RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2009-03212
            INDEX CODE:  110.00
            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His Under Other Than Honorable Conditions (UOTHC) discharge be  upgraded  to
Honorable.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

His discharge was unjust.   He  was  diagnosed  with  Post-Traumatic  Stress
Disorder (PTSD) and should have  been  medically  discharged  following  his
initial  mental  evaluation.   He  never  received  a  physical  or   mental
evaluation prior to his discharge.

The applicant did not submit any supporting documentation.

The applicant's complete submission is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant was an Air Force Reservist.

A General Court-Martial Order dated 25 May 04, indicates the  applicant  was
charged with and pled guilty to the following specifications:

      1)  On or about 5 May 03 and on or about  14  May  03,  he  wrongfully
used cocaine and marijuana.

      2)  On or about 7 Jun 03 and 7 Dec 03, he wrongfully used marijuana.

For these offenses, he was reduced to the grade of airman first class  (E-3)
and was sentenced to confinement for 90 days.

The applicant was discharged on 29 Jun 04 for misconduct.

On 10 Sep 07, the Air Force Discharge Review Board (AFDRB) denied a  similar
request by the applicant.  The AFDRB concluded 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.   In  addition,
the AFDRB found no legal or equitable basis for upgrade of  the  applicant’s
discharge.

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application, extracted  from
the applicant’s military records, are contained in the letters  prepared  by
the appropriate office of the Air Force at Exhibit C and D.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFRC/A1K recommends denial.  A1K states the applicant  has  not  provided
any documentation to support an upgrade of his  discharge  characterization.


The complete A1K evaluation is at Exhibit C.

The BCMR Medical  Consultant  recommends  denial.   The  Medical  Consultant
notes that although alcohol dependence, cocaine  use,  and  marijuana  usage
are  not  qualifying  conditions  for  processing   through   the   military
Disability Evaluation System (DES), the  applicant’s  co-morbid  PTSD  could
have qualified him for processing through the DES, if evidence  showed  that
it sufficiently interfered with his ability  to  perform  military  service.
The applicant was issued non-worldwide qualified  physical  profiles  during
the final months of his  military  service.   In  the  justification  for  a
medical basis for discharge, the collective  evidence  should  reflect  that
the applicant should have received a Medical Evaluation Board followed by  a
referral of his case to a Physical Evaluation Board for a  determination  of
his fitness to serve and if found unfit, he would be issued the  appropriate
disability rating award.  However, noting  the  applicant  would  have  been
concurrently the  subject  of  an  approved  involuntary  separation  and  a
medical separation, the final determination of the reason for discharge  and
character of his service would have been made by the Secretary  of  the  Air
Force Personnel Council (SAFPC).  The SAFPC  would  have  searched  for  any
possible causal or mitigating relationship between the applicant’s  acts  of
misconduct  and  his  medical  condition.   Additionally,  analysis  of  the
comparative gravity of his offenses in comparison with  the  seriousness  of
his illness would  have been made.  As with his previous AFDRB  appeal,  the
SAFPC  would  also  consider  his  character  letters   and   his   military
performance history.

The Medical Consultant empathizes with the  applicant’s  reported  difficult
and possible traumatic childhood, etc; however, he finds  no  direct  causal
or  mitigation  relationship  between  the  aforementioned  events  and  the
applicant’s wanton violation of the law and established Air Force policy  by
use of illicit drugs; particularly when  he  had  access  to  and  regularly
attended medical appointments aimed at helping him  deal  with  his  Alcohol
Dependence and later the manifestations of  PTSD.   Therefore,  the  Medical
Consultant does not find the applicant’s  alternative  “self-medication”  as
an acceptable or  valid  reason  for  using  illicit  drugs  in  this  case.
Additionally, there is no evidence the applicant was unable  to  distinguish
the difference between right and wrong during this period of service.

The Medical Consultant concludes the applicant has not  met  the  burden  of
proof of an error or injustice that  warrants  the  desired  change  of  the
record.

The complete BCMR Medical Consultant’s evaluation is at Exhibit D.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the  applicant  on  26
May 10, for review and comment within  30  days.   As  of  this  date,  this
office has received no response (Exhibit E).

_________________________________________________________________

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  agree
with the opinions and recommendations of the Air  Force  office  of  primary
responsibility and the BCMR Medical Consultant and adopt their rationale  as
the basis for the conclusion that the applicant has not been the  victim  of
an error or injustice.   Therefore,  in  the  absence  of  evidence  to  the
contrary, we find no 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 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  BC-2009-03212  in
Executive Session on 5 Aug 2010, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Panel Chair
      Member
      Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 1 Aug 09.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFRC/A1K, dated 15 Dec 09.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, BCMR Medical Consultant, dated 20 May 10.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 25 May 10.



                                   Panel Chair