RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2008-00492
      INDEX CODE:  110.00
      COUNSEL:  NONE

      HEARING DESIRED:  NO

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

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

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

During his first two and one-half years of  service,  he  was  not  a  model
airman.  In May 1969,  he  was  stationed  in  Vietnam  for  12  months  and
assigned duties in Supply.  He lost a stripe but did  not  care  because  he
wanted out.  After he returned stateside, he was assigned a  job  he  really
loved and his attitude changed.

He was later assigned duties at a Joint Service station where  the  nametags
were unique.  He was required  to  perform  frequent  Temporary  Duty  (TDY)
assignments to Hill AFB, UT.  During one of his visits, he was told  by  the
section commander (Capt M) that  he  was  out  of  uniform  because  of  his
nametag.  He explained what unit he was  with  and  provided  the  name  and
phone number of his supervisor for verification.   Capt  M  seemed  agitated
after the phone conversation  with  his  supervisor.   From  that  point  on
anytime he was sent TDY there, his meetings with Capt M were unpleasant.

He experienced gambling problems while stationed in Las Vegas and  requested
reassignment to another base.  He was relocated to Hill AFB, UT, and  placed
under the supervision of  Capt  M.   About  that  time  his  past  financial
problems caught up with him.  He started acting out  of  character  and  was
Absent Without Leave  (AWOL).   Capt  M  started  court-martial  proceedings
against him.  At the same time, his wife filed for divorce and he filed  for
bankruptcy.  His father bailed him out of his debts  and  the  court-martial
proceedings were dismissed.  He was then given a choice  of  being  released
from duty or transferred to a base in Alaska.   He  accepted  the  offer  of
separation from service and was told he would receive a  general  discharge.


He should have stayed in military  service.   His  last  Airman  Performance
Report (APR) was almost an overall nine rating.  Although he has  no  proof,
he feels his discharge was based on the  ill-feelings  Capt  M  had  towards
him.  He is not sure why he wants his discharge upgraded.  He does not  want
back pay or his rank reinstated.  He only wants to hold his head up.

In support of his application, he submits copies of  his  APRs,  letters  of
appreciation, a photograph of an F-16, a photocopy  of  the  F-16  patch,  a
decal,  transmittal  of  court-martial  charges,  and  Permanent  Change  of
Station orders.

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

________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 20 Dec 67, 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
as an inventory management specialist.  He was promoted  to  staff  sergeant
effective and with a date of rank of 1 Sep 74.

On 1 Apr 81, the applicant’s commander recommended  his  discharge  for  the
good of the service.  His reasons for this actions were:

      1.  Pending charges for being AWOL from 2 Feb 81 until 4 Feb 81;


      2.  Fourteen (14) counts of writing checks with insufficient funds  to
cover said checks;


      3.   His failure to pay off a loan.


He also recommended the applicant be furnished a UOTHC discharge.

The following is a record of disciplinary action  under  Article  15,  UCMJ,
listing specific offenses:

      1.  He received Article 15 action on 8 Nov 79, for being AWOL  from  3
Nov 79 thru 7 Nov 79 and failure to repair on 23 Oct 79.  For  this  offense
he was reduced in grade to Sgt, ordered to forfeit $300 per  month  for  two
months and 10 days extra duty (all suspended).

      2.  He received Article 15 action on 22 Apr  80  to  Vacate  Suspended
Nonjudicial punishment action.  Reason:  He had  written  four  checks  with
insufficient funds in his account to cover said  checks.  For  this  offense
his suspended rank was vacated.  He was reduced in grade to Sgt with a  date
of rank of 1 Nov 79.

In a legal review of the discharge case file  dated  2  Apr  81,  the  Staff
Judge Advocate found the file was legally sufficient  and  recommended  that
the applicant be separated from the service with a UOTHC discharge.   On  10
Apr 81, the discharge authority approved the separation  and  the  applicant
was discharged on 14 Apr 81.  He had served 11 years, 8 months and  25  days
on active duty to include 4 years, 5 months and 17 days of foreign service.

The applicant submitted a similar application to  the  Air  Force  Discharge
Review Board (AFDRB) requesting his discharge be upgraded to honorable.   On
6 May 96, the AFDRB concluded that the discharge  was  consistent  with  the
procedural and substantive requirements of  the  discharge  regulation,  was
within the discretion of the discharge authority,  and  that  the  applicant
was provided full administrative due process.  The AFDRB  further  concluded
that no legal or equitable basis existed  for  upgrade  of  the  applicant's
discharge, and the request was denied.  The AFDRB  Examiner’s  brief  is  at
Exhibit B.

Pursuant to the Board’s request, the Federal Bureau of  Investigation  (FBI)
provided a copy  of  an  investigative  report  (Identification  Record  No.
725064AA3 – Exhibit C).

On 14 Mar 08, a copy of the FBI report was forwarded to  the  applicant  for
review and comment within  30  days  (Exhibit  D).   As  of  this  date,  no
response has been received.

________________________________________________________________

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  took  notice  of  the  applicant's
complete submission in judging the merits of the case; however, we  find  no
evidence  of  an  error  or  injustice  that  occurred  in   the   discharge
processing.  Based on the available  evidence  of  record,  it  appears  the
discharge was consistent with the substantive requirements of the  discharge
regulation  and  within  the  commander's  discretionary   authority.    The
applicant has provided no evidence  which  would  lead  us  to  believe  the
characterization of the service  was  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  the
governing regulation, unduly harsh,  or  disproportionate  to  the  offenses
committed.   We  considered  upgrading  the  discharge  based  on  clemency;
however, we do not find the evidence presented is sufficient  to  compel  us
to recommend granting the relief sought on that basis.   Therefore,  in  the
absence of evidence to  the  contrary,  we  find  no  basis  upon  which  to
recommend granting the relief sought.

________________________________________________________________

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 9 Jul 2008, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Ms. Charlene M. Bradley, Panel Chair
      Mr. Anthony P. Reardon, Member
      Ms. Josephine L. Davis, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered in AFBCMR BC-2008-00492:

      Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 29 Jan 08 w/atch.
      Exhibit B.  Applicant’s Master Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C.  FBI Report.
      Exhibit D.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 14 Mar 08.




                                  CHARLENE M. BRADLEY
                                  Panel Chair