AIR FORCE DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD DECISIONAL RATIONALE |
CASE NUMBER FD-2013-00580 |
| GENERAL: The applicant appeals for upgrade of discharge to honorable.
The applicant was offered a personal appearance before the Discharge Review Board (DRB) but declined and requests that the review be completed based on the available service record.
The attached brief contains available pertinent data on the applicant and the factors leading to the discharge.
FINDING: The Board denies the upgrade of the discharge.
The Board finds that neither the evidence of record nor that provided by the applicant substantiates an inequity or impropriety that would justify a change of discharge.
ISSUE: The record indicates that the applicant was discharged for Misconduct-Drug Abuse. Applicant wants his discharge upgraded to Honorable to eligible to receive GI Bill benefits. The applicant also stated that he has nightmares about different missions he was on and witnessed. He further states that VA provides him with medication, but he feels that he is entitled to some kind of compensation. He also stated that his PTSD was not induced by drugs, but by mission related experiences that caused the schizophrenia to surface. Medical note attached states "unsure if presenting symptoms were caused by drug use intoxication or primary psychosis. The Board also reviewed the applicant's medical records and found no evidence to suggest the applicant was having any problems prior to his use of Spice. The record indicates that between on or about 1 September 2011 and on or about 21 October 2011, he wrongfully used Spice, an herbal mixture containing a form of synthetic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. According to AFI 36-3208, paragraph 5.54, Misconduct: Drug Abuse, drug use is incompatible with military service and Airman who abuse drugs one or more times are subject to discharge. Drug abuse for the purpose of this regulation is the illegal, wrongful, or improper use, possession, sale, transfer, or introduction onto a military installation of any drug. This includes improper use of prescription medication. The term drug includes any controlled substance in schedules I, II, III, IV, and V of Title 21 U.S.C., Section 812. After review of the record, the Board found no evidence to indicate that the applicant did not know right from wrong or that in his two years and six months of service was unaware of the Air Force policy of zero tolerance to drug use. The Board found the negative aspects of the willful misconduct outweighed the positive aspects of the applicant's performance and concluded that the discharge was appropriate.
The applicant cited his desire to receive the G.I. Bill benefits as justification for upgrade. The DRB noted that when the applicant applied for these benefits, he signed a statement (DD Form 2366, on September 4, 2009) that he understood he must receive an Honorable discharge to receive future educational entitlements. The Board was sympathetic to the impact the loss of these benefits was having on the applicant, but this is not a matter of inequity or impropriety which would warrant an upgrade.
CONCLUSION: The Discharge Review Board concludes that the discharge was consistent with the procedural and substantive requirements of the discharge regulation and was within the discretion of the discharge authority and the applicant was provided full administrative due process.
In view of the foregoing findings, the Board further concludes that there exists no legal or equitable basis for upgrade of discharge and determines the discharge should remain unchanged.
Attachment: Examiner's Brief |
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