IN THE CASE OF: Mr. BOARD DATE: 24 January 2014 CASE NUMBER: AR20130009982 ___________________________________________________________________________ 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 to upgrade the characterization of his service from general, under honorable conditions to fully honorable. 2. The applicant states, in effect, an upgrade would allow him to use his Post 9/11 GI Bill. DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION: a. Application Receipt Date: 22 May 2013 b. Discharge Received: General, Under Honorable Conditions c. Date of Discharge: 6 January 2012 d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code: AR 135-178, Chapter NIF e. Unit of assignment: 180th TC Co, Muskegon, MI f. Current Enlistment Date/Term: 23 February 2008, 6 years g. Current Enlistment Service: 3 years, 10 months, 14 days h. Total Service: 3 years, 10 months, 14 days i. Time Lost: NIF j. Previous Discharges: USAR (080223-100922) / NA ADT (100923-101119) / HD k. Highest Grade Achieved: E-4 l. Military Occupational Specialty: 88M10, Motor Transport Operator m. GT Score: NIF n. Education: NIF o. Overseas Service: None p. Combat Service: None q. Decorations/Awards: NDSM; ASR r. Administrative Separation Board: NIF s. Performance Ratings: None t. Counseling Statements: NIF u. Prior Board Review: No SUMMARY OF SERVICE: The applicant enlisted in the US Army Reserve on 23 February 2008, for a period of 6 years with an 8-year military service obligation. He was 17 years old at the time of entry. There is no further record of whether he is a high school graduate or completing by GED. He served a total of 3 years, 10 months, and 14 days in the US Army Reserve. His record does not contain any significant awards or acts of valor. SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES: 1. The available evidence shows the applicant’s record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to his discharge from the United States Army Reserve. 2. The record indicates that on 7 December 2011, Department of the Army, Headquarters, 88th Regional Support Command, Fort McCoy, WI, Orders 11-341-00037, discharged the applicant from the United States Army Reserve, effective 6 January 2012, with a general, under honorable conditions characterization of service. 3. The applicant’s available record does not contain any evidence of unauthorized absences or time lost. EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD: Discharge Order. EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT: The applicant provided DA Form 4187, Personnel Action, dated 3 November 2010, showing his promotion to E-4; certificates of training, dated 19 November 2010; and certificate of achievement, dated 19 November 2010. POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: The applicant provided none. REGULATORY AUTHORITY: 1. Army Regulation 135-178 sets forth the policies, standards, and procedures to ensure the readiness and competency of the U.S. Army while providing for the orderly administrative separation of Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) enlisted Soldiers for a variety of reasons. The separation policies throughout the different Chapters in this regulation promote the readiness of the Army by providing an orderly means to judge the suitability of persons to serve on the basis of their conduct and their ability to meet required standards of duty performance and discipline. Specific categories include minor disciplinary infractions, a pattern of misconduct, and commission of a serious offense, to include abuse of illegal drugs, and convictions by civil authorities. 2. The characterization is based upon the quality of the Soldier’s service, including the reason for separation and determined in accordance with standards of acceptable personal conduct and performance of duty as found in the UCMJ, Army Regulations, and the time-honored customs and traditions of the Army. The reasons for separation, including the specific circumstances that form the basis for the discharge are considered on the issue of characterization. 3. Possible characterizations of service include an honorable, general, under honorable conditions, under other than honorable conditions, or uncharacterized if the Soldier is in entry-level status. However, the permissible range of characterization varies based on the reason for separation. 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 record of service and the issue submitted with the application, there are insufficient mitigating factors to merit an upgrade of the applicant's discharge. The available record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to his discharge from the Army Reserve. 2. The applicant’s available record contains a properly constituted Order which was authenticated by the appropriate military authority. This document identifies the characterization of the discharge and the presumption of government regularity prevails in the discharge process. 3. 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 provided no independent corroborating evidence demonstrating that either the command's action was erroneous and insufficient evidence to show that his service mitigated the type of discharge he received from the U.S. Army Reserve. 5. The applicant contends that an upgrade of his discharge would allow educational benefits through the use of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. However, eligibility for veteran's benefits to include educational benefits under the Post-9/11 or Montgomery GI Bill does not fall within the purview of the Army Discharge Review Board. Accordingly, the applicant should contact a local office of the Department of Veterans Affairs for further assistance. 6. If the applicant desires a personal appearance hearing, it will be his responsibility to meet the burden of proof and provide the appropriate documents (i.e., the discharge packet) or other evidence sufficient to explain the facts, circumstances, and reasons underlying the separation action, for the Board’s consideration because they are not available in the official record. 7. Therefore, based on the available evidence, 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: 24 January 2014 Location: Washington, DC Did the Applicant Testify? NA Counsel: None Witnesses/Observers: NA 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 Authority for Separation: NA Change RE Code to: NA Grade Restoration to: 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) AR20130009982 Page 5 of 5 pages ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB) CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE 1