1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 16 February 2018 b. Date Received: 5 March 2018 c. Representative: 2. REQUEST, ISSUES, BOARD TYPE, AND DECISION: The applicant requests to upgrade an under other than honorable conditions discharge to general (under honorable conditions) and to change the narrative reason for discharge. The applicant seeks relief contending, in pertinent part and in effect, as equity requires that the behavior which led to the discharge was directly related to the PTSD the applicant suffered from during the enlistment, but subsequent a combat tour in Iraq. The applicant served with distinction as documented in military records - the applicant received an AAM for meritorious service in Iraq, and subsequent was awarded a second AAM. In early September 2009, the applicant sought treatment for acute symptoms of PTSD, including depression and inability to sleep. The applicant was prescribed as many as 14 pills per day, but found that they were largely ineffective in relieving symptoms and left the applicant in a state of mental fogginess. Unable to cope and without adequate treatment, he made a bad decision to go AWOL. Upon returning two weeks later, the applicant was processed for further mental evaluation and an immediate discharge. The discharge was initiated on 4 January 2010, and the applicant went AWOL for a second time in February 2010. Upon being unable to get medication or psychotherapy for acute symptoms, the applicant began self-medicating with occasional use of marijuana. Upon returning from AWOL status, the applicant tested positive for marijuana. Since the discharge, the applicant worked hard to get life back on track and has been regularly employed. The applicant sought treatment with VA; however, was denied treatment due to his UOTHC discharge. The applicant served honorably and with distinction with high performance evaluations and awards. The applicant's pattern of being an efficient leader and a good Soldier was consistent throughout the enlistment until sometime after returning from Iraq. 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) indicates the applicant has been diagnosed with PTSD related to combat. Based on the available information, the applicant has a mitigating Behavioral Health (BH) diagnosis and therefore is a nexus between the misconduct that led to separation. In a records review conducted at Arlington, VA on 3 August 2018, and by a 4-1 vote, the Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's length and quality of service, to include combat service and the circumstances surrounding the discharge (i.e. in-service diagnosis of OBH and PTSD). Therefore, the board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade of the characterization of service to honorable and changed to the separation authority to AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12a, the narrative reason for separation to Misconduct (Minor Infractions), the separation code to JKN, and the reentry code to RE-3. (Board member names available upon request) 3. DISCHARGE DETAILS: a. Reason / Authority / Codes / Characterization: Misconduct (Drug Abuse) / AR 635- 200, Paragraph 14-12c(2) / JKK / RE-4 / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions b. Date of Discharge: 29 December 2010 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 16 December 2010 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: He wrongfully absented himself from his unit on 11 January 2010 through 18 June 2010, when he was apprehended. He wrongfully used marijuana between 13 June 2010 and 13 July 2010. He pleaded guilty and was found guilty at a trial by summary court-martial as a result of offer to plead from a BCD SPCM. (3) Recommended Characterization: Under Other Than Honorable Conditions (4) Legal Consultation Date: Waived, 16 December 2010 (5) Administrative Separation Board: Unconditionally waived, 16 December 2010, pursuant to an "Offer to Plead Guilty" in a summary court-martial (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 22 December 2010 / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 28 March 2007 / 4 years, 18 weeks b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 19 / GED / 111 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-4 / 88M10, Motor Transport Operator / 3 years, 3 months, 3 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: None / NA e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: SWA / Iraq (8 September 2007 to 25 October 2008) f. Awards and Decorations: AAM-2; NDSM; ICM-CS; GWOTSM; NCOPDR; ASR; OSR g. Performance Ratings: NA h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: Four DA Form 4187 (Personnel Actions), dated and documented the applicant's duty statuses as follows: 18 October 2009, PDY to AWOL, effective 18 October 2009; 9 November 2009, AWOL to PDY, effective 9 November 2009; 12 January 2010, PDY to AWOL, effective 12 January 2009 (sic); and 13 January 2010, AWOL to DFR, effective 13 January 2010. Negative counseling statement for being AWOL. FG Article 15, dated 8 December 2009, for being AWOL on 17 October 2009, until 9 November 2009. The punishment consisted of a reduction to E-2, forfeiture of $784 pay per month for two months (suspended), and 45 days of extra duty and restriction. MP Report, dated 21 July 2010, indicates the applicant was the subject of an investigation for wrongful use of a controlled substance. An Electronic Copy of the DD Form 2624 (Specimen Custody Document - Drug Testing), dated 13 July 2010, indicates the specimen collected on 23 June 2010, on an "IO" (Other, Command Policy) basis, provided by the applicant, tested positive for marijuana. Charge Sheet indicates that on 22 October 2010, the following charge was preferred: Charge: Violation of Article 86, UCMJ, for being AWOL on 11 January 2010, and remained absent until 18 June 2010. An Offer to Plead Guilty, dated 16 November 2010, shows that upon pleading guilty to a charge, the applicant offered to be tried by a summary court-martial and waived his right to a Board in an administrative separation proceedings. The offer was approved on 14 December 2010. Record of Trial and Report of Result of Trial with its associated documents, show that on 18 December 2010, the applicant was found guilty by a summary court-martial of violating Article 86, UCMJ, for being AWOL on 11 January 2010, and remaining absent until 18 June 2010. The sentence consisted of a reduction to E-1, forfeiture of $482 pay per month for one month, and 15 days of confinement. