1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 7 March 2017 b. Date Received: 20 March 2017 c. Counsel: None 2. REQUEST, ISSUES, BOARD TYPE, AND DECISION: The applicant requests a change to his narrative reason for discharge. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, that he would like a change to his narrative reason for discharge for the purpose of being able to rejoin the military and continue to serve his country. The applicant contends he was charged without just cause, and had the opportunity to appeal his case taken away. His command went to a Command Group that did not have UCMJ over him to get the signature needed to push it through while he was waiting for a separation board to hear his case. He was chaptered because a single urinalysis came back positive for Tamazapam, a substance that he had never taken and he was not prescribed. He had previously been tested in the same two week period and those samples were clean. He was told by the MRO it was an insomnia medication related to the Lorazapam he was prescribed and that because he was not prescribed that medication he was going to be chaptered. He was at the time on multiple antidepressant medications including Lorazapam that could have shown a result for a false positive for that medication. He was told all of this by the mental health provider he was seeing at the time. He tried to explain this situation to his chain of command and the MRO but no one would hear it. The acting MRO had never done the job before and was looking on the internet for his answers to his questions. He was covering down for the deployed MRO. He contends during the chapter process he tried to explain his situation to TDS and CID but everyone said that it was whatever the MRO said and if it was in his system and not prescribed to him there was nothing he could do. He was never retested or given a chance to prove he was not on the medication they were accusing him of taking and nobody he was around or knew as on that medication. Due to this he is now and forever labeled as a drug addict. The narrative reason on his DD form 214 says drug abuse, this is not who he is or what his military service was made of. He believes this separation was improperly handled to include going through the wrong chain of command, due to their separation from their actual Battalion and Brigade and UCMJ authority being located on Fort Drum. 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) there was a nexus between a behavioral health or medical condition and the misconduct, which led to the applicant's separation from the Army. The Applicant's has an in-service diagnosis of Adjustment Disorder, Alcohol Abuse and Dependence, Anxiety, Depression and Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia. In a record review hearing conducted at Arlington, VA on 27 August 2018, and by a 4-1 vote, the Board determined the narrative reason for the applicant's discharge is improper based on the applicant's length and quality of service, to include combat service, severe family matters, an in-service diagnosis of multiple OBH conditions, and post-service accomplishments. Therefore, the Board directed the issue of a new DD Form 214 changing the separation authority to AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12a, the narrative reason for separation to Misconduct (Minor Infractions), the separation code to JKN and the reentry code to RE-3. (Board member names available upon request) 3. DISCHARGE DETAILS: a. Reason / Authority / Codes / Characterization: Misconduct (Drug Abuse) / AR 635- 200 / Chapter 14-12c (2) / JKK / RE-4 / Honorable b. Date of Discharge: 5 January 2015 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 4 September 2014 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reason: for the wrongful use of Temazepam (3) Recommended Characterization: General (Under Honorable Conditions) (4) Legal Consultation Date: 4 September 2014 (5) Administrative Separation Board: On 4 September 2014, the applicant conditionally waived his right to an administrative separation board contingent upon him receiving a characterization of service no less favorable than honorable. (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 10 December 2014 / Honorable 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 21 October 2012 / 3 years b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 30 / GED / 101 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-5 / 74D10, L6 L5 Chemical Operation Specialist / 7 years, 10 months, 28 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: RA, 8 February 2007 to 15 October 2009 / HD RA, 16 October 2009 to 20 October 2012 / HD e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: Korea, SWA / Kuwait (29 October 2011 to 23 October 2012) f. Awards and Decorations: ARCOM, AAM-2, AGCM, NDSM, GWOTEM, GWOTSM, KDSM, ASR, OSR-2 g. Performance Ratings: None h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: FG Article 15, dated 1 February 2013, as a result of wrongful previous overindulgence in intoxicating liquor or drugs, incapacitated himself for the proper performance of his duties on 25 January 2013. The punishment consisted of reduction to E-4. Electronic copy of the DD Form 2624, dated 18 February 2014, reflects the applicant tested positive for TEMA 270 during an Inspection Random (IR) urinalysis testing conducted on 21 January 2014. Army Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) Enrollment, which shows the applicant was referred as a result of biochemical for TEMA. CID Report, dated 4 June 2014, which shows the applicant was the subject of an investigation for the wrongful use of Temazepam. Counseling statement in reference to the applicant's notification of separation procedures for charges of illicit drug use. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: None j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: Report of Mental Status Evaluation, dated 30 July 2014, shows the applicant was diagnosed with an Axis I for 300.21 Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia and 300.4 Dysthymic Disorder Late Onset and Axis III for Degenerative Disc Disease, Hypertension. It was noted that the applicant had a history but denied current behaviors related to substance abuse. The applicant was mentally sound and able to appreciate any wrongfulness in his conduct and to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law. He was considered accountable for his actions and subject to the normal channels of counseling and discipline. He had the mental capacity to understand and participate in board or other administrative proceedings. The applicant was psychiatrically cleared for chapter separation. 