IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 29 October 2014 CASE NUMBER: AR20140000100 ___________________________________________________________________________ Board Determination and Directed Action After carefully examining the applicant's available 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 under other than honorable conditions discharge to general, under honorable conditions. 2. The applicant states, in effect, he has medical records and a note to justify why he was absent from his drills. He was wrongfully marked absent and was only informed through the mail of his discharge. He further states if there was any other reason for his discharge he was not properly informed or given a trial. He has been trying for over a year to have this issue resolved and his discharge changed. DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION: a. Application Receipt Date: 18 December 2013 b. Discharge Received: Under Other Than Honorable Conditions c. Date of Discharge: 25 December 2012 d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code: AR 135-178, Chapter NIF e. Unit of assignment: Company A, (BSB CSB), CS Battalion, Jersey City, NJ f. Current Enlistment Date/Term: 8 September 2007, 1 year g. Current Enlistment Service: 5 years, 3 months, 18 days h. Total Service: 27 years, 9 months, 5 days i. Time Lost: NIF j. Previous Discharges: USAR 850320-850710/NA RA 850711-880412/HD ARNG 880413-881101/HD USARCG 881102-910509/NA ARNG 910510-930201/HD USARCG 930202-970516/NA USAR 970517-040930/NA AD 041001-061226/HD USAR 061227-070907/HD (Concurrent Service) k. Highest Grade Achieved: E-5 l. Military Occupational Specialty: 92A20, Automated Logistical Specialist m. GT Score: 89 n. Education: HS Graduate o. Overseas Service: Southwest Asia p. Combat Service: Kuwait (041120-051112) q. Decorations/Awards: AAM, AGCM, NDSM-2, GWOTEM, GWOTSM, AFRM-w/M Device, ASR, OSR r. Administrative Separation Board: No s. Performance Ratings: NIF t. Counseling Statements: NIF u. Prior Board Review: No SUMMARY OF SERVICE: On 20 March 1985, the applicant joined the Army Reserve and the National Guard and subsequently reenlisted in the Army Reserve on several occasions. He was 43 years old when he reenlisted on 8 September 2007. His academic training shows he is a high school graduate, based on the available documents in the record. He served 5 years, 3 months, and 18 days of reserve service during the period of service under review and had a total of 27 years, 9 months and 5 days of active duty and reserve service. His record does not contain any significant 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 on 18 December 2012, Department of the Army, Headquarters, 99th Regional Support Command, Fort Dix, NJ, issued Orders 12-353-00138, which discharged the applicant from the United States Army Reserve, effective: 25 December 2012, with an under other than honorable conditions discharge and reduced him to the lowest enlisted grade of rank to Private (E-1). 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 Oder 12-353-00138 dated 18 December 2012. EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT: The applicant provided two letters from his attending physician dated 10 February 2012, 14 November 2012, and a self authored statement dated 31 January 2014. POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: The applicant did not provide any with the application. 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 issues 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 or that his service mitigated the type of characterization of service he received from the U.S. Army Reserve. 5. The applicant contends he has medical records and a note to justify why he was absent from his drills. He was wrongfully marked absent and was only informed through the mail of his discharge. He further states if there was any other reason for his discharge he was not properly informed or given a trial. He has been trying for over a year to have this issue resolved and his discharge changed. 6. There is insufficient evidence available in the official record to make a determination upon the applicant's quality of service under review. Moreover, there is a presumption of regularity in the conduct of governmental affairs which is applied in all Army discharge reviews unless there is substantial credible evidence to rebut the presumption. There is no evidence in the record, nor has the applicant produced any evidence, to support a change to the characterization of service granted. The applicant’s statements alone do not overcome the presumption of government regularity and the application contains no documentation or further evidence in support of this request for an upgrade of the discharge. 7. 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. 8. Therefore, based on the available evidence and the government presumption of regularity, it appears the reason for discharge and the characterization of service are both proper and equitable and recommend the Board deny relief. SUMMARY OF ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD HEARING: Type of Hearing: Records Review Date: 29 October 2014 Location: Washington, DC Did the Applicant Testify? No Witnesses/Observers: NA Board Vote: Character Change: 2 No Change: 3 Reason Change: 0 No Change: 5 (Board member names available upon request) Board Action Directed: Issue a new Discharge Order: 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) AR20140000100 Page 3 of 5 pages ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB) CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE 1