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: 181 days (AWOL: 18 October 2009 to 8 November 2009, for 22 days, and 11 January 2010 to 18 June 2010, for 159 days) / The latter AWOL period shows he was apprehended by civil authorities on 18 June 2010. j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: Report of Mental Status Evaluation, dated 15 December 2009, reports detailed findings and treatment for behavioral health issues, and an "Axis I" diagnosis of "Adjustment Disorder with Anxiety, Chronic Partner Relational Problems." . 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293 (Application for the Review of Discharge), dated 16 February 2018; four counseling statements; two AAM certificates; WLC Graduation Diploma; Report of Mental Status Evaluation, dated 15 December 2009; DD Form 214; Soldier Deployment History Outprocessing Report; memorandum, dated 3 September 2014, with supplemental guidance; and DoD News Release, dated 30 December 2016 (NR-459-16). 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: The applicant states, in effect, since his discharge, he worked hard to get his life back on track, and he is regularly employed. 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. Paragraph 14-12c(2) 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 14-12a or 14-12b as appropriate. Army Regulation 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 "JKK" as the appropriate code to assign enlisted Soldiers who are discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 14, paragraph 14-12c(2), Misconduct (Drug Abuse). The SPD Code/RE Code Cross Reference Table shows that a Soldier assigned an SPD Code of "JKK" 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 to upgrade his under other than honorable conditions discharge to general (under honorable conditions) and to change the narrative reason for his discharge. The applicant's available record of service, and 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, as a Soldier, had the duty to support and abide by the Army's drug policies. By abusing illegal drugs and incidents of misconduct, the applicant knowingly risked a military career and marred the quality of his service that ultimately caused his discharge from the Army. 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. The applicant's contentions regarding his behavioral health issues relating to suffering from the acute symptoms of PTSD, were carefully considered. A careful review of the available record and the applicant's documentary evidence indicates the applicant's behavioral health issues symptoms existed, and the applicant contends they were contributing factors that led to his misconduct. If the Board determines the applicant's behavioral health issues were significant contributing factors to his misconduct, it can grant appropriate relief by changing the reason for separation and/or the characterization of service. The applicant contends that an upgrade of his discharge would allow him medical treatment for his PTSD. However, eligibility for veterans' benefits to include educational benefits under the Post-9/11 or Montgomery GI Bill does not fall within the purview of the Army Discharge Review Board. Accordingly, the applicant should contact a local office of the Department of Veterans Affairs for further assistance. In consideration of the applicant's service accomplishments and quality of his service prior to the incidents of misconduct, and his post-service accomplishments, the Board can find that his complete period of service and accomplishments were or were not sufficiently mitigating to warrant an upgrade of his characterization of service and to change the narrative reason for his discharge. The applicant requests to change the reason for his separation; however, the narrative reason for his separation is governed by specific directives and as approved by the separation authority. The narrative reason specified by AR 635-5-1 for a discharge under Chapter 14, paragraph 14-12c(2) is "Misconduct (Drug Abuse)," and the separation code is JKK. The regulation further stipulates that no deviation is authorized. There is no provision for any other reason to be entered under this regulation. The record does not contain any indication or evidence of arbitrary or capricious actions by the command and all requirements of law and regulation were met and the rights of the applicant were fully protected throughout the separation process. 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 3 August 2018, and by a 4-1 vote, the Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's length and quality of service, to include combat service and the circumstances surrounding the discharge (i.e. in-service diagnosis of OBH and PTSD). Therefore, the board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade of the characterization of service to honorable and changed to the separation authority to AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12a, the narrative reason for separation to Misconduct (Minor Infractions), the separation code to JKN, and the reentry code to RE-3. 10. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New DD-214: Yes b. Change Characterization to: Honorable c. Change Reason to: Misconduct (Minor Infractions) d. Change Authority to: AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12a e. Change SPD / RE Code to: JKN / RE-3 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 AR20180005868 1