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293; partial documents from separation file; emails reference positive urinalysis; medical records reference positive for TEMA 270ng/mL; medication profile; and drug testing program testing register. 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: None submitted with the application. 7. REGULATORY CITATION(S): 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. Paragraph 14-12c(2) terms abuse of illegal drugs as serious misconduct. It continues; however, by recognizing relevant facts may mitigate the nature of the offense. Therefore, a single drug abuse offense may be combined with one or more minor disciplinary infractions or incidents of other misconduct and processed for separation under paragraph 14-12a or 14-12b as appropriate. 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 "JKK" as the appropriate code to assign enlisted Soldiers who are discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 14, misconduct (drug abuse). The SPD Code/RE Code Cross Reference Table shows that a Soldier assigned an SPD Code of "JKK" will be assigned an RE Code of 4. 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 a change to his narrative reason for discharge. The applicant's record of service, the issues and documents submitted with his application were carefully reviewed. The evidence of record shows the applicant was separated under the provisions of Chapter 14, paragraph 14-12c (2), AR 635-200 with an honorable discharge. The narrative reason specified by Army Regulations for a discharge under this paragraph is "Misconduct (Drug Abuse)," and the separation code is "JKK," with a RE code of 4. Army Regulation 635-5, Separation Documents, governs preparation of the DD Form 214 and dictates that entry of the narrative reason for separation, entered in block 28, reentry code, entered in block 27, and separation code, entered in block 26 of the form, will be exactly as listed in tables 2-2 or 2-3 of AR 635-5-1, Separation Program Designator (SPD) Codes. 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 contends he was charged without just cause, and had the opportunity to appeal his case taken away. His command went to a Command Group that did not have UCMJ over him to get the signature needed to push it through while he was waiting for a separation board to hear his case. He was chaptered because a single urinalysis came back positive for Tamazapam, a substance that he had never taken and he was not prescribed. He was at the time on multiple antidepressant medications including Lorazapam that could have shown a result for a false positive for that medication. He was told all of this by the mental health provider he was seeing at the time. He tried to explain this situation to his chain of command and the MRO but no one would hear it. The acting MRO had never done the job before and was looking on the internet for his answers to his questions. He was covering down for the deployed MRO. He contends during the chapter process he tried to explain his situation to TDS and CID but everyone said that it was whatever the MRO said and if it was in his system and not prescribed to him there was nothing he could do. He was never retested or given a chance to prove he was not on the medication they were accusing him of taking and nobody he was around or knew as on that medication. Due to this he is now and forever labeled as a drug addict. The narrative reason on his DD form 214 says drug abuse, this is not who he is or what his military service was made of. He believes this separation was improperly handled to include going through the wrong chain of command, due to their separation from their actual Battalion and Brigade and UCMJ authority being located on Fort Drum. The applicant's contentions were noted. However, 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. Evidence of record shows that on 4 September 2014, the applicant conditionally waived his right to an administrative separation board contingent upon him receiving a characterization of service no less favorable than a honorable. On 10 December 2014 the applicant's discharge was approved with a characterization of service of Honorable by the Headquarters, Fort Drum Commanding Officer, Major General S.J.T. Although the applicant contends it was 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 his service, brought discredit on the Army, and was prejudicial to good order and discipline. Furthermore, by violating the Army's policy not to possess or use illegal drugs, the applicant compromised the trust and confidence placed in a Soldier. The applicant, as a Soldier, had the duty to support and abide by the Army's drug policies. By abusing illegal drugs, the applicant knowingly risked a military career. 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, such that he should have been retained on Active duty. The applicant expressed his desire for an upgrade of his discharge for the purpose of being able to rejoin the military and continue to serve his country. At the time of discharge the applicant was appropriately assigned a reentry eligibility (RE) code of 4. An RE code of 4 cannot be waived and the applicant is not eligible to reenlist. 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 record review hearing conducted at Arlington, VA on 27 August 2018, and by a 4-1 vote, the Board determined the narrative reason for the applicant's discharge is improper based on the applicant's length and quality of service, to include combat service, severe family matters, an in-service diagnosis of multiple OBH conditions, and post- service accomplishments. Therefore, the Board directed the issue of a new DD Form 214 changing the separation authority to AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12a, the narrative reason for separation to Misconduct (Minor Infractions), the separation code to JKN and the reentry code to RE-3. 10. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New DD-214: Yes b. Change Characterization to: No Change c. Change Reason to: Misconduct (Minor Infractions) d. Change Authority to: AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12a e. Change SPD / RE Code to: JKN / RE-3 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 AR20170004789 1