IN THE CASE OF: Mr. BOARD DATE: 8 May 2015 CASE NUMBER: AR20140007291 ___________________________________________________________________________ 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 to upgrade the characterization of his service from uncharacterized to fully honorable. 2. The applicant states, in pertinent part and in effect, that the discharge under review should have been processed as an entry level separation instead of an uncharacterized discharge because unbeknown to him, he had been discharged according to the discharge orders he received from the recruiter he contacted. During his initial enlistment, he never received any U-letters and communication from his reserve unit or the recruiting command during the 9/11 period. However, the recruiter who provided him the orders recruited him into the Reserve in April 2003. DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION: a. Application Receipt Date: 28 April 2014 b. Discharge Received: Uncharacterized c. Date of Discharge: 29 March 2003 d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code: AR 135-178 e. Unit of assignment: 342nd CM Co, Chicago, IL f. Current Enlistment Date/Term: 24 August 2001, 8 years g. Current Enlistment Service: 1 year, 5 months, 6 days h. Total Service: 1 year, 5 months, 6 days i. Time Lost: NIF j. Previous Discharges: None k. Highest Grade Achieved: E-3 l. Military Occupational Specialty: NIF m. GT Score: NIF n. Education: HS Graduate o. Overseas Service: None p. Combat Service: None q. Decorations/Awards: None r. Administrative Separation Board: No s. Performance Ratings: None t. Counseling Statements: NIF u. Prior Board Review: No SUMMARY OF SERVICE: The record shows the applicant enlisted in the US Army Reserve on 24 August 2001, for a period of 8 years. He was 26 years old at the time of entry and a high school graduate. His record documents no acts of valor or significant achievement. He completed 1 years, 5 months, and 6 days of reserve service. 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 discharge orders provided by the applicant indicate that on 29 March 2003, Department of the Army, Headquarters, 88th Regional Support Command, Fort Snelling, MN, Orders 03-088-00029, discharged the applicant from the United States Army Reserve, effective 29 March 2003, with an uncharacterized 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: There are no negative counseling statements or any actions under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT: The applicant provided his discharge orders and two separate enlistment contracts. POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: The records indicate the applicant is currently serving as a staff sergeant in the US Army Reserve. 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 documents and 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. However, the applicant’s submitted evidence, a properly constituted set of Orders, which was authenticated by the appropriate military authority, identifies the characterization of the discharge and the presumption of government regularity prevails in the discharge process. 2. 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. 3. 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 U.S. Army Reserve. 4. The applicant contentions were carefully considered. However, 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. Although the applicant indicates he was unaware of his previous discharge because he was never notified or received any communication from his reserve unit and if he desires a personal appearance hearing, it would still be his responsibility to meet the burden of proof since the discharge packet is not available in the official record. 5. Furthermore, the uncharacterized description of service would reflect the applicant’s overall record of service. An uncharacterized discharge is neither positive nor negative and it is not meant to be a negative reflection of a Soldier’s military service. It merely means that the Soldier has not been in the Army long enough for his or her character of service to be rated as honorable or otherwise. Further, for the applicant’s information, a general, under honorable conditions discharge is not authorized under entry level status conditions and an honorable discharge may be granted only in cases which are clearly warranted by unusual circumstances involving outstanding personal conduct or performance of duty. Currently, there is no record of that such unusual circumstances were present to warrant an honorable discharge. 6. 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: 8 May 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 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) AR20140007291 Page 5 of 5 pages ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB) CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE 1