IN THE CASE OF: Mr. BOARD DATE: 14 November 2014 CASE NUMBER: AR20140013819 ___________________________________________________________________________ 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 and a change to his reentry code. 2. The applicant states, in effect, his request for upgrade is based on his hasty removal from the Army. He states his trouble was not due to any act of violence. He was unaware of the special laws in Georgia in conjunction with his emotional stress due to his divorce at the time. The applicant states the city citations he received were dismissed and/or paid however, they played a large part in his chain of command’s decision. He also states one citation was filed in error. He takes full responsibility for his actions and has made every effort to be the Soldier he once was and hope to be again. He believes his overall conduct in the Army met the standards and he desires another opportunity to show the Army that he can exceed those standards. He states the incidents were not a full representation of the type of Soldier he was and wants to be. He hopes the Board will provide him the opportunity to contribute to the protection of the Nation because that is what he has always wanted to do in life. DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION: a. Application Receipt Date: 1 August 2014 b. Discharge Received: General, Under Honorable Conditions c. Date of Discharge: 4 November 2011 d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code: Misconduct (Serious Offense), AR 635-200, Chapter 14-12c, JKQ, RE-3 e. Unit of assignment: C Company, 2-3 Brigade Special Troops Battalion, Fort Stewart, GA f. Current Enlistment Date/Term: 24 February 2010/NIF g. Current Enlistment Service: 1 year, 8 months, 11 days h. Total Service: 3 years, 8 months, 10 days i. Time Lost: None j. Previous Discharges: DEP, 080225-081203, NA RA, 100224-111104, HD k. Highest Grade Achieved: E-4 l. Military Occupational Specialty: 12B10, Combat Engineer m. GT Score: 105 n. Education: HS Graduate o. Overseas Service: SWA p. Combat Service: Iraq (090505-100423) q. Decorations/Awards: ARCOM, MUC, NDSM, GWOTSM, ICM-CS, ASR, OSR r. Administrative Separation Board: NA s. Performance Ratings: NA t. Counseling Statements: Yes u. Prior Board Review: No SUMMARY OF SERVICE: The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 4 December 2008, for a period of 3 years and 2 weeks. He was 19 years old at the time of entry and a high school graduate. He reenlisted on 24 February 2010 (NIF). He served in Iraq, and earned an ARCOM. He completed 3 years, 8 months, 10 days of active duty service. When the applicant’s discharge proceedings were initiated, he was serving in Fort Stewart, Georgia. SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES: 1. On 4 October 2011, the unit commander notified the applicant of initiation of separation action under Army Regulation 635-200, misconduct (serious offense). Specifically for: a. failing to go at the time prescribed to his appointed place of duty on three occasions (110412, 110713, and 110714); b. being arrested for three failures to appear in civilian court and driving while his license was suspended; c. failing to obey a lawful general regulation or order on two occasions (110527 and 110714); d. being arrested for failure to appear in civilian court (110706), and e. failing to obey a traffic control device for which he received an Article 15 (110907). 2. Based on the above misconduct, the unit commander recommended a general, under honorable conditions discharge. 3. On 5 October 2011, the applicant consulted with legal counsel, was advised of the impact of the discharge action, and submitted a statement in his own behalf. The unit commander subsequently recommended separation from the Army and waiver of further rehabilitative efforts. The intermediate commander reviewed the proposed action and recommended approval with a general, under honorable conditions discharge. 4. On 24 October 2011, the separation authority waived further rehabilitation efforts and directed the applicant’s discharge with a characterization of service of general, under honorable conditions. 5. The applicant was separated on 4 November 2011, under Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 14-12c, with a general, under honorable conditions discharge, an SPD code of JKQ, and an RE code of 3. 6. The applicant’s record does not contain any evidence of unauthorized absences or time lost. EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD: 1. Incident Report, dated 14 May 2011, reflects the applicant was the subject of an investigation for simple assault and simple battery. 2. DA Form 3822 (Report of Mental Status Evaluation), dated 14 September 2011, reflects the applicant had no obvious impairments, and could distinguish the difference between right and wrong. The applicant had negative screen results for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and mild Traumatic Stress Disorder (mTBI). 3. A memorandum for record, dated 8 September 2011, documents the applicant’s pattern of misconduct. 4. Numerous negative counseling statements dated between 5 April 2011 and 8 September 2011, for failure to obey federal, state, and local laws x 2 (110706 and 110908), failure to obey a lawful order x 4 (110412, 110706, 110715 and 110908), failure to pay a debt in violation of Article 134, failure to report x 2 (110412 and 110715), violation of general Article 134, not wearing his seatbelt, failure to appear in court, failure to be at appointed place of duty, being in the wrong uniform, uniform deficiencies x 2 (110405 and 110412), and disrespect toward a senior NCO. 5. Multiple CCIRs, dated between 8 September 2011 and 15 September 2011, reflects the applicant was arrested for failing to stop for a traffic control device, driving with a suspended driver’s license, failure to yield while turning, and failure to appear in court. 