1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 19 June 2017 b. Date Received: 10 July 2017 c. Counsel: None 2. REQUEST, ISSUES, BOARD TYPE, AND DECISION: The applicant requests an upgrade of an under other than honorable conditions discharge to honorable. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, is 100 percent disabled veteran with multiple physical disabilities and mental health issues. The applicant states, this began in 2010, during a training in South Carolina and was due to the poor hygienic conditions, which resulted in and infection and required surgery at Fort Jackson. The applicant was given "Line of Duty" paperwork, in case the infection reoccurred or the surgical site reopened, the military would treat the applicant. In 2012, during a training exercise in California, the applicant noticed severe pain in the rectal region and was told to see a doctor at Fort Hunter Liggett. Once seen by a doctor, the applicant was sent home and excused from the exercise, because the applicant needed an additional surgery. The applicant then started seeing Doctor G at the Ross Medical Center, who confirmed that the applicant had some anal/rectal issues and referred the applicant to a specialist. The applicant was unable to see a specialist because of not having the funds to do so and the condition was the responsibility of Veterans Affairs / 376th AG Battalion to treat. Doctor G also recommended that the applicant not work nor attend drill for the Army Reserve, which prompted the applicant to request medical paperwork from the unit. The unit stated they had lost all paperwork, including the Line of Duty paperwork. Due to the lost paperwork, the applicant sought assistance from Major C, from the 63rd Medical Group, who excused the applicant from drills, while attempting to seek medical assistance for the infection. The applicant attempted to go to the Veterans Affairs in Long Beach, California, but they stated that there was no record of the infection being service connected. The VA referred the applicant to the National Archives, wherein the applicant was able to obtain medical paperwork proving the injury was service connected. Throughout this process, the applicant remained in constant communication about the worsening medical disabilities with the unit and Major C. In 2014, the applicant underwent a third surgery, which was severely debilitating. The applicant lost complete control over bowel movements and now has severe chronic pain. The applicant takes five or six baths a day to relieve the pressure of the chronic infection and has caused the applicant to have severe mental health condition. In 2015, the applicant underwent another surgery to explore the possible issues, but again was unsuccessful and worsened the condition. The applicant states that throughout the process, the applicant was deemed 100 percent disabled for both physical and mental conditions. The applicant stopped hearing from the unit and assumed that there was communication from the VA to the unit, until the unit stopped communicating with the applicant due to a medical discharge or something similar. ln the fall of 2015, the applicant was notified by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service that the applicant owed money due to unsatisfactory participation in Army Reserves and for not completing the contract. The applicant inquired with the unit why the applicant was not notified of being unsatisfactorily discharged, rather than medically or honorably discharged. The unit informed the applicant that they had again lost all personnel files and medical paperwork and were unaware of the medical situation or the 100 percent disability determination. Per their request, the applicant sent all prior communication and medical information to the unit. After a year, the unit determined the applicant should have been medically discharged, but they were unable to do so because of the discharge and refereed the applicant to the Army Board of Corrections. The applicant states, it is sad that the family has had to suffer for so many years because of inadequate file keeping and records keeping and poor communication from one command to another. The applicant has stages of severe suicidal thoughts because it is so difficult for daily function and there is really no end or cure to the physical disabilities. The applicant needs the Board's help and needs the country for which the applicant signed up to defend, to now defend and assist the applicant and 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 Fistula-in-ano. The applicant is 100% service-connected; 100% for PTSD related to surgical trauma and 100% for Impairment of Sphincter Control. The VA has also diagnosed the applicant with Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, and Mood Disorder. In summary, the applicant has a BH diagnosis that is mitigating for the misconduct which led to separation from the Army. In a records review conducted at Arlington, VA on 22 March 2019, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's length of service and the circumstances surrounding the discharge (i.e. in-service and post-service diagnosis of PTSD). Therefore, the board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade of the characterization of service to honorable and changed the separation authority to AR 635-200, paragraph 5-3, and the narrative reason for separation to Secretarial Authority, with a corresponding separation code to JFF. (Board member names available upon request) 3. DISCHARGE DETAILS: a. Reason / Authority / Codes / Characterization: NIF / AR 135-178 / NIF / NIF / NIF / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions (UOTHC) b. Date of Discharge: 1 June 2014 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: NIF 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 1 October 2009 / 8 years (USAR) b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 22 / Some College / NIF c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-4 / 42A10, Human Resources / 4 years, 8 months d. Prior Service / Characterizations: IADT, 20 October 2009 - 1 May 2010 / HD e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: None f. Awards and Decorations: NDSM, ASR g. Performance Ratings: NA h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: NIF i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: NIF j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: The applicant provided a copy of his VA treatment records, dated 19 May 2017, which reflects the applicant was rated 100 percent disability for PTSD. 