IN THE CASE OF: Mr. BOARD DATE: 25 March 2015 CASE NUMBER: AR20140007048 ___________________________________________________________________________ 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 characterization of service to honorable. 2. The applicant states, in effect, he is requesting an upgrade of his discharge because he desires to volunteer at The Mission Continues, a non-profit organization. He contends, he was dealing with family issues when he stopped attending drill 6-9 months prior to his discharge. He states, he regrets leaving the military but at the time he did not know how to handle the situation and his family took priority. DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION: a. Application Receipt Date: 17 April 2014 b. Discharge Received: General, Under Honorable Conditions c. Date of Discharge: 1 June 2001 d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code: Unsatisfactory Participant, NGR 600-300, Paragraph 8-27f, NIF, RE-3CW e. Unit of assignment: HHD, 206th Corps Support Battalion, Brooklyn, NY f. Current Enlistment Date/Term: 28 February 1997/8 years g. Current Enlistment Service: 4 years, 3 months, 4 days h. Total Service: 4 years, 3 months, 4 days i. Time Lost: NIF j. Previous Discharges: ADT, 970708-971210, UNC k. Highest Grade Achieved: E-4 l. Military Occupational Specialty: 92A10, Automated Logistics Specialist m. GT Score: 90 n. Education: GED o. Overseas Service: None p. Combat Service: None q. Decorations/Awards: ASR r. Administrative Separation Board: NA s. Performance Ratings: NA t. Counseling Statements: NIF u. Prior Board Review: No SUMMARY OF SERVICE: The applicant enlisted in the Army National Guard on 28 February 1997, for a period of 8 years. He was 17 years old at the time of entry and had a General Equivalency Diploma (GED). His record is void of any significant awards of valor and achievement. He completed 4 years, 3 months, 4 days of creditable military service. When his discharge proceedings were initiated, he was serving in New York. SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES: 1. The applicant’s service record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to his discharge from the Army National Guard. 2. The record indicates that on 3 October 2001, Office of the Adjutant General, State of New York, Latham, New York, Orders 276-011, discharged the applicant from the Army National Guard, effective 1 June 2001, with a general, under honorable conditions discharge and assigned him to the USAR Control Group (Annual Training), St Louis, Missouri to complete his statutory obligation. 3. The record contains a properly constituted NGB Form 22 (Report of Separation and Record of Service). It indicates the applicant was discharged under the provisions of paragraph 8-27f, NGR 600-200, with a characterization of service of general, under honorable conditions, and a reenlistment eligibility (RE) code of 3 CW. 4. On 7 April 2014, the Director, Military Personnel, Headquarters, New York Army National Guard, reviewed the applicant’s request for a change in his discharge, narrative reason for separation and reentry code and denied the request. EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD: Orders Number 276-011, dated 3 October 2001. EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT: The applicant provided a DD Form 293, dated 10 April 2014, a NGB Form 22, a letter of support from Ms. S, a letter from Headquarters, New York Army National Guard, Watervliet, NY, dated 7 April 2014, and a letter from Case Management Division, ARBA, dated 20 February 2014. POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: The applicant did not provide any in support of his application. REGULATORY AUTHORITY: 1. National Guard Regulation (NGR) 600-200 and Army Regulation 135-91 govern procedures covering enlisted personnel management of the Army National Guard. Chapter 8 of NGR 600-200 covers, in pertinent part, reasons for discharge and separation of enlisted personnel from the State Army National Guard. Paragraph 8-27f of that regulation stipulates that individuals can be separated for being an unsatisfactory participant. Army Regulation 135-91 states that a member is an unsatisfactory participant when nine or more unexcused absences from scheduled drills occur during a 1 year period. 2. Army policy states that an under other than honorable conditions discharge is normally considered appropriate; however, a general, under honorable conditions or an honorable discharge may be granted. 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, his military records, the documents and the issues submitted with the application, there are insufficient mitigating factors to merit an upgrade of the applicant's discharge. 2. The applicant’s record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to his discharge from the State of New York Army National Guard. However, the record does contain a properly constituted NGB Form 22, which indicates the applicant was unavailable for signature. This document identifies the reason and characterization of the service. The NGB Form 22 shows the applicant was discharged under the provisions of paragraph 8-27f, NGR 600-200, by reason of being an unsatisfactory participant with a characterization of service of general, under honorable conditions. 3. The applicant provided no independent corroborating evidence demonstrating that either the command's action was erroneous or that the applicant’s service mitigated the misconduct or poor duty performance. 4. The applicant's contention was carefully considered. However, a determination as to the merit of his contention cannot be made because the facts and circumstances leading to the discharge are unknown. The burden of proof remains with the applicant to provide the appropriate documents such as the discharge packet or other evidence sufficient to explain the facts, circumstances, and reasons underlying the separation action, for the Board's consideration. If the applicant desires a personal appearance hearing, it will still be his responsibility to meet the burden of proof since the discharge packet is not available in the official record. 5. The applicant provided documentation from the Headquarters, New York Army National Guard, indicating on 7 April 2014, his request for a discharge upgrade, a change to the narrative reason, and reentry code was denied. 6. Therefore, based on the available evidence and the presumption of government regularity, it appears the reason for discharge and the characterization of service are both proper and equitable, thus recommend the Board deny relief. SUMMARY OF ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD HEARING: Type of Hearing: Records Review Date: 25 March 2015 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 NGB Form 22: No Change Characterization to: No Change Change Reason to: No Change Change Authority for Separation: NA Change RE Code to: No Change 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) AR20140007048 Page 5 of 5 pages ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB) CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE 1