07.





                                   JAY H. JORDAN
                                   Panel Chair


                         DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
                                WASHINGTON DC



[pic]

Office Of The Assistant Secretary


AFBCMR
1535 Command Dr, EE Wing, 3rd Flr
Andrews AFB MD 20762-7002

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      Reference your application, AFBCMR BC-2007-00044  submitted under
the provisions of AFI 36-2603 (Section 1552, 10 USC), AFBCMR 01-03196.

      After careful consideration of your application and military
records, the Board determined that the evidence you presented did not
demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice.  Accordingly,
the Board denied your application.

      You have the right to submit newly discovered relevant evidence for
consideration by the Board.  In the absence of such additional evidence,
a further review of your application is not possible.  To assist you, I
have attached a copy of the Information Bulletin, Upgrade of Discharge -
Clemency, to assist you in your efforts to obtain additional information
for the Board’s review.  Absent such additional evidence, further
consideration of your application is not possible.

      BY DIRECTION OF THE PANEL CHAIR




                                                       GREGORY E.
JOHNSON
                                                             Chief
Examiner
                                                 Air Force Board
for Correction
                                                       of Military
Records

Attachment:
Record of Board Proceedings
Information Bulletin