RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-04560 

 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 

 HEARING DESIRED: NO 

 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

Her Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD) be set aside and replaced with 
an administrative discharge of no less than General (Under 
Honorable Conditions). 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

Her BCD is an injustice that will impact her and her family for 
the rest of their lives. Prior to the allegations in this case, 
her military service was exceptional and the BCD she received is 
not consistent with the service she gave to the Air Force. It 
is a stain that will impact her family forever. Her defense 
counsel encouraged her not to file an appeal. The BCD is a 
considerable hurdle to finding meaningful employment. She can 
no longer serve in the military or in government and educational 
opportunities have been closed to her. Her federal conviction, 
combined with the fact that she served time in confinement and 
her career ended in shame, is sufficient punishment for her 
offenses. Granting her request will make it easier for her 
family to recover and give her a better chance to be a strong, 
contributing member of society. 

 

In support of her request, the applicant provides an expanded 
statement and copies of documentation related to her court-
martial, which include the charge sheet, post trial 
documentation, her initial and final clemency requests, and the 
portion of the transcript of trial containing her defense 
counsel’s closing argument. 

 

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

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

 

 

 

 


STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

The relevant facts pertaining to this application, extracted 
from the applicant’s military personnel records, are contained 
in the letter prepared by the appropriate office of the Air 
Force which is at Exhibit C. Accordingly, there is no need to 
recite these facts in this Record of Proceedings. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

AFLOA/JAJM recommends denial, indicating there is no evidence of 
an error or injustice. The applicant was tried at a general 
court-martial in 2007 where she was accused of claiming Basic 
Allowance for Housing (BAH) for her daughter for a locality in 
which the daughter did not reside. She was ultimately found 
guilty by a panel of officers and enlisted members of one 
specification of larceny, four specifications of making a false 
official statement, and one specification of dereliction of 
duty, all in violation of various articles of the UCMJ. She was 
sentenced to a BCD, confinement for six months, forfeiture of 
all pay and allowances, and reduction in grade to airman basic 
(E-1). On 14 Feb 08, the convening authority approved only so 
much of the sentence that called for a BCD, confinement for 
120 days, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and reduction in 
grade to airman basic. On 13 Mar 09, the Air Force Court of 
Criminal Appeals granted the applicant’s motion to have her case 
withdrawn from appellate review. The applicant contends she was 
“encouraged” by her defense counsel to make such a motion; 
however, in doing so, she signed a statement indicating that she 
made the decision freely and voluntarily, that no one made her 
any promises that she would receive any benefits from the 
withdrawal, and that no one had forced her to make it. Her case 
was reviewed on 4 Aug 09 in accordance with Article 64(a) of the 
UCMJ, making the findings and sentence final and conclusive. On 
19 Aug 09, the applicant’s BCD was ordered executed. The 
applicant has identified no error related to the processing of 
her court-martial. She alleges the fact of the BCD itself is an 
injustice. She was afforded all the procedural rights offered 
by the court-martial and appellate process. It is important to 
note the AFBCMR is without authority to reverse, set aside, or 
otherwise expunge a court-martial conviction that occurred on or 
after 5 May 50. Specifically, Title 10, United States Code, 
Section 1552(f)(1) permits the correction of a record to reflect 
actions taken by reviewing authorities under the UCMJ. 
Additionally, Section 1552(f)(2) of said title permits the 
correction of records related to action on the sentence of 
courts-martial for the purpose of clemency. While clemency is 
an option, there is no reason for the Board to exercise clemency 
as she has not provided any substantive argument or 
documentation in support of her request, and doing so would be 
unfair to those individuals who honorably served their country 
while in uniform. 


A complete copy of the AFLOA/JAJM 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 25 Mar 11 for review and comment within 30 days. 
As of this date, no response has been received by this office 
(Exhibit D). 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 

 

1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by 
existing law or regulations. 

 

2. The application was timely filed. 

 

3. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to 
demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice. We note 
that this Board is without authority to reverse, set aside, or 
otherwise expunge a court-martial conviction. Rather, in 
accordance with Title 10, United States Code, Section 1552(f), 
actions by this Board are limited to corrections to the record 
to reflect actions taken by the reviewing officials and action 
on the sentence of the court-martial for the purpose of 
clemency. We find no evidence which indicates the applicant’s 
service characterization, which had its basis in his court-
martial conviction and was a part of the sentence of the 
military court, was improper or that it exceeded the limitations 
set forth in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). We 
have considered the applicant’s overall quality of service, the 
court-martial conviction which precipitated the discharge, and 
the seriousness of the offenses to which convicted. Based on 
the evidence of record, we cannot conclude that clemency is 
warranted. Therefore, we find no basis upon which to favorably 
consider this application. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: 

 

The applicant be notified the evidence presented did not 
demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; the 
application was denied without a personal appearance; and 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-2010-04560 in Executive Session on 25 Aug 11, under 
the provisions of AFI 36-2603: 

 

 , Panel Chair 

 , Member 

 , Member 

 

The following documentary evidence was considered: 

 

 Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 2 Nov 10, w/atchs. 

 Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. 

 Exhibit C. Letter, AFLOA/JAJM, dated 3 Feb 11. 

 Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 25 Mar 11. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair