RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2010-02581
                       INDEX CODE:  110.00
                       COUNSEL:  NONE
                       HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her dishonorable discharge be upgraded to a general discharge.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

When the offense occurred, she believed  she  was  defending  herself.
She was unable to make any sound decisions at the time of  her  court-
martial due to her diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
 The PTSD was caused by the physical, emotional and sexual  abuse  she
suffered from her husband.  Her superiors knew she  was  being  abused
and did not show any concern or offer her help.

In  support  of  his  appeal,  the  applicant  provides  a   personal
statement, two character references, VA Form 21-0781a,  Statement  in
Support of Claim for Service  Connection  for  Post-Traumatic  Stress
Disorder (PTSD) Secondary to  Personal  Assault,  and  DD  Form  293,
Application for the Review of discharge from the Armed Forces of  the
United States.

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

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 1 Jul 91, the applicant contracted her enlistment  in  the  Regular
Air Force.

The applicant was tried by general court-martial from 2-4 Mar  94  for
two charges of wrongful use of cocaine, one  charge  of  assault  with
force, one charge of assault with battery  and  one  charge  of  being
absent without leave (AWOL).  The applicant pled  not  guilty  to  the
charges and specifications.  She was found guilty of all charges.  She
was sentenced to a  dishonorable  discharge,  two  years  confinement,
forfeiture of pay for 16 months, and a reduction in  grade  to  airman
basic (AB).   On  30 Sep 94,  the  convening  authority  approved  the
findings and sentence as adjudged, except the two  years  confinement,
which was reduced to 20 months.

On 2 May 96, the Air Force Court  of  Criminal  Appeals  affirmed  the
findings and sentence.  On 6 Nov 96, the  Court  of  Appeals  for  the
Armed Forces declined to review the case, thus making the findings and
sentence final and conclusive  under  the  Uniform  Code  of  Military
Justice.   On  11  Dec  96,  the  convening  authority   ordered   the
dishonorable discharge be executed.

She was discharged on 13 Dec 96.  She served 4 years and  11  days  of
active service.  The applicant had 525 days of lost time.

Pursuant to the Board’s request, the Federal Bureau  of  Investigation
(FBI) provided a copy of an Investigative Report, which is at  Exhibit
C.

On 31 Jan 11, a copy of the Investigative Report was forwarded to the
applicant for review and comment within 30 days.  As of this date, no
response has been received by this office.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFLOA/JAJM recommends denying the applicant’s request as  untimely  or
on the merits.  JAJM notes that in 1993 the applicant was  also  tried
by general court-martial  and  acquitted  for  stabbing  her  husband;
however, the basis for her dishonorable discharge was the 1994  court-
martial conviction for wrongful use  of  cocaine,  assault  and  being
AWOL.

The applicant does not deny any of the charges against her or that  an
error or injustice occurred during  the  court-martial  process.   Her
record show she was afforded all of the procedural rights  offered  by
the court-martial and appellate process.

While  clemency  may  be  granted,  the  applicant  has  not  provided
sufficient evidence to support her case receive additional clemency to
that which she has already received.  Her submission includes  letters
regarding her rehabilitation since her  court-martial.   However,  the
documentation suggests she struggled with drug abuse for more than  10
years after her court-martial.

Additionally, to grant clemency in this case would be unfair to  those
individuals who honorably  served  their  country  while  in  uniform.
Congress' intent in setting up the Veterans Benefits  Program  was  to
express thanks for veterans'  personal  sacrifices,  separations  from
family, facing hostile enemy action and suffering financial hardships.
 All rights of a veteran under the laws administered by the  Secretary
of Veterans Affairs are barred where the  veteran  was  discharged  or
dismissed by reason of sentence of general court-martial.

The AFLOA/JAJM complete evaluation is at Exhibit D.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant states she is not guilty of being AWOL, because she  was
granted two weeks of leave.

She found escape from the abuse by using drugs.  She did  not  assault
anyone with the intent to do bodily harm.  She was trying to get  away
from another abusive person.  He spat on her and she nudged  him  with
her car.

She also believes she was not provided  with  adequate  legal  counsel
during that time.  She was told to take the discharge  or  go  through
court-martial and any punitive damages that would  be  levied  against
her.  This was provided to her while she was  hospitalized  and  under
heavy medications.

The applicant’s complete response is at Exhibit F.

_________________________________________________________________

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 an injustice.   We  took  notice  of  the
applicant's complete submission in judging the  merits  of  the  case;
however, we agree with the opinion and the recommendation of  the  Air
Force office of primary responsibility and adopt its rationale as  the
basis  for  our  conclusion  the  applicant  has  failed  to   provide
sufficient evidence to warrant favorable consideration on the basis of
clemency.  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  Docket  Number
BC-2010-02581  in  Executive  Session  on  22  Mar  11,  under   the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:

       , Panel Chair
       , Member
       , Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

      Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 29 Jul 10, w/atchs.
      Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Military Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C.  FBI Investigative Report.
      Exhibit D.  Letter, AFLOA/JAJM, dated 13 Oct 10.
      Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 29 Oct 10.
      Exhibit F.  Letter, Applicant, dated 20 Nov 10.
      Exhibit G.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 31 Jan 11, w/atchs.





                                        Panel Chair