1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 1 March 2017 b. Date Received: 16 March 2017 c. Counsel: None 2. REQUEST, ISSUES, BOARD TYPE, AND DECISION: The applicant requests to change the narrative reason for her discharge. The applicant seeks relief contending, in pertinent part and in effect, supporting documents will show the circumstances were not consistent with the separation code. In August 2015, the applicant received a GOMOR for misconduct that occurred during a deployment in 2013 to Afghanistan. The investigation was nearly five months before receipt of the GOMOR, which ended a military career. Despite this, the applicant remained strong and served with professionalism. The applicant worked as a Logistics Planning Specialist in the Command Planning Group, and directly for the CASCOM Commanding General as one of the primary speech writers. The applicant maintained a positive attitude, dedication to the mission, and an unwavering loyalty to the organization. Upon returning from Afghanistan in 2013, the applicant knew something was mentally wrong. The applicant suppressed the feelings for as long as possible. In 2014, the applicant made an appointment with Behavioral Health to receive treatment and was diagnosed with mental disorders ranging from Panic Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, etc. The applicant has been receiving treatment since, and most importantly, was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The applicant has established with the Veteran Affairs medical facility to continue treating this mental disorder. The misconduct that resulted in discharge was completely out-of-character, due to untreated PTSD. With proper treatment for PTSD, the applicant would have received disability retirement. The OERs during and after the misconduct show the behavior is completely out of character and was an isolated event. In over six years of service, the applicant never performed subpar, nor been subjected to any conduct, legal or criminal issues. The applicant made one mistake resulting from an untreated mental disorder. The applicant paid the price for the misconduct with the termination of a military career. The applicant is now a mother of two children with so much more potential to grow, and provide for the family. Per the Board's Medical Officer, a voting member, based on the information available for review at the time in the service record, the Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA), and Joint Legacy Viewer (JLV), notes indicate diagnoses of Anxiety Disorder NOS, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, and Panic Disorder. VA records indicate the applicant is 70% service-connected for PTSD. In summary, although the applicant has a BH diagnosis, it is not mitigating for the misconduct which led to separation from the Army. In a records review conducted at Arlington, VA on 6 February 2019, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board denied the request upon finding the separation was both proper and equitable. (Board member names available upon request) 3. DISCHARGE DETAILS: a. Reason / Authority / Codes / Characterization: Unacceptable Conduct / AR 600-8-24, Paragraphs 4-2b and 4-24a(1) / BNC / NA / Honorable b. Date of Discharge: 26 August 2016 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 2 November 2015 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: For conduct unbecoming of an officer as indicated by the GOMOR she received on 7 October 2015, for engaging in an adulterous relationship with an NCO, while deployed to RC East Afghanistan in 2013, and met with the NCO again in spring of 2015, while on leave. (3) Recommended Characterization: Honorable (4) Legal Consultation Date: 16 November 2015, requested resignation in lieu of elimination proceedings (5) DA Ad Hoc Review Board Recommendation: Honorable (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 17 August 2016 / Honorable 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period/Type of Service: 23 November 2009 / NIF b. Age at Current Service / Education / GT Score: 22 / Bachelor of Arts / NA c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: O-3 / 90A 3C 2B Logistics and 92A 3C 2B Quartermaster / 7 years, 1 month, 8 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: USAR ROTC (14 February 2008 to 18 July 2009) / NA APPT (19 July 2009 to 22 November 2009) / NA e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: SWA / Afghanistan (1 January 2012 to 16 November 2013, per ORB) f. Awards and Decorations: ARCOM; AAM-2; NDSM; ACM-2CS; GWOTSM; ASR; OSR; NATO MDL; CAB g. Performance Ratings: Six OERs as follows: 1 August 2010 thru 1 February 2011, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 2 February 2011 thru 1 February 2012, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 2 February 2012 thru 1 October 2012, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 2 October 2012 thru 1 October 2013, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 2 October 2013 thru 10 June 2015 (Company Plate OER), Excels 11 June 2015 thru 12 November 2015 (Company Plate OER), RFC, Unsatisfactory h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand with its associated documents, dated 7 October 2015, indicates the applicant was reprimanded for engaging in an adulterous relationship with a married SFC, and for violating CENTCOM General Order Number 1, while she was deployed to Afghanistan in 2013. