AIR FORCE DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD DECISIONAL DOCUMENT  
	CASE NUMBER

FD-2021-00570	
					
SUMMARY: 

The applicant was discharged on 19 May 2020 in accordance with AFI 36-3208 with an Entry Level Separation for Erroneous Entry. The applicant appealed for an upgrade of his reenlistment eligibility code.  The Board was conducted on 3 February 2022.

The applicant was not represented by counsel.    

The applicant appeared and testified before the Discharge Review Board (DRB), without counsel, via video teleconference using Zoom. No witnesses were present to testify on the applicant’s behalf. 

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 stated that he was being interviewed for TS clearance and was asked if he took medication while seeing a therapist prior to service. He explained that at the time of questioning, he was unaware he was prescribed antidepressants while trying to adjust to being away from home, at college and added that his dad had to call the insurance company to find out what medication he was prescribed. 

In the Personal Appearance (PA) hearing, the applicant stated that when he was asked about seeing a mental health provider prior to his service, during and after college, he did not know his diagnosis or what medication he was taking at that time. Additionally, the applicant stated that he did not tell MEPS about the visits because he didn’t know he had to. The member also contended during the PA that he disagreed with the pre-service mental health condition diagnosis. 

The DRB reviewed the applicant’s entire service record and found no evidence of impropriety or inequity to warrant an upgrade of the reenlistment eligibility code. The board noted that the applicant should be able to meet MEPS standards with the signed accession waiver memorandum from the Air Force Surgeon General.  

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 makes no contentions of a mental health condition in service. There is evidence the applicant was assessed by mental health providers in service related to his pre-service mental health conditions, diagnosis, and treatment. 

2. Did that condition exist/experience occur during military service? 
There is no evidence or records to indicate the applicant had any mental health conditions during his time in service. 

3. Does that condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? 
The applicant received an ELS discharge for erroneous entry for failing to disclose pre-service conditions. There is no evidence the applicant had any in-service conditions that caused his discharge. There is no evidence the applicant had any unfitting mental health conditions at the time of his discharge.

4. Does that condition or experience outweigh the discharge? 
The applicant received an ELS discharge for failing to disclose pre-service conditions. There were no errors identified in the discharge processing based on the available information provided by the applicant for review, and therefore does not outweigh the discharge.

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, service/medical record entries, and discharge process, the Board found the discharge was proper. Therefore, the characterization of service shall remain Entry Level Separation, the narrative reason for separation shall Erroneous Entry, and the reentry code shall remain 2B. The AFDRB results were approved by the board president on 8 February 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)