AIR FORCE DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD DECISIONAL DOCUMENT  
	CASE NUMBER

FD-2021-00666	
					
SUMMARY: 

The applicant was discharged on 1 October 2015 in accordance with AFI 36-3208 with a General Discharge for Misconduct (Minor Infractions). The applicant appealed for an upgrade of his discharge characterization.

The applicant was not represented by counsel.    

The applicant requested the board be completed based on a records only review.

The attached examiner’s brief (provided to applicant only), extracted from available service records, contains pertinent data regarding the circumstances and character of the applicant’s military service. 

DISCUSSION:  The DRB, under its responsibility to examine the propriety and equity of an applicant’s discharge, is authorized to change the characterization of service and the narrative reason for discharge if such changes are warranted.  If applicable, the board can also change the applicant’s reenlistment eligibility code.  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 determine if the discharge met the pertinent standards of equity and propriety.  

The applicant’s record of service included an Article 15, multiple Letters of Reprimand, and a Letter of Counseling.  His misconduct included:  Failure to report for scheduled mandatory appointments; made a false claim against the United States for BAH and BAS in the amount of $8129.96 as the member lived in the dormitory on base; failure to report to fitness assessment (x2), lied by stating that he did attend the appointment; allowed his waiver to expire prior to test, resulting in being 2 months overdue.

The applicant applied in an attempt to explain the situation and to ask for forgiveness. The applicant stated that he does not think of his mental health issues as an excuse for the mistake he made, but uses it to compare his life and how far he’s come since then.

The DRB reviewed the applicant’s entire service record and found no evidence of impropriety or inequity to warrant an upgrade of the discharge. The DRB acknowledges that the applicant has been successful since leaving the Air Force.  However, this is not a matter of inequity or impropriety which would warrant an upgrade.  

LIBERAL CONSIDERATION:

Due to evidence of a mental health condition found in the applicant’s medical record, the Board considered the case based on the liberal consideration (LC) standards required by guidance from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and 10 USC §1553.  The Board included a member who is a physician, clinical psychologist, or psychiatrist.  Specifically, the Board reviewed the four questions the Under Secretary of Defense provided that boards should consider when weighing evidence in requests for modification of discharges due in whole or in part to mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI); sexual assault, and sexual harassment.  The Board considered the following: 

1. Did the veteran have a condition or experience that may excuse or mitigate the discharge? 

The applicant contends that he was “severely depressed” during his time in service; but also, the applicant states in his application statement “I feel that I must say, however, that I do not think of the mental health issue as an excuse for the mistake that I made in not informing someone about my incorrect pay. I do however use it as a measuring stick for my current life to show myself how far I have come.” 

2. Did that condition exist/experience occur during military service? 

There is evidence the applicant sought and received mental health treatment during his time in service and received the diagnoses of adjustment disorder with depressed mood, and unspecified depressive disorder and unspecified anxiety disorder. 

3. Does that condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? 

The applicant acknowledged in his personal statement that his mental health condition did not excuse the misconduct that led to his discharge. In concurrence with the applicant, the presence of a diagnosis or mental health condition in service, in and of itself, does not excuse misconduct nor mitigate a discharge.  Rather he is requesting forgiveness (clemency) and noted “I am extremely pleased to say that, while still suffering from depression, as that will never go away as long as I live, I am living with successfully.”

4. Does that condition or experience outweigh the discharge? 

Because the applicant’s condition did not mitigate his discharge, it does not outweigh it.

Additionally, the Board considered the factors laid out in the attachment to the Under Secretary of Defense memorandum, Guidance to Military Discharge Review Boards and Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records Regarding Equity, Injustice, or Clemency Determinations, dated 25 June 2018, known as the “Wilkie Memo.”  The Board considered the following applicable factors listed in paragraphs (7)(a)-(7)(r) of the “Wilkie memo:”

a.	The applicant’s candor;

The board acknowledges the applicant honesty; however, the board must find inequity or impropriety within the applicant’s discharge in order to upgrade the request. Since the board found the discharge proper and equitable, the discharge upgrade was not approved. 

FINDING:  The DRB voted unanimously to deny the applicant’s request to upgrade his discharge characterization to Honorable, to change the discharge narrative reason to Secretarial Authority, and to change the reenlistment eligibility code to 2C or 3K.
 
CONCLUSION:  After a thorough review of the available evidence, to include the Applicant’s issues, summary of service, medical record entries, and discharge process, the Board found the discharge was proper. Therefore, the characterization of service shall remain General, the narrative reason for separation shall remain “Misconduct (Minor Infractions)”, and the reenlistment code shall remain 2B. The AFDRB results were approved by the board president on 25 April 2022.  If desired, the applicant can request a list of the board members and their votes by writing to:  

Air Force Review Boards Agency
Attn: Discharge Review Board
3351 Celmers Lane
Joint Base Andrews, NAF Washington, MD 20762-6602  
Instructions on how to appeal an AFDRB decision can be found at 
https://afrbaportal.azurewebsites.us

Attachment:
Examiner's Brief (Applicant Only)