1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 1 March 2017 b. Date Received: 6 March 2017 c. Counsel: None 2. REQUEST, ISSUES, BOARD TYPE, AND DECISION: The applicant requests an upgrade of his general (under honorable conditions) discharge to honorable and to change the narrative reason for his discharge. The applicant seeks relief contending, in pertinent part and in effect, he had a medical condition that went undiagnosed during his service, which interfered with his performance as an Officer in spring 2009 and again, in 2012, when the misconduct occurred. The medical condition was not factored into his discharge. On 25 July 2016, VA awarded him 30 percent disability for bipolar 1 disorder. He asserts that the Army failed to refer him as a command-directed behavioral health assessment as recommended by the investigating officer that was reaffirmed by a legal review conducted by the Staff Judge Advocate. His medical records show he was diagnosed and treated for the bipolar disorder in 2009, but it was lost during his move to Fort Jackson. At no time in the nearly six years of his remaining service was he diagnosed or treated for his bipolar disorder. Although he sought treatment on multiple occasions, he was misdiagnosed with no effective medication or treatment. Then when he separated from his wife, he committed the misconduct that led to his separation. Although there was strong evidence of his non-retainable behavioral health condition, the Army failed to diagnose and treat his medical condition and the command failed to act resulting in continued denial of his medical condition. Accordingly, he lost not only the proper characterization of his service, but also a full medical retirement he was entitled to, due to the separation process failing to address the behavioral health factors. Per the Board's Medical Officer, based on the information available for review at the time, the applicant, a former anesthesiologist has psychiatric diagnoses in AHLTA of Acute Stress Disorder, Adjustment Disorder with Anxiety and Depressed Mood, Atypical Depressive Disorder, Depression, Other Interpersonal Problem, Partner Relational Problem, and Phase of Life Circumstance Problem. JLV showed a 90% VA SC disability rating. His VA Problem List Diagnoses include Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder NOS, Bipolar Disorder, and Chronic PTSD. Fibromyalgia also appears in his outpatient visits. PTSD emerged as a diagnosis in 2016. There was a reference of hypomania, but no psychosis in history. He had excellent OERs and had never reached a medical retention decision point. The misconduct ascribed to him appears to have been deliberate and goal directed. His infidelities are not ascribable to PTSD or bipolar disorder. In a records review conducted at Arlington, VA on 15 June 2018, 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, Paragraph 4-2b and Paragraph 4-24a(1) / BNC / NA / General (Under Honorable Conditions) b. Date of Discharge: 20 January 2016 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 29 January 2015 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed to show cause for retention on active duty because of misconduct, moral, or professional dereliction, specifically for the following reasons: Substantiated derogatory activity resulting in a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand, dated 4 September 2014, which was filed in his Army Military Human Resource Record. Conduct unbecoming an officer as indicated by the GOMOR. (3) Legal Consultation Date: 21 August 2015, the applicant requested resignation in lieu of elimination (4) GCMCA Recommended Characterization: General (Under Honorable Conditions) (5) DA Ad Hoc Review Board Recommendation: General (Under Honorable Conditions) (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 6 January 2016 / General (Under Honorable Conditions), based on misconduct and moral or professional dereliction (AR 600-8- 24, paragraph 4-2b) 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Appointment: 8 June 1998 / Obligated Volunteer Officer 8 Years, fulfilling active Army requirement b. Age at Appointment / Education / GT Score: 22 / Medical Doctor / NA c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: O-5 / 60N, Anesthesiologist / 21 years, 8 months, 14 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: USAR (7 May 1994 (Commissioned) to 7 June 1998) / NA e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: SWA / Iraq (7 November 2004 to 4 May 2005) f. Awards and Decorations: MSM-3; ARCOM; AAM; NDSM; GWOTEM; GWOTSM; ASR g. Performance Ratings: 16 OERs during period under current review: 1 July 1998 thru 30 June 1999, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 1 July 1999 thru 30 June 2000, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 1 July 2000 thru 30 June 2001, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 1 July 2001 thru 23 June 2002, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 1 July 2003 thru 30 June 2004, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 1 July 2004 thru 5 November 2004, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 6 November 2005 thru 1 July 2006, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 2 July 2006 thru 1 July 2007, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 2 July 2007 thru 1 July 2008, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 2 July 2008 thru 1 July 2009, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 2 July 2009 thru 1 July 2010, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 2 July 2010 thru 24 February 2011, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 25 February 2011 thru 24 February 2012, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 25 February 2012 thru 24 February 2013, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 25 February 2013 thru 24 February 2014, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 25 February 2014 thru 21 May 2015, rated 1 out of 11 officers and Highly Qualified h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand and its associated documents, dated 4 September 2014, indicates that the applicant was reprimanded for wrongfully having sexual intercourse with a woman, who was not his spouse and having acted in a manner unbecoming an officer by committing acts of mental abuse against his wife, threatening her and her guest, and breaking her phone and preventing her from calling 911. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: None / NA j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: Applicant's documentary evidence (at pages 89, 123, 137, and 152 of file 2, and pages 1, 13, 27, 34, 39, and 44 of file 3). VA decision letter dated 25 July 2016 (pages 89, 90 of file 2), indicates he was assigned 30 percent for "bipolar disorder (also claimed as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depressed mood." 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293 (Application for the Review of Discharge), dated 1 March 2017, with list of attachments (three separate files). 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: None provided with the application. 7. REGULATORY CITATION(S): Army Regulation 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. A discharge of honorable, general, or under other than honorable conditions characterization of service may be granted. 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 enlisted Soldiers who are discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 600-8-24, Chapter 4, paragraphs 4-2b and 4-24a(1), unacceptable conduct. 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 an upgrade of his general (under honorable conditions) discharge to honorable and to change the narrative reason for his discharge. The applicant's available record of service, and the issues and documents submitted with his application were carefully reviewed. 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 Army officers. It brought discredit on the Army and was prejudicial to good order and discipline. The applicant diminished the quality of his service which led to the reason for his discharge. The applicant provided no corroborating evidence demonstrating that either the command's action was erroneous or sufficient evidence that his service mitigated the unacceptable conduct or poor duty performance, such that he should have been retained on Active Duty. Further, the applicant's record contains no evidence of arbitrary or capricious actions by the command. The applicant contends the narrative reason for the discharge should be changed to show that he was discharged on the basis of suffering from PTSD and Bipolar Disorder. However, the applicant was separated under the provisions of AR 600-8-24, Chapter 4, paragraphs 4-2b and 4-24a(1), with a general (under honorable conditions) discharge as approved by the separation authority. The narrative reason specified by Army Regulations for a discharge under this paragraph is "Unacceptable Conduct," and the separation code is "BNC." 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 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 the discharge was unjust because his medical condition was not factored into his discharge as the Army failed to refer him for a command-directed behavioral health assessment as recommended by the investigating officer that was reaffirmed by a legal review conducted by the Staff Judge Advocate, and as a result, his discharge was not properly characterized and he lost a full medical retirement. However, there is a presumption of regularity in the conduct of governmental affairs that shall be applied in any review unless there is substantial credible evidence to rebut the presumption. The applicant bears the burden of overcoming this presumption through the presentation of substantial and credible evidence to support his issues. There is no evidence in the record, nor has the applicant produced sufficient evidence to support the contention that he may have been unjustly discharged. The applicant's contentions regarding his behavioral health issues which involved having a bipolar issues, and a diagnosis of 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 his misconduct. If the Board determines the applicant's behavioral health issues were significant contributing factors to his misconduct, it can grant appropriate relief by changing the reason for separation and/or the characterization of service. 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 15 June 2018, 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 AR20170004943 1