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: None / NA j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: Reports of Medical History and Medical Assessment, dated 8 December 2015, both indicate the applicant noted behavioral health issues. Report of Mental Status Evaluation, dated 28 January 2016, indicates an "AXIS I" diagnoses of "Anxiety Disorder, NOS; Depression," and that she was cleared by Behavioral Health for any administrative actions deemed appropriate by her command. Applicant's documentary evidence: VA letter, dated 29 November 2016, indicates she was assigned 70 percent evaluation for PTSD (also claimed as panic disorder, anxiety disorder, and depression). 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: Online application; applicant-authored statement, dated 1 March 2017; DD Form 214 with Honorable certificate; Army volunteer record; VA letter, dated 24 January 2017; VA letter, dated 29 November 2016; Army Volunteer Record; two letters of recommendations; and two OERs (ending in 20131001 and ending in 20150610). 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: None provided with the application. 7. REGULATORY CITATION(S): Army Regulation (AR) 600-8-24, Officer Transfers and Discharges, sets forth the basic authority for the separation of commissioned and warrant officers. Chapter 4 outlines the policy and procedure for the elimination of officers from the active Army for substandard performance of duty, misconduct, moral or professional dereliction, and in the interest of national security. 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 "BNC" as the appropriate code to assign Soldiers who are discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 600-8-24, Chapter 4, paragraphs 4-2b and 4-24a(1), unacceptable conduct, pursuant to resignation or voluntary discharge in lieu of elimination proceedings. National Defense Authorization Act 2017 provided specific guidance to the Military Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records and Discharge Review Boards when considering discharge upgrade requests by Veterans claiming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in connection with combat or sexual assault or sexual harassment as a basis for discharge review. Further, it provided that Boards will include, as a voting board member, a physician trained in mental health disorders, a clinical psychologist, or a psychiatrist when the discharge upgrade claim asserts a mental health condition, including PTSD; TBI; as a basis for the discharge. In August 2017, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness provided further clarifying guidance to the Military Discharge Review Boards and Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records when considering requests by Veterans for modification of their discharge due to mental health conditions, including PTSD; TBI; sexual assault; or sexual harassment. Liberal consideration will be given to Veterans petitioning for discharge relief when the application for relief is based in whole or in part on matters relating to mental health conditions, including PTSD; TBI; sexual assault; or sexual harassment. Special consideration will be given to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) determinations that document a mental health condition, including PTSD; TBI; or sexual assault/harassment potentially contributed to the circumstances resulting in a less than honorable discharge characterization. Special consideration will also be given in cases where a civilian provider confers diagnoses of a mental health condition, including PTSD; TBI; or sexual assault/harassment if the case records contain narratives supporting symptomatology at the time of service or when any other evidence which may reasonably indicate that a mental health condition, including PTSD; TBI; or sexual assault/harassment existed at the time of discharge might have mitigated the misconduct that caused a discharge of lesser characterization. Conditions documented in the service record that can reasonably be determined to have existed at the time of discharge will be considered to have existed at the time of discharge. In cases in which a mental health condition, including PTSD; TBI; or sexual assault/harassment may be reasonably determined to have existed at the time of discharge, those conditions will be considered potential mitigating factors in the misconduct that caused the characterization of service in question. All Boards will exercise caution in weighing evidence of mitigation in cases in which serious misconduct precipitated a discharge with a less than Honorable characterization of service. Potentially mitigating evidence of the existence of undiagnosed combat related PTSD, PTSD-related conditions due to TBI or sexual assault/harassment as causative factors in the misconduct resulting in discharge will be carefully weighed against the severity of the misconduct. PTSD is not a likely cause of premeditated misconduct. Caution shall be exercised in weighing evidence of mitigation in all cases of misconduct by carefully considering the likely causal relationship of symptoms to the misconduct. 