1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 13 December 2017 b. Date Received: 14 March 2018 c. Counsel: None 2. REQUEST, ISSUES, BOARD TYPE, AND DECISION: The applicant requests an upgrade of the characterization of service from general (under honorable conditions) to honorable. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, He served his country with honor for over 18 years to include one deployment to Iraq, three deployments to Afghanistan and two tours in Korea. He suffers from PTSD; and had recently gone through his fourth divorce which he believes played a big factor in him making one bad decision. He does not feel that one decision should take away all the other things he accomplished. 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 Adjustment Disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood; Adjustment Disorder, unspecified; Post-Concussional syndrome, PTSD. The applicant is 100% service connected, 70% for PTSD. 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 13 November 2020, and by a 3-2 vote, the Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's length and quality of service, to include combat service, the circumstances surrounding the discharge (service- connected PTSD diagnosis), and prior period of honorable service. Therefore, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade of the characterization of service to honorable. (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 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) b. Date of Discharge: 8 December 2017 c. Separation Facts: No (1) Date Charges Were Preferred: 19 October 2017 (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: 11 June 2013 / Indefinite b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 33 / HS Graduate / 97 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-6 / 15R30, AH-64 Attack Helicopter Repairer / 18 years, 9 months, 22 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: RA, 15 January 1999 to 13 April 2004 / HD RA, 14 April 2004 to 1 April 2009 / HD RA, 2 April 2009 to 10 June 2013 / HD e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: Korea / SWA / Iraq, 27 February 2003 to 27 February 2004 / Afghanistan x3, 16 December 2008 to 6 December 2009, 18 January 2011 to 15 January 2012 and 5 January 2014 to 20 September 2014 f. Awards and Decorations: ARCOM-5, AAM-6, AGCM-5, NDSM, ICM-3CS, ACM-3CS, GWOTSM, KDSM, NOPDR-2, ASR, OSR-6, NATO MDL, VUA, MUC-2 g. Performance Ratings: 13 March 2013 to 6 October 2013, Fully Capable 7 October 2013 to 15 August 2014, Among The Best 16 November 2014 to 31 August 2015, Fully Capable 1 September 2015 to 30 August 2016, Highly Qualified h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: NIF i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: AWOL for 32 days, 9 July 2017 to 10 August 2017; surrendered to military authorities. j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: Report of Mental Status Evaluation, dated 22 July 2016, revealed the applicant had an Axis I diagnosis of PTSD. He was diagnosed with severe PTSD that is combat related and will require ongoing behavioral health services. In the behavioral health provider's opinion, the applicant's PTSD be considered as extenuation / mitigation. 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: Online application (seven pages); DD Form 214 (two pages); Enlisted Record Brief; charge sheet (two pages); court-martial charges transmittal form; Report of Mental Status Evaluation (three pages); two support / character statements; and the applicant's extenuating circumstances. 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 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 although an honorable or general, under honorable conditions discharge is authorized, a discharge under other than honorable conditions is normally considered appropriate. 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 the characterization of service from general (under honorable conditions) to honorable. The applicant's available record of service, the issues and documents submitted with his application were carefully reviewed. The applicant's record is void of the complete 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 digital signature. This document identifies the reason and characterization of the discharge and government regularity is presumed in the discharge. 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 general (under honorable conditions). Barring evidence to the contrary, the presumption of government regularity prevails as all the requirements of law and regulation were met and the rights of the applicant were fully protected throughout the separation process. Further, the DD Form 214 shows a Separation Code of KFS (i.e., in lieu of trial by court-martial), with a reentry eligibility (RE) code of 4. The applicant seeks relief contending, he served his country with honor for over 18 years to include one deployment to Iraq, three deployments to Afghanistan and two tours in Korea. The applicant's service accomplishments and the quality of his service prior to the incidents that caused the initiation of discharge proceeding were carefully considered. The applicant further contends, he suffers from PTSD; and had recently gone through his fourth divorce which he believes played a big factor in him making one bad decision. The applicant's service record contains documentation that supports a diagnosis of in service PTSD. On 22 July 2016, the applicant underwent a mental status evaluation which indicates he had an Axis I diagnosis of PTSD. He was diagnosed with severe PTSD that was combat related and required ongoing behavioral health services. In the behavioral health provider's opinion, the applicant's PTSD should be considered as extenuation / mitigation. The applicant also contends, he does not feel that one decision should take away all the other things he accomplished. Although a single incident, the discrediting entry constituted a departure from the standards of conduct expected of Soldiers in the Army. The applicable Army regulation states there are circumstances in which the conduct or performance of duty reflected by a single incident provides the basis for a characterization of service. The applicant's incident of misconduct adversely affected the quality of his service, brought discredit on the Army, and was prejudicial to good order and discipline The third party statements provided with the application speak highly of the applicant. The persons providing the character reference statements were in a position to fully understand and appreciate the expectations of the applicant's chain of command. As such, these statements did not provide any evidence sufficiently compelling to overcome the presumption of government regularity. If the applicant desires a personal appearance hearing, it is 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 13 November 2020, and by a 3-2 vote, the Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's length and quality of service, to include combat service, the circumstances surrounding the discharge (service-connected PTSD diagnosis), and prior period of honorable service. Therefore, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade of the characterization of service to honorable. 10. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New DD-214: Yes b. Change Characterization to: Honorable 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 AR20180003389 4