RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2013-03788
		COUNSEL:  NONE
	XXXXXXX	HEARING DESIRED:  NOT INDICATED

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD) be upgraded to honorable.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

After he served his time, he was transferred to Florida and on 
6 May 1960, he was honorably discharged.

In support of his request, the applicant provides a copy of his 
Certification of Military Service.

His complete submission, with attachment, is at Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant served in the Air Force from 2 Sep 1955 through 
22 May 1957.  His service was terminated by a BCD.

Pursuant to the Board's request, the Air Force Office of Special 
Investigation determined a criminal record does not exist.

On 25 Apr 2014, a request for post-service information was 
forwarded to the applicant for review and comment within 
30 days.  As of this date, no response has been received by this 
office.  (Exhibit C).

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFLOA/JAJM states that if AFPC confirms that the member received 
an honorable discharge, the Board should set-aside his BCD.  On 
18 Jan 1957, a special-court martial convicted the applicant, in 
accordance with his plea, of absenting himself from his 
organization from 15 Sep 1956 to 3 Jan 1957 without proper 
authority, in violation of Article 86, Uniform Code of Military 
Justice.  The member was sentenced to be discharged from the 
service with a BCD, to forfeit $55.00 per month for six months, and 
to be confined at hard labor for six months.  On 25 Jan 1957, the 
convening authority approved the BCD, forfeiture of $55.00 per 
month for five months, and confinement for five months.

On 26 Feb 1957, the Air Force Board of Review found the approved 
finding of guilty and the sentence correct in law and fact.  On 
22 Apr 1957, the convening authority ordered the sentence executed, 
but suspended the BCD for the period of confinement and 12 months 
thereafter, at which time the BCD would be remitted unless sooner 
vacated.  There is nothing within the record of trial indicating 
that the suspended BCD was ever vacated.  Therefore, if AFPC 
confirms that the member received an honorable discharge, we 
believe the Board should set-aside BCD.

The complete JAJM evaluation is at Exhibit D.

AFPC/DPSOR recommends denial.  Based on the presumption of 
regularity, the discharge was consistent with the procedural and 
substantive requirements of the discharge instruction and was 
within the discretion of the discharge authority.  The applicant 
did not provide any evidence that an error or injustice occurred 
with the processing of his discharge.  They cannot confirm the 
circumstances and facts surrounding the applicant's discharge and 
must rely on the information provided by the Military Justice 
Division regarding the court-martial and the presumption of 
regularity regarding the discharge.

The complete DPSOR evaluation is at Exhibit E.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF THE AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

On 14 Mar 2014, copies of the Air Force evaluations were 
forwarded to the applicant for review and comment within 
30 days.  As of this date, no response has been received by 
this office (Exhibit F).

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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.  We note 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), our actions 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 UCMJ.  We note that on 22 Apr 
1957, the convening authority ordered the sentence executed, but 
suspended the BCD for the period of confinement and 12 months 
thereafter, at which time the BCD would be remitted unless sooner 
vacated.  However, there is nothing within the record of trial 
indicating that the suspended BCD was ever vacated.  Should the 
applicant provide the evidence noted above we would be willing 
to review his case for possible reconsideration.  We considered 
upgrading the discharge on the basis of clemency; however, after 
considering the applicant's overall quality of service, the 
court-martial conviction which precipitated the discharge, the 
seriousness of the offenses of which convicted, and noting the 
lack of documentation pertaining to his post-service activities, 
we cannot conclude that clemency is warranted.  In view of the 
above, we cannot recommend approval based on the current 
evidence of record.

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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-2013-
03788 in Executive Session on 5 Jun 2014, under the provisions 
of AFI 36-2603:

, Chair
, Member
, Member
?
The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR BC-2013-
03788 was considered: 

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 9 Aug 2013, w/atch.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFBCMR, digitally signed 25 Apr 2014,
                w/atch.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, AFLOA/JAJM, dated 5 Feb 2014.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, AFPC/DPSOR, dated 24 Feb 2014.
    Exhibit F.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 14 Mar 2014.




                                   
                                   Chair


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