8. DISCUSSION OF FACT(S): The applicant requests to change the narrative reason for her discharge. The applicant's available record of service, and the issues and documents submitted with her application were carefully reviewed. The record confirms her discharge based on unacceptable conduct was appropriate because the quality of her service was not consistent with the Army's standards for acceptable personal conduct and performance of duty by Army officers. It brought discredit on the Army and was prejudicial to good order and discipline. The applicant provided no corroborating evidence demonstrating that the command's action was erroneous or sufficient evidence showing her service mitigated the unacceptable conduct or poor duty performance, such that she should have been retained on Active Duty. The applicant requests to change the reason for her separation; however, the narrative reason for her separation is governed by specific directives and as approved by the separation authority. The narrative reason specified by AR 635-5-1 for a discharge under AR 600-8-24, Chapter 4, paragraphs 4-2b and 4-24a(1) is "Unacceptable Conduct," and the separation code is BNC. The regulation further stipulates that no deviation is authorized. There is no provision for any other reason to be entered under this regulation. The applicant's contentions regarding her behavioral health issues which involved being diagnosed with PTSD, were carefully considered. A careful review of the available record and the applicant's documentary evidence indicates the applicant's behavioral health issues along with notable service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms existed, and the applicant contends they were contributing factors that led to her misconduct. If the Board determines the applicant's behavioral health issues were significant contributing factors to her misconduct, it can grant appropriate relief by changing the reason for separation. The applicant contends the incident that caused her discharge was an isolated incident. Although a single incident, the discrediting entry constituted a departure from the standards of conduct expected of Soldiers in the Army. The applicable Army regulation states there are circumstances in which the conduct or performance of duty reflected by a single incident provides the basis for a characterization. The applicant's incident of misconduct adversely affected the quality of her service, brought discredit on the Army, and was prejudicial to good order and discipline. The applicant's service accomplishments and the quality of her service prior to the incidents and subsequently, the Board can find that her complete period of service and accomplishments were or were not sufficiently mitigating to warrant the relief she is requesting. The applicant contends she is mother of two children with so much more potential to grow, and provide for herself and family, perhaps an indication for better employment opportunities. However, the Board does not grant relief for the purpose of gaining employment or enhancing employment opportunities. The record does not contain any indication or evidence of arbitrary or capricious actions by the command and all requirements of law and regulation were met and the rights of the applicant were fully protected throughout the separation process. The discharge was consistent with the procedural and substantive requirements of the regulation, was within the discretion of the separation authority, and the applicant was provided full administrative due process. 9. BOARD DETERMINATION: In a records review conducted at Arlington, VA on 6 February 2019, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board denied the request upon finding the separation was both proper and equitable. 10. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New DD-214 / Issue a New Separation Order: No b. Change Characterization to: No Change c. Change Reason to: No Change d. Change Authority to: No Change e. Change SPD / RE Code to: No Change Authenticating Official: Legend: AWOL - Absent Without Leave GD - General Discharge NCO - Noncommissioned Officer SCM - Summary Court Martial BCD - Bad Conduct Discharge HS - High School NIF - Not in File SPCM - Special Court Martial BH - Behavioral Health HD - Honorable Discharge NOS - Not Otherwise Specified SPD - Separation Program Designator CG - Company Grade Article 15 IADT - Initial Active Duty Training OAD - Ordered to Active Duty TBI - Traumatic Brain Injury CID - Criminal Investigation Division MP - Military Police OMPF - Official Military Personnel File UNC - Uncharacterized Discharge ELS - Entry Level Status MST - Military Sexual Trauma PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder UOTHC - Under Other Than Honorable Conditions FG - Field Grade Article 15 NA - Not applicable RE - Reentry VA - Veterans Affairs ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE AR20170003787 1