1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 9 June 2016 b. Date Received: 10 April 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, a narrative reason change and a reentry (RE) code change. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, he desires the opportunity to serve his country again. He understands that there are some existing complications in this matter, but he would like to personally speak to the Board from his heart. He realizes that he made some mistakes his first time in the Armed Forces and apologizes for his actions. He could have been a better Soldier than he was, but he did not realize what the problem was at the time. He states he has learned through the years, what is more important in life. Since May 2012, he has been an active member of a 12 Step Program. In April 2012, he decided to enter into a treatment program at Samaritan Colony, a 28-day treatment facility and afterwards he was transitioned to Bethesda Inc., a halfway house where he resided for 9-months. After completing these programs, he moved to North Carolina and resided there until recently. Since his recovery, and after transitioning to North Carolina, he has been called upon to participate and work under the District Director for Treatment facilities in the Greenville, North Carolina area. He is currently the Program Coordinator for the Walter B. Jones Treatment Facility in Greenville and the Crossroads Hospital out of New Bern, North Carolina. Additionally, he has had the privilege of being able to obtain an education and is currently enrolled in a Bachelor's program. He has maintained an outstanding GPA. Presently, he continues to attend the 12-Step meetings, and he is employed full-time at the Hilton Garden Inn. He requests that the evidence presented in his case be sincerely and fairly examined. In a personal appearance hearing conducted at Arlington, VA on 29 January 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: Use of Illegal Drugs / AR 135-178 / Chapter 12-1d / NIF / RE-3 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) b. Date of Discharge: 7 August 2012 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: NIF (2) Basis for Separation: NIF (3) Recommended Characterization: NIF (4) Legal Consultation Date: NIF (5) Administrative Separation Board: NIF (6) Separation Decision Date/Characterization: Orders 221-913, dated 8 August 2012, directed the applicant's discharge effective 7 August 2012. / General (Under Honorable Conditions) 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date/Period of Enlistment: 17 March 2009 / 8 years (ARNG) b. Age at Enlistment/Education/GT Score: 18 / GED / NIF c. Highest Grade Achieved/MOS/Total Service: E-3 / 91B10, Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic / 3 years, 4 months, 21 days d. Prior Service/Characterizations: IADT, 13 May 2009 - 16 October 2009 / HD e. Overseas Service/Combat Service: NIF f. Awards and Decorations: NDSM, ASR g. Performance Ratings: NA h. Disciplinary Action(s)/Evidentiary Record: Report To Suspend Favorable Personnel Actions (FLAG), dated, 24 October 2010, reflects a FLAG was initiated against the applicant for an Army Physical Fitness Test Failure. Report To Suspend Favorable Personnel Actions (FLAG), dated, 10 July 2010, reflects a FLAG was initiated against the applicant for an Adverse Action. Letter from the State of North Carolina National Guard, Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, dated 10 April 2017, to Senator T., reflects: "[The applicant] expressed concerns about the upgrade of his Characterization of service. After a careful review the North Carolina Army National Guard is not obligated to upgrade [the applicant's] discharge. [The applicant] tested positive for multiple banned substances on numerous occasions, as well as failed to meet required Army Standards. National Guard Regulation 600-200, Enlisted Personnel Management, dated 31 July 2009, states a General (under honorable conditions) should be given if the Soldier's service has been honest and faithful, it is appropriate to characterize that service under honorable conditions. Characterization of service as general (under honorable conditions) is warranted when significant negative aspect of the Soldier's conduct or performance of duty outweighs positive aspects of the Soldier's military record. It is the judgment of the organization that his multiple positives tests for illegal substances and Army Physical Fitness Test failures warrant the characterization given." i. Lost Time: NIF j. Diagnosed PTSD/TBI/Behavioral Health: The applicant provided a letter from the Samaritan Colony, Executive Director, Rockingham, NC, undated, which reflects the applicant was in an inpatient substance abuse treatment from 23 April to 21 May 2012. The applicant provided a letter from the Bethesda, Inc., Samaritan Colony, Director, Aberdeen, NC, dated 18 December 2015, which reflects the applicant was admitted on 21 May 2012 and was released on 31 January 2013. The letter reflects, the applicant was required to attend a minimum of four Alcoholic Anonymous meetings per week, and completed a daily and weekly housekeeping chore. The program lasted for a six-month period. 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 149, with all allied documents listed in block 9 of the application. 