DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-01156 

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

COUNSEL:  NONE 
HEARING DESIRED: NO 

         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 
 
IN THE MATTER OF:   
 
   
 
   
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 
 
His  bad  conduct  discharge  be  upgraded  to  general  (under 
honorable conditions). 
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 
 
He requests his discharge be upgraded for good behavior.  He has 
not  been  arrested  or  charged  with  any  drug  offenses  since  his 
discharge.  He is truly sorry for his conduct while in the Air 
Force and wishes he had not done the things that brought on the 
bad conduct discharge.  
 
In  support  of  his  request  the  applicant  provides  Standard  Form 
180, Request Pertaining to Military Records. 
 
The  applicant’s  complete  submission,  with  attachment,  is  at 
Exhibit A. 
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
STATEMENT OF FACTS: 
 
The  applicant  enlisted  in  the  Regular  Air  Force  on  22  February 
1982.  On 4 October 1983, the applicant was convicted by general 
court-martial  for  seven  specifications  for  wrongful  use, 
possession,  distribution  and  introduction  of  marijuana  to  a 
military  installation,  in  violation  of  134,  Uniform  Code  of 
Military Justice (UCMJ); and one specification for conspiracy to 
introduce  and  distribute  marijuana,  LSD  and  cocaine  to  a 
military installation, in violation of Article 81, UCMJ.  He was 
sentenced to a bad conduct discharge, confinement at hard labor 
for 13 months and reduction to airman basic.  The applicant was 
discharged  effective  14  August  1984  with  a  bad  conduct 
discharge. 
 
Pursuant  to  the  Board's  request  for  information,  the  FBI 
indicated that, on the basis of the evidence provided, they were 
unable to locate an arrest record pertaining to the applicant. 
 

AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 
 
AFLOA/JAJM  recommends  denial.    The  applicant  offers  no 
allegations of error or injustice with regard to the findings or 
the  sentence  of  the  court-martial.    He  also  offers  no  new 
information  regarding  the  offense.    He  pled  not  guilty  at  the 
trial,  yet,  was  found  guilty  based  on  the  evidence  presented.  
The  court  received  evidence  in  aggravation,  extenuation  and 
mitigation  and  took  all  those  things  into  consideration  when 
imposing the sentence.  
 
Under  Title  10  United  States  Code  1552(f),  which  amended  the 
basic  correction  board  legislation,  the  Board’s  ability  to 
correct  records  relating  to  courts-martial  is  limited.  
Specifically,  section  1552(f)(1)  permits  the  correction  of 
records relating to action on the sentence of courts-martial for 
the  purpose  of  clemency.    The  Rules  for  Courts-Martial 
1003(b)(8)(C)  states  a  bad  conduct  discharge  is  designed  as 
punishment  for  bad  conduct.  It  is  more  than  just  a  service 
characterization; it is a punishment for crimes committed while 
a member of the Armed Forces. 
 
The  applicant’s  sentence  was  well  within  the  legal  limits  and 
was  an  appropriate  punishment  for  the  crime  committed.    A  bad 
conduct discharge was and continues to be a proper sentence and 
properly characterizes his service. 
 
The complete JAJM evaluation is at Exhibit C. 
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 
 
The  applicant  states  that  he  truly  loved  his  Air  Force  career. 
He  began  a  downward  spiral  after  learning  his  best  friend  was 
killed  in  a  car  accident.    He  began  to  drink  heavily  and 
eventually  moved  into  an  apartment  with  his  dorm  roommate.    He 
and his roommate would make runs to pick up drugs from Norwich.  
The requests for drugs went from hash, to LSD and cocaine.  He 
wanted  to  get  out;  however,  it  was  too  late.    He  takes  full 
responsibility  for  his  actions.    He  paid  the  cost  with  his 
freedom and his Air Force career.   
 
Although this has hung over his head for 28 years, he has owned 
his own business for the past 25 years. He treats his customers 
with  respect  and  honesty  and  strives  to  do  a  quality  job  for 
them.  He has been married for 23 years and has 4 children and a 
granddaughter.  He also received his license to preach in 1999.  
He  regrets  the  choices  he  made  that  ended  his  career  and  for 
those, he apologizes.   
 
The  applicant’s  complete  response,  with  attachments,  is  at 
Exhibit E. 

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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.  After careful 
consideration  of  the  applicant’s  request  and  the  available 
evidence of record, we find no evidence which indicates that the 
applicant’s service characterization, which had its basis in his 
conviction  by  general  court-martial  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  offense 
to  which  convicted.    We  considered  whether  it  would  be  in  the 
interest of justice to upgrade the applicant’s discharge on the 
basis  of  clemency,  but  given  the  gravity  of  the  offenses  of 
which he was convicted, we find the evidence provided regarding 
his post service adjustment insufficient to grant relief on that 
basis.    Therefore  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-2012-01156  in  Executive  Session  on  2  October  2012, 
under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

  Panel Chair 
  Member 
  Member 

 

  
  
  

 
 
 

 

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The  following  documentary  evidence  pertaining  to  AFBCMR  Docket 
Number BC-2012-01156 was considered: 
 
    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 17 Mar 12, w/atch.  
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records. 
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFLOA/JAJM, 23 May 12. 
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 29 May 12. 
    Exhibit E.  Applicant’s Response, date 4 Sep 12, w/atchs. 
 
 
 
                                   Panel Chair 
 

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