RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2007-00046
      INDEX CODE:  110.00; 110.02
      COUNSEL:  NONE

      HEARING DESIRED:  NO

MANDATORY COMPLETION DATE:  13 JULY 2008

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His general (under honorable conditions) discharge be upgraded to  honorable
and his reenlistment eligibility (RE) code of 2B be changed to a  code  that
would allow him to enlist in military service.
________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He has been discharged from the  Air  Force  for  nearly  10  years.   Since
leaving  the  Air  Force  under  unfavorable  conditions,  he  has  attended
technical school and is  currently  enrolled  in  college  to  complete  his
Bachelor of Science degree in Corporate Systems with a  focus  on  Marketing
and Management.  He has felt empty since he was discharged and wants  to  go
back and change things.

He  was  recently  approached  by  an  Army  Recruiter.   He  explained  his
situation to him and was told that because of his behavior while in the  Air
Force he would not be able to re enter the Armed Services.   He  would  love
to be able to honorably serve his  country  like  his  brother,  father  and
grandfather.  He lost his GI Bill which would have really helped him  to  go
back to school.  His legal counsel at the time argued  that  there  was  not
enough evidence for pattern of misconduct.

He  has  made  several  accomplishments  since  his  discharge  to   include
assisting and or coaching both men’s and  women’s  soccer  programs  at  the
local high school.  He has matured and will be able  to  contribute  in  the
most positive ways to our armed services.

In support of his application, the applicant submits his  personal  unsigned
statement.

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

________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 16 Jun 93, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force at the age  of
18 in the grade of airman basic for a period of 4 years.   After  completing
basic military and technical training, the applicant was assigned to  duties
in the security police squadron.

On 13 Jul 95, he wrongfully consumed alcohol beverages while under  the  age
of 21 in violation of a lawful  general  order.   For  this  misconduct,  he
received an Article 15.

On or about 15 Mar 96, he failed to pay his club  bill  which  was  30  days
overdue.  For this offense, he received a Letter of Counseling (LOC).  On  6
Jul 96, he bounced a check in the amount of $40.00 for which he  received  a
Letter of Reprimand (LOR) and Unfavorable Information File (UIF) entry.

Between on or about 9 Sep and 8 Oct 96, the applicant  bounced  five  checks
totaling $311.95.  For this offense, he received an LOR, UIF entry  and  was
placed on the control roster.

On 24 Jan 97, the applicant failed to pay his  club  bill  which  was  three
months overdue in the amount of $607.00.  For this offense, he  received  an
LOR and an entry to his existing UIF.

According to the legal review summary, on 11 Feb 97,  the  applicant’s  then
commander recommended the applicant be separated pursuant  to  AFI  36-3208,
para 5.50, pattern of misconduct and issued  a  general  discharge  with  no
opportunity for probation and rehabilitation (P&R).  The applicant  and  his
area defense  council  submitted  written  statements  in  response  to  the
notification of discharge.

After reading these responses, on 20 Feb 97, the applicant’s new  commander,
believed that keeping the applicant in the Air Force until  his  ETS  (April
97) would provide little  if  any  benefits  for  the  Air  Force,  but  his
performance in the  service  is  not  worthy  of  a  general  discharge  and
recommended his service be characterized as honorable.

On 25 Feb 97, the staff judge advocate opined the case  does  not  meet  the
criteria for an honorable discharge.   He  stated  airmen  separated  for  a
pattern  of  misconduct  normally  receive  a   general   (under   honorable
conditions discharge).  AFI 36-3208, para 5.48.4 states  the  service  of  a
member  discharged  for   misconduct,   whether   for   minor   disciplinary
infractions or a pattern of misconduct, may be  characterized  as  honorable
only if  the  member’s  record  has  been  so  meritorious  that  any  other
characterization would be clearly inappropriate.  He states the  applicant’s
record certainly does not  meet  this  standard  and  does  not  warrant  an
honorable discharge.  He recommended  the  applicant  be  separated  with  a
general discharge without promotion and rehabilitation.
On 7  Mar  97,  the  applicant  was  discharged  because  of  a  pattern  of
misconduct with a reentry code of 2B and a separation code of JKA.   Reentry
code 2B is applied in those cases where  the  member  is  separated  with  a
general or  under-other-than-honorable-conditions  (UOTHC)  discharge.   The
separation code is directly related to the  reason  and  authority  for  his
separation.  He had served 3 years, 8 months and 21 days on active duty.

