AIR FORCE DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD DECISIONAL RATIONALE |
CASE NUMBER FD-2013-00604 |
GENERAL: The applicant appeals for upgrade of discharge to Honorable, to change the reason and authority for the discharge and to change the reenlistment code.
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, change of reason and authority for discharge, and change of reenlistment code.
ISSUE: The applicant received a General discharge for Misconduct -Drug Abuse
The Air Force Discharge Review Board, under its responsibility to examine the propriety and equity of an applicant's discharge, is authorized to change the characterization of service and the reason for discharge if such change is warranted. In reviewing discharges, the Board presumes regularity in the conduct of governmental affairs unless there is substantial credible evidence to rebut the presumption, to include evidence submitted by the applicant. The Board completed a thorough review of the circumstances that led to the discharge and the discharge process to ensure the discharge met the pertinent standards of equity and propriety. The applicant's record of service included one Letter of Reprimand for use of spice of divers occasions.
The applicant contends discharge was improper due to the timeframe of his alleged drug use not being accurate. The applicant accepts responsibility for using spice October 2009 - February 2010, but claims the dates of July 1 2010 and on or about September 30, 2010, were added due to pressure from investigators. After review of the records, the Board was unable to substantiate the applicant's claim of not using spice on the dates indicated on his Letter of Reprimand. The Board found no evidence to indicate that in his three years and nine 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.
A discharge is upgraded only if the applicant and the Board can establish that an inequity or impropriety took place at the time of discharge. After a thorough review of the record, the Board found no evidence to justify an upgrade of the discharge characterization, reason for the discharge or the reenlistment code.
CONCLUSION: The Discharge Review Board concludes that the discharge was consistent with the procedural and substantive requirements of the discharge regulation, was within the discretion of the discharge authority, and that 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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AF | DRB | CY2015 | FD-2014-00633
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AIRFORCEDISCHARGEREVIEWBOARDHEARINGRECORDNAOFSERVICEMEMBER(LAST,FIRSTMIDDLEINITIAL)GRADE AFS:WSSANPERSONAL APPEARANCEX RECORD REVIEWADDRESSANDORORGANIZATION OY COUNSELMEMBERSITTINGGEN VOTHCOTHER DENYxxxxxA94.SJA66.00lORDERAPPOINTINGTHEBOARD2 APPLICATIONFORREVIEWOFDISCHARGE3LETIEROFNOTIFICATION4BRIEFOFPERSONNELFILECOUNSEL'SRELEASETOTHEBOARDADDITIONALEXHIBITSSUBMITTEDATTIMEOFPERSONALAPPEARANCETAPERECORDINGOFPERSONALAPPEARANCEHEARINGU&AJUNGDATE CASENUMBER...
AF | DRB | CY2015 | FD-2014-00560
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