1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 26 December 2017 b. Date Received: 8 January 2018 c. Counsel: 2. REQUEST, ISSUES, BOARD TYPE, AND DECISION: The applicant requests an upgrade of general (under honorable conditions) discharge to honorable. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, has been diagnosed by the VA with PTSD. Per the Board's Medical Officer, a voting member, based on the information available for review in the service record, the SM did not have any in-service behavioral health diagnoses. The SM does have a post-service percentage rating of 50% for PTSD from the VA. However, the applicant did not have a medical or behavioral health condition that was mitigating for the misconduct which led to separation from the Army. In a records review conducted at Arlington, VA on 15 August 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: Misconduct (Civil Conviction) / AR 635-200 / Chapter 14, Sec II / JKB / RE-3 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) b. Date of Discharge: 27 June 2008 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 24 March 2008 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: The applicant was found guilty of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. (3) Recommended Characterization: General (Under Honorable Conditions) (4) Legal Consultation Date: None (5) Administrative Separation Board: NA (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 17 April 2008 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 19 April 2007 / 2 years b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 24 / HS Graduate / 105 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-5 / 88M20, Motor Transport Operator / 5 years, 4 months, 19 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: RA, 9 April 2002 - 17 April 2005 / HD RA, 18 April 2005 - 18 April 2007 / HD e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: Korea, SWA / Kuwait (15 February 2003 - 15 August 2003 / 24 December 2004 - 24 June 2005) f. Awards and Decorations: ARCOM-2, AAM-2, AGCM, NDSM, GWOTEM, GWOTSM, NCOPDR-2. Based on the applicant's service, he should have been awarded the ASR, however, the award is not reflected on his DD Form 214. g. Performance Ratings: None during the period under review. h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: Court of Common Pleas, Carrol County Ohio, court document, dated 4 February 2008, reflects the applicant was named as a defendant in the case and was found guilty of one count of Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Minor. The sentence, in part, consisted of: Serve a term of incarceration of 170 days in the Carroll County Jail. The Court further found that the defendant was entitled to 78 days jail time credit against the term of incarceration calculated to 4 February 2008. Defendant shall report as directed to the Carroll County Adult Probation Department, but not less than once per month in person. The Court ordered defendant to pay a fine of $500.00 and ordered that defendant shall make payment of said fine within 12 months from the date of the hearing. Defendant shall make restitution in the amount of $199.80 within 12 months through the Carroll County Adult Probation Department. Payment of restitution is a condition precedent to the termination of defendant's probation. Defendant shall attend and successfully complete a mental health counseling program for adult sex offenders and shall abide by all rules and conditions of said program. Personnel Action form, reflects the applicant's duty status changed from "Present for Duty (PDY)" to "AWOL - Confined by Civil Authorities" effective 14 August 2007. Military Police Report, dated 27 August 2007, reflects the applicant was arrested and placed under house arrest in Carrollton, Ohio for Unknown charges. Further investigation showed the applicant failed to report to 19Th Replacement at 0630 hours, 13 August 2007. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: 304 days (Confined by Civil Authorities, 14 August 2007 - 13 June 2008) / Released from Confinement j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: None 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 214 and DD Form 293. 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. 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. 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, and was prejudicial to good order and discipline. 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. Army Regulation 635-200, in pertinent part, stipulates that a Soldier may be separated when initially convicted by civil authorities, or when action is taken that is tantamount to a finding of guilty, if a punitive discharge authorized for the same or a closely related offense under the Manual for Courts Martial or the sentence by civil authorities includes confinement for 6 months or more, without regard to suspension or probation. Prior to the applicant's discharge, he had been confined by civilian authorities for 304 days. The applicant contends he has been diagnosed with 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. 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 15 August 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 AR20180002633 1