In response to the Board’s request, the FBI indicated they  were  unable  to
identify with an arrest record pertaining to the applicant on the  basis  of
information furnished.
________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ  AFPC/DPPRS  recommends  denial.   DPPRS  states  that   based   on   the
documentation on file in  the  applicant’s  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.  Additionally, the applicant  did  not  submit  any
evidence  or  identify  any  errors  or  injustices  that  occurred  in  the
discharge processing, and he provided no facts warranting an upgrade of  his
discharge.

The complete DPPRS evaluation is at Exhibit C.
________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on  2  Feb
07 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  that  would  warrant  a  change  to  the
applicant’s character  of  service.   The  record  appears  to  support  the
actions taken and we  are  not  inclined,  on  the  basis  of  the  evidence
provided,  to  correct  the  character  of  service  for   the   applicant’s
separation;  therefore,  this  portion  of  his  request  is  not  favorably
considered.

4.  Notwithstanding our decision above, we note that the primary purpose  of
the applicant’s request was to obtain a change to his character  of  service
and RE code which would allow  his  reentry  into  a  branch  of  the  armed
services.  After a thorough review of the applicant’s records, we  found  no
evidence  which  shows  his  discharge  was  improper  or  the   information
contained within the case file erroneous.  Nevertheless, we  considered  the
applicant’s age and possible immaturity during  the  time  in  question  and
believe they may have  contributed  to  his  misconduct.   In  addition,  it
appears his post-service activities  have  been  successful;  therefore,  we
believe he should be provided the opportunity to  apply  for  enlistment  in
the armed services.  Our recommendation in no way guarantees  that  he  will
be allowed to enter the Air National Guard or any  branch  of  the  service.
Whether he is successful in reentering a branch of  the  armed  forces  will
depend on the needs of the service to which application is made.   Thus,  we
believe the reason for his separation  should  be  changed  to  “Secretarial
Authority,” with a separation code of “KFF,” and his RE code changed  to  3K
(Reserved for use by HQ AFPC or  the  Air  Force  Board  for  Correction  of
Military Records  (AFBCMR)  when  no  other  reenlistment  eligibility  code
applies or is appropriate.)

________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air  Force  relating
to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that on 7 March 1997, he  was  discharged
by reason of “Secretarial Authority,” with a separation code of “KFF” and  a
reenlistment eligibility (RE) code of “3K.”
________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board  considered  BC-2007-00046  in  Executive
Session on 4 April 2007, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

               Mr. Thomas S. Markiewicz, Chair
               Ms. Renee M. Collier, Member
               Ms. Judith B. Oliva, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

     Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 3 Jan 07 w/atch.
     Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPRS, dated 23 Jan 07.
     Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 2 Feb 07.




                                  THOMAS S. MARKIEWICZ
                                  Chair


AFBCMR BC-2007-00046



MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF OF STAFF


      Having received and considered the recommendation of the Air Force
Board for Correction of Military Records and under the authority of Section
1552, Title 10, United States Code (70A Stat 116), it is directed that:

      The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force
relating to THOMAS APPLICANT, be corrected to show that on 7 March 1997, he
was discharged by reason of “Secretarial Authority,” with a separation code
of “KFF” and a reenlistment eligibility (RE) code of “3K.”










  JOE G. LINEBERGER

Director

  Air Force Review Boards Agency