1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 22 August 2017 b. Date Received: 25 August 2017 c. Counsel: None 2. REQUEST, ISSUES, BOARD TYPE, AND DECISION: The applicant requests an upgrade of his under other than honorable conditions discharge to general (under honorable conditions). The applicant seeks relief contending, in pertinent part and in effect, he never received any Article 15 punishments prior to his deployment. However, he returned from deployment, he had five failed urinalyses for marijuana. He used marijuana to self-medicate for his PTSD. Per the Board's Medical Officer, based on the information available for review at the time to include the military electronic medical record, the applicant had a medical or behavioral health condition that was partially mitigating for the offenses which led to his separation from the Army. In summary, SM does have a behavioral health condition; however, given his propensity to go AWOL and use substances despite efforts of corrective rehabilitation, his conditions are considered mitigating for only some of his unauthorized absences. In a records review conducted at Arlington, VA on 25 April 2018, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board determined that the characterization of service was inequitable based on the applicant's length and quality of service to include combat service, and the circumstances surrounding the discharge (i.e. post-service diagnosis of PTSD and suicide attempts). Accordingly, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade to the characterization of service to General Under Honorable Conditions. The Board determined the narrative reason, SPD code and RE code were proper and equitable and voted not to change them. (Board member names available upon request) 3. DISCHARGE DETAILS: a. Reason / Authority / Codes / Characterization: In Lieu of Trial by Court-Martial / AR 635-200, Chapter 10 / KFS / RE-4 / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions b. Date of Discharge: 13 November 2014 c. Separation Facts: NIF (1) DD Form 458 (Charge Sheet): NIF; however, based on charge(s) being preferred, with recommendations to refer to trial by a special court-martial empowered to adjudge a bad conduct discharge, the applicant would have been discharged. (2) Legal Consultation Date: NIF (3) Basis for Separation: Pursuant to the applicant's request for discharge under the provisions of AR 635-200, Chapter 10, in lieu of trial by court-martial (4) Recommended Characterization: Under Other Than Honorable Conditions (5) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: NIF / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 9 January 2008 (enlistment contract) / 2 years, 33 weeks b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 20 / GED / 101 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-3 / 92Y10, Unit Supply Specialist / 2 years, 5 months, 12 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: None / NA e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: SWA / Iraq (10 July 2008 to 9 January 2009) f. Awards and Decorations: AAM; NDSM; ICM-2CS; GWOTSM; ASR g. Performance Ratings: NA h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: Eleven DA Forms 4187, as dated and documenting the change of duty statuses, as follows: 10 July 2009, PDY to AWOL, effective 9 July 2009 11 August 2009, AWOL to DFR, effective 10 August 2009 23 September 2010, PDY to AWOL, effective 23 September 2010 20 January 2011, DFR to CCA (Civilian Confinement Authority), effective 20 January 2011 10 February 2011, CCA to PDY, effective 10 February 2011 29 April 2011, PDY to AWOL, effective 8 April 2011 2 May 2011, AWOL to DFR, effective 9 April 2011 16 November 2011, PDY to AWOL, effective 15 November 2011 19 December 2011, AWOL to DFR, effective 19 December 2011 22 March 2013, PDY to AWOL, effective 20 March 2013 11 April 2013 (sic), AWOL to DFR, effective 21 April 2013 Five Reports of Return of Absentee, as dated: 13 April 2010, applicant was apprehended by civil authorities on 12 April 2010 8 February 2011, applicant was apprehended by civil authorities on 20 January 2011 28 October 2011, applicant was apprehended by civil authorities on 27 October 2011 23 October 2012, applicant was apprehended by civil authorities on 23 October 2012 24 September 2014, applicant was apprehended by civil authorities on 24 September 2014 Five drafted charge sheets, as follows: The following charges were preferred on 17 August 2009: Charge I: Article 85, UCMJ, absent on 10 August 2009, and remained absent in desertion Charge II: Article 86, UCMJ, AWOL on 10 July 2009 The following charges were preferred on 28 January 2011: Charge I: Article 85, UCMJ, absent on 23 October 2010, and remained absent in desertion Charge II: Article 86, UCMJ, AWOL on 23 September 2010 The following charges were preferred on 9 April 2011: Charge I: Article 85, UCMJ, absent on 9 April 2011, and