6. Court documents from Darien Municipal Court related to a traffic citation received 27 December 2010. EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT: The applicant provided a DD Form 293, dated 28 July 2014, a DD Form 214, a self-authored statement, date 28 July 2014, court documents from the State of Georgia, and two certificates of completion, dated 16 May 2013 and 30 May 2013. POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: The applicant did not provide any in support of his application. REGULATORY AUTHORITY: 1. Army Regulation 635-200 sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel. Chapter 14 establishes policy and prescribes procedures for separating members for misconduct. Specific categories include minor disciplinary infractions, a pattern of misconduct, and commission of a serious offense, to include abuse of illegal drugs, convictions by civil authorities and desertion or being absent without leave. Action will be taken to separate a member for misconduct when it is clearly established that rehabilitation is impractical or unlikely to succeed. 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. 2. Army Regulation 635-200, paragraph 3-7a, provides that an honorable discharge is a separation with honor and entitles the recipient to benefits provided by law. The honorable characterization is appropriate when the quality of the member’s service generally has met the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty for Army personnel, or is otherwise so meritorious that any other characterization would be clearly inappropriate. Whenever there is doubt, it is to be resolved in favor of the individual. 3. Army Regulation 635-200, paragraph 3-7b, provides that a general discharge is a separation from the Army under honorable conditions. When authorized, it is issued to a Soldier whose military record is satisfactory but not sufficiently meritorious to warrant an honorable discharge. A characterization of under honorable conditions may be issued only when the reason for the Soldier’s separation specifically allows such characterization. 4. Army Regulation 635-5-1 (Separation Program Designator (SPD) Codes) provides the specific authorities (regulatory or directive), reasons for separating Soldiers from active duty, and the SPD codes to be entered on the DD Form 214. It identifies the SPD code of "JKQ" as the appropriate code to assign enlisted Soldiers who are discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 14, misconduct (serious offense). 5. The SPD Code/RE Code Cross Reference Table shows that a Soldier assigned an SPD Code of "JKQ" will be assigned an RE Code of 3. DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION: 1. The applicant’s request for a upgrade of his discharge and change to the reentry code was carefully considered. However, after examining the applicant’s service record, the documents and the issues submitted with the application, there are insufficient mitigating factors to merit a change to the applicant's discharge. 2. The record confirms that the applicant’s discharge was appropriate because the quality of his service was not consistent with the Army's standards for acceptable personal conduct and performance of duty by military personnel. It brought discredit on the Army, and was prejudicial to good order and discipline. The applicant diminished the quality of his service below that meriting a fully honorable discharge. The applicant’s record of service was marred by multiple negative counseling statements. 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 contends he was hastly removed from the Army. However, the rationale the applicant provided as the basis for what he believes was an unfair discharge is not supportable by the evidence contained in the record and can only be viewed as speculative in nature. 5. The applicant contends that he was going through a divorce and did not understand the special laws for the State of Georgia. He contends this affected his behavior and ultimately caused him to be discharged. However, he had many legitimate avenues through which to obtain assistance or relief and there is no evidence in the record that he ever sought such assistance before committing the misconduct which led to the separation action under review. 6. The applicant desires to rejoin the Military Service. However, Soldiers being processed for separation are assigned reentry codes based on their service records or the reason for discharge. Based on Army Regulation 635-5-1 and the SPD Code/RE Code Cross Reference Table the applicant was appropriately assigned an RE code of 3. There is no basis upon which to grant a change to the reason or to the RE code. An RE Code of 3 indicates the applicant requires a waiver prior to being allowed to reenlist. If reenlistment is desired, the applicant should contact a local recruiter to determine eligibility to reenlist. Recruiters can best advise a former service member as to the needs of the Army at the time, and are required to process waivers of reentry eligibility (RE) codes if appropriate. 7. The records show the proper discharge and separation authority procedures were followed in this case. 8. Therefore, the reason for discharge and the characterization of service being both proper and equitable, recommend the Board deny relief. SUMMARY OF ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD HEARING: Type of Hearing: Records Review Date: 14 November 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 DD Form 214: 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) AR20140013819 Page 7 of 7 pages ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB) CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE 1