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 149; DD Form 293; Congressional Referral; a self-authored statement; four character statement; and, VA treatment records. 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: None submitted with the application. 7. REGULATORY CITATION(S): Army Regulation 135-178 sets forth the policies, standards, and procedures to ensure the readiness and competency of the U.S. Army while providing for the orderly administrative separation of Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) enlisted Soldiers for a variety of reasons. The separation policies throughout the different Chapters in this regulation promote the readiness of the Army by providing an orderly means to judge the suitability of persons to serve on the basis of their conduct and their ability to meet required standards of duty performance and discipline. 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. The characterization is based upon the quality of the Soldier's service, including the reason for separation and determined in accordance with standards of acceptable personal conduct and performance of duty as found in the UCMJ, Army regulations, and the time-honored customs and traditions of the Army. The reasons for separation, including the specific circumstances that form the basis for the discharge are considered on the issue of characterization. Possible characterizations of service include an honorable, general, under honorable conditions, under other than honorable conditions, or uncharacterized if the Soldier is in entry-level status. However, the permissible range of characterization varies based on the reason for separation. 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 under other than honorable conditions discharge to honorable. The applicant's available record of service, and 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 Reserve. However, the applicant's record does contain a properly constituted discharge Orders 14-148-00008, dated 28 May 2014. 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 U.S. Army Reserve. The orders indicate the applicant was discharged under the provisions of AR 135-178, with a characterization of service of under other than honorable conditions. The applicant's contentions about his unit losing all of his paperwork and that he was in constant communication with them regarding his situation, was carefully considered. However, there is insufficient evidence available in the official record to make a determination upon the applicant's quality of service. Moreover, there is a presumption of regularity in the conduct of governmental affairs which is applied in all Army discharge reviews unless there is substantial credible evidence to rebut the presumption. There is no evidence in the record, nor has the applicant produced any evidence, to support a change to the characterization of service granted. The applicant's statements alone do not overcome the presumption of government regularity and the application contains no documentation or further evidence in support of this request for an upgrade of the discharge. The applicant contends he should have been medically discharged; however, Army Regulation 635-200, in pertinent part, stipulates that commanders will not take action to separate Soldiers for a medical condition solely to spare a Soldier who may have committed serious acts of misconduct. Further, the applicant's request does not fall within the purview of this Board. The applicant may apply to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR), using the enclosed DD Form 149 regarding this matter. A DD Form 149 may also be obtained from a Veterans' Service Organization. The third party statements provided with the application speak highly of the applicant's performance. 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. If the applicant desires a personal appearance hearing, it will be his responsibility to meet the burden of proof and provide the appropriate documents (i.e., the discharge packet) or other evidence sufficient to explain the facts, circumstances, and reasons underlying the separation action, for the Board's consideration because they are not available in the official record. 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. BOARD DETERMINATION: In a records review conducted at Arlington, VA on 22 March 2019, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's length of service and the circumstances surrounding the discharge (i.e. in-service and post- service diagnosis of PTSD). Therefore, the board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade of the characterization of service to honorable and changed the separation authority to AR 635- 200, paragraph 5-3, and the narrative reason for separation to Secretarial Authority, with a corresponding separation code to JFF. 10. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New DD-214: Yes b. Change Characterization to: Honorable c. Change Reason to: Secretarial Authority d. Change Authority to: AR 635-200, paragraph 5-3 e. Change SPD / RE Code to: JFF / 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 AR20170010395 1