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: The applicant states, he continues treatment, has obtained employment and is pursuing his degree. 7. REGULATORY CITATION(S): Army Regulation 135-178 sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel from the United States Army Reserve. Chapter 12 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, and convictions by civil authorities. Action will be taken to separate a member for misconduct when it is clearly established that rehabilitation is impractical or unlikely to succeed. Paragraph 12-1d, 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 12-1a or 12-1b as appropriate. 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. 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. The applicant's available record of service, the issues and documents submitted with his application were carefully reviewed. However, the service record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to his discharge from the Army National Guard. The applicant's record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to his discharge from the Army. However, the applicant's record does contain a properly constituted NGB Form 22 (Departments of the Army and the Air Force National Guard Bureau Report of Separation and Record of Service), which reflects the applicant was not available for signature. The NGB Form 22, indicates the applicant was discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 135-178, Chapter 12, paragraph 12-1d, (Use of Illegal Drugs,) with a characterization of service of General (Under Honorable Conditions). 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. 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 Army National Guard of North Carolina. The service record indicates that someone in the discharge process erroneously entered on the applicant's NGB Form 22, block 23, authority and reason as "AR 135-178, CH 12 PARA 12-1D." The discharge packet confirms the separation authority approved the discharge by reason of misconduct (Use of Illegal Drugs). Soldiers processed for misconduct (Use of Illegal Drugs) will be separated under AR 135-178, Chapter 12, paragraph 12-1d. 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 and marred the quality of his service. 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 National Guard, and was prejudicial to good order and discipline. The applicant contends that he did not understand what his problem was at the time of his misconduct and that it contributed to his discharge from the Army. The applicant contends he has completed treatment post-service for his problem and is in recovery. However, a careful review of the entire record reveals that this condition did not overcome the reason for discharge and characterization of service granted. The applicant's service record is void of a mental status evaluation. It appears the applicant's chain of command determined that he knew the difference between what was right and wrong. The Army Discharge Review Board is authorized to consider post-service factors in the characterization of a discharge. However, there is no law or regulation which provides an unfavorable discharge may be upgraded based solely on the passage of time or good conduct in civilian life subsequent to leaving the service. Outstanding post-service conduct, to the extent such matters provide a basis for a more thorough understanding of the applicant's performance and conduct during the period of service under review, is considered during Board proceedings. The Board reviews each discharge on a case-by-case basis to determine if post-service accomplishments help demonstrate previous in-service misconduct was an aberration and not indicative of the member's overall character. The third party statements provided with the application speak highly of the applicant's performance. They all recognize his good conduct after leaving the Army; however, the persons providing the character reference statements were not in a position to fully understand or appreciate the expectations of the applicant's chain of command. As such, none of these statements provide any evidence sufficiently compelling to overcome the presumption of government regularity. Notwithstanding the administrative error, based on the available record, the discharge was consistent with the procedural and substantive requirements of the regulation, was within the discretion of the separation authority and that the applicant was provided full administrative due process. 9. DOCUMENTS / TESTIMONY PRESENTED DURING PERSONAL APPEARANCE: In addition to the evidence in the record, the Board carefully considered the additional document(s) and testimony presented by the applicant at the personal appearance hearing. a. The applicant submitted the following additional document(s): None submitted at the hearing. b. The applicant presented the following additional contention(s): No additional issues were submitted for considerationl c. Witness(es) / Observer(s): 10. BOARD DETERMINATION: In a personal appearance hearing conducted at Arlington, VA on 29 January 2018, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board denied the request upon finding the separation was both proper and equitable. 11. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. 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 f. Restore (Restoration of) Grade 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 AR20170006013 5