IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 8 May 2013 CASE NUMBER: AR20130001680 ___________________________________________________________________________ Board Determination and Directed Action After carefully examining the applicant's record of service during the period of enlistment under review and considering the Discussion and Recommendation which follows, the Board determined the discharge was both proper and equitable and voted to deny relief. Presiding Officer I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Department of the Army Discharge Review Board in this case. THE APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND STATEMENT: 1. The applicant requests an upgrade of his discharge from general, under honorable conditions to honorable. 2. The applicant states, in effect, that he was separated for failure to pass the run portion of the PT test. The reason for this was due to a hip injury that was initially recognized by the TMC on Ft. Lewis, for which he was given a no running profile. After the profile expired, he was not given a new one, but still could not run well enough to pass the test. His left hip is still not right to this day. All he is asking for is a characterization change to honorable, being that his only failure was an inability to run while injured. DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION: a. Application Receipt Date: 11 January 2013 b. Discharge received: General, under honorable conditions c. Date of Discharge: 3 October 2001 d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE: Physical Standards, Chapter 13-2f, JFT, RE-3 e. Unit of assignment: B Co, 25th Fwd Spt Bde, Fort Lewis, WA f. Current Enlistment Date/Term: 10 November 1998, 4 years g. Current Enlistment Service: 2 years, 10 months, 24 days h. Total Service: 2 years, 10 months, 24 days i. Time Lost: None j. Previous Discharges: None k. Highest Grade Achieved: E-3 l. Military Occupational Specialty: 27E10, Tow-Dragon Repairer m. GT Score: 118 n. Education: HS Graduate o. Overseas Service: None p. Combat Service: None q. Decorations/Awards: NDSM, ASR r. Administrative Separation Board: No s. Performance Ratings: None t. Counseling Statements: No u. Prior Board Review: No SUMMARY OF SERVICE: The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 10 November 1998, for a period of four years. He was 18 years old at the time of entry and was a high school graduate. He was trained in and awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 27E, Tow-Dragon Repairer. He was serving at Fort Lewis, WA, when his discharge was initiated. The applicant’s record does not document any acts of valor or significant achievements. SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES 1. The applicant’s record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to the discharge from the Army. However, the record does contain a properly constituted DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), which was authenticated by the applicant’s signature. 2. The DD Form 214 indicates the applicant was discharged under the provisions of Chapter 13, AR 635-200, by reason of physical standards, with a characterization of service of general, under honorable conditions. The DD Form 214 shows a Separation Code of JFT (i.e., physical standards), with a reentry eligibility (RE) code of 3. 3. On 7 September 2001, Orders 250-0002, DA, HQS, I Corps and Fort Lewis, Fort Lewis, WA, discharged the applicant from the Regular Army, effective date: 3 October 2001. 4. The applicant’s record does not show any evidence or actions under UCMJ or unauthorized absences or time lost. EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD There are no counseling statements or UCMJ actions in the record. However, the applicant indicated in his application he received a Summarized Article 15, the punishment consisted of 14 days of extra duty. EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT The applicant provided an online application, dated 20 December 2012. POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: The applicant did not provide any. REGULATORY AUTHORITY 1. Army Regulation 635-200 sets forth the requirements and procedures for administrative discharge of enlisted personnel. Chapter 13-2f states in pertinent part, that separation proceedings will be initiated for Soldiers without medical limitations who have two consecutive failures of the Army Physical Fitness Test. The reason for discharge will be shown as physical standards. 2. The service of Soldiers separated because of unsatisfactory performance for failure to meet physical standards will be characterized as honorable or general, under honorable conditions. DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION: 1. The applicant’s request for an upgrade of the characterization of his discharge was carefully considered. However, after examining the applicant’s military records and the issues submitted with the application, there are insufficient mitigating factors to merit an upgrade of the applicant's discharge. 2. The applicant’s record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to his discharge from the Army. However, the record contains a properly constituted DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), which was authenticated by the applicant's signature. This document identifies the reason and characterization of the discharge and the analyst presumed government regularity in the discharge process. 3. The DD Form 214 indicates the applicant was discharged under the provisions of Chapter 13, AR 635-200, by reason of physical standards, with a characterization of service of general, under honorable conditions. Barring evidence to the contrary, it appears all requirements of law and regulation were met and the rights of the applicant were fully protected throughout the separation process. 4. The applicant's contentions were carefully considered. However, it is not possible to determine if these contentions have merit because the facts and circumstances leading to the discharge are unknown. The burden of proof remains with the applicant to provide the appropriate documents or other evidence (i.e. discharge packet) sufficient to explain the facts, circumstances, and reasons underlying the separation action, for the Board's consideration. If the applicant desires a personal appearance hearing, it will be his responsibility to meet this burden of proof since the evidence is not available in the official record. 5. Therefore, based on the available evidence and the government presumption of regularity, it appears the reason for discharge and the characterization of service were both proper and equitable, thus recommend the Board deny relief. SUMMARY OF ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD HEARING: Type of Hearing: Records Review Date: 8 May 2013 Location: Washington, DC Did the Applicant Testify: No Counsel: No Witnesses/Observers: No Board Vote: Character Change: 0 No Change: 5 Reason Change: 0 No Change: 5 (Board member names available upon request) Board Action Directed: Issue a new DD Form 214: No Change Characterization to: No Change Change Reason to: No Change Change RE Code to: No Change Grade Restoration to: No Change Change Authority for Separation: NA Other: NA Legend: AMHRR - Army Military Human Resource Record FG - Field Grade IADT – Initial Active Duty Training RE - Reentry AWOL - Absent Without Leave GD - General Discharge NA - Not applicable SCM- Summary Court Martial BCD - Bad Conduct Discharge HS - High School NIF - Not in File SPCM - Special Court Martial CG - Company Grade Article 15 HD - Honorable Discharge OAD - Ordered to Active Duty UNC - Uncharacterized Discharge CID - Criminal investigation Department MP – Military Police OMPF - Official Military Personnel File UOTHC - Under Other Than Honorable Conditions ADRB Case Report and Directive (cont) AR20130001680 Page 5 of 5 pages ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB) CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE 1