IN THE CASE OF: Mr. BOARD DATE: 17 December 2014 CASE NUMBER: AR20140002086 ___________________________________________________________________________ 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 general, under honorable conditions discharge to honorable. 2. The applicant states, in effect, the discharge is improper because he was undergoing medical treatment for conditions which occurred during his deployment to Afghanistan. The applicant contends he was suffering from PTSD and was never afforded the opportunity for counsel. The applicant also contends he was not given an exit exam, which would have confirmed his PTSD. The applicant states his PTSD was later confirmed by both the Albuquerque VA Hospital and the Albuquerque Veterans Center. DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION: a. Application Receipt Date: 29 January 2014 b. Discharge Received: General, Under Honorable Conditions c. Date of Discharge: 1 September 2004 d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code: NIF, AR 135-178, NIF, NIF e. Unit of assignment: Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 372d Quartermaster Battalion, Albuquerque, New Mexico f. Current Enlistment Date/Term: 17 February 2000/6 years g. Current Enlistment Service: 4 years, 6 months, 16 days h. Total Service: 15 years, 2 months, 3 days i. Time Lost: None j. Previous Discharges: ADT, 020219-030413, HD (Concurrent service) USAR, 910313-990316, HD k. Highest Grade Achieved: E-6 l. Military Occupational Specialty: 77L30, Petroleum Lab Specialist m. GT Score: NIF n. Education: Associate’s Degree o. Overseas Service: SWA p. Combat Service: Uzbekistan/Afghanistan (020604-030304) q. Decorations/Awards: ARCOM, AAM, NDSM, AFRM w/”M”, NPDR-2, ASR, OSR, ACM-BS, GWOTSM r. Administrative Separation Board: No s. Performance Ratings: No t. Counseling Statements: No u. Prior Board Review: No SUMMARY OF SERVICE: The applicant enlisted in the Army Reserve on 17 February 2000, for a period of 6 years. He was 28 years old at the time of entry and a college graduate. He served in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, earned an ARCOM and an AAM and completed 15 years, 2 months, and 3 days of creditable military service. When his discharge proceedings were initiated, he was serving at Albuquerque, New Mexico. SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES: 1. The available evidence shows the applicant’s record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events that led to his discharge from the United States Army Reserve. 2. The record indicates that on 1 September 2004, Department of the Army, Headquarters, 90th Regional Readiness Command, North Little Rock, AR, Orders 04-245-00034, discharged the applicant from the United States Army Reserve, effective 1 September 2004, with an under honorable conditions (general) discharge. 3. The applicant’s service record does not contain any evidence of unauthorized absences or time lost. EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD: Discharge Order Number 04-245-00034, dated 1 September 2004, Department of the Army, Headquarters, 90th Regional Readiness Command, North Little Rock, Arkansas 72118-1093, discharged the applicant from the United States Army Reserve effective 1 September 2004. EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT: The applicant provided the following documents in support of his application: a. Active Duty Training Orders Number 099623, dated 24 September 2001, for a period of two duty days, b. Annual Training Orders Number 000336, dated 25 September 2001, for a period of 22 days in Cairo, Egypt, c. Mobilization Orders Number M-106-0013, dated 16 April 2002, for a period of 365 days in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, d. DA Form 638 (Recommendation for Award), applicant was recommended for award of the Bronze Star Medal; however, the award was downgraded to an ARCOM. A copy of the ARCOM certificate was also included, e. New Mexico VA Health Care System Medical Forms (5 pages), f. New Mexico HCS Surgical Information, dated 5 August 2011 (6 pages), g. Vet Center, Veteran Information Form (11 pages); and, h. Two Department of Veterans Affairs letters, dated 9 December 2003 and 4 March 2011, regarding service-connected compensation. POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: None was provided 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, the documents and the issues submitted with the application, there are insufficient mitigating factors to merit an upgrade of the applicant's discharge. The service 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 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 discharge he received from the US Army Reserve. 5. The applicant contends he was undergoing medical treatment for conditions which occurred during his deployment and that he was suffering from PTSD. The service record contains no evidence of a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder diagnosis or any indication that the applicant was suffering from a disabling medical or mental condition during his discharge processing that would have warranted his separation processing through medical channels 6. The applicant provided letters from the Department of Veterans Affairs granting service-connected compensation. The fact the Veterans Administration has granted the applicant service connection for medical conditions the applicant suffered while on active duty does not support a conclusion that these conditions rendered the applicant unfit for further service at the time of his discharge processing. 7. The applicant contends the discharge was improper because he was not afforded counsel and was not given an exit exam. However, there is a presumption of regularity in the conduct of governmental affairs that shall be applied in any review unless there is substantial credible evidence to rebut the presumption. The applicant bears the burden of overcoming this presumption through the presentation of substantial and credible evidence to support this issue. There is no evidence in the record, nor has the applicant produced any evidence to support the contention that he was unjustly discriminated. The applicant’s statements alone do not overcome the government’s presumption of regularity and no additional corroborating and supporting documentation or further evidence has been provided with the request for an upgrade of the discharge. 8. 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: 17 December 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 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) AR20140002086 Page 6 of 6 pages ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB) CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE 1