remained absent in desertion Charge II: Article 86, UCMJ, AWOL on 8 April 2011 The following charges were preferred on 19 December 2011: Charge I: Article 85, UCMJ, absent on 19 December 2011, and remained absent in desertion Charge II: Article 86, UCMJ, AWOL on 15 November 2011 The following charges were preferred on 15 April 2013: Charge I: Article 85, UCMJ, absent on 21 April 2013, and remained absent in desertion Charge II: Article 86, UCMJ, AWOL on 20 March 2013 Discharge Orders i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: 1,361 days (AWOL (24 April 2009 to 29 June 2009, for 67 days), (30 June 2009 to 13 April 2010, for 288 days), (23 September 2010 to 9 February 2011, for 140 days), (15 November 2011 to 23 October 2012, for 344 days), (20 March 2013 to 23 September 2014, for 522 days) / All AWOL incidents, the applicant was apprehended by civil authorities j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: NIF 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293 (Application for the Review of Discharge), dated 22 August 2017. 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: None provided with the application. 7. REGULATORY CITATION(S): Army Regulation 635-200 sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel. Chapter 10 provides, in pertinent part, that a member who has committed an offense or offenses for which the authorized punishment includes a punitive discharge may submit a request for a discharge for the good of the Service in lieu of trial by court-martial. The request may be submitted at any time after charges have been preferred and must include the individual's admission of guilt. Army policy states that although an honorable or general, under honorable conditions discharge is authorized, a discharge under other than honorable conditions is normally considered appropriate. AR 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 "KFS" as the appropriate code to assign enlisted Soldiers who are discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 10, "In Lieu of Trial by Court-Martial." The SPD Code/RE Code Cross Reference Table shows that a Soldier assigned an SPD Code of "KFS" 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 an upgrade of his under other than honorable conditions discharge to general (under honorable conditions). The applicant's available record of service and the issues submitted with his application were carefully reviewed. 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 DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), which was not authenticated by the applicant's signature. The DD Form 214 indicates the applicant was discharged under the provisions of AR 635-200, Chapter 10 by reason of "In Lieu of Trial by Court-Martial," with a characterization of service of under other than honorable conditions. Barring evidence to the contrary, it appears that 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 sufficient evidence that the applicant's service mitigated the misconduct or poor duty performance, such that he should have been retained on Active Duty. The applicant contends he used marijuana for coping due to his PTSD. However, the service record contains no evidence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder diagnosis and the applicant did not submit any evidence to support the contention that the discharge was the result of any medical condition. Further, if the Board determines the applicant's behavioral health issues symptoms existed and they were significant contributing factors to his misconduct, it can grant appropriate relief by changing the reason for separation and/or the characterization of service. If the applicant desires a personal appearance hearing, it would be his responsibility to meet the burden of proof and provide the appropriate documents (i.e., the complete discharge packet and medical records showing diagnoses of PTSD and behavioral health issues) 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 the applicant was provided full administrative due process. 9. BOARD DETERMINATION: In a records review conducted at Arlington, VA on 25 April 2018, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board determined that the characterization of service was inequitable based on the applicant's length and quality of service to include combat service, and the circumstances surrounding the discharge (i.e. post-service diagnosis of PTSD and suicide attempts). Accordingly, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade to the characterization of service to General Under Honorable Conditions. The Board determined the narrative reason, SPD code and RE code were proper and equitable and voted not to change them. 10. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New DD-214: Yes b. Change Characterization to: General Under Honorable Conditions 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 AR20170016126 4