1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 19 April 2018 b. Date Received: 17 May 2018 c. Counsel: None 2. REQUEST, ISSUES, BOARD TYPE, AND DECISION: The applicant requests an upgrade of general (under honorable conditions) discharge to honorable and a reentry eligibility (RE) code change. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, believes the general discharge was unwarranted and that the ultimate characterization, based on an administrative board recommendation, failed to take into consideration a number of matters and occurrences that could well have changed the direction and outcome of service. After redeployment from Afghanistan, the applicant began drinking very heavily. While a model Soldier during the day, the applicant drank heavily after duty. The applicant is not certain, to this day, how much the deployments influenced the drinking as there was so much that transpired while deployed. The applicant endured daily mortar and shelling, personally witnessed an overdose-related death and was aware of other suicides. The applicant is convinced it all played a part in the behavior and did not have the tools or support to address the matters outside of attending AA. The transfer after the first Article 15 did not allow the applicant time to even begin getting help. During redeployment, the applicant did not recognize that problems existed as a result of the environment the applicant had been in while deployed. When the applicant went through medical screening, the applicant said the applicant was glad to be back as the applicant believed that was what "they" expected and wanted. The applicant did not have any sense that anyone really cared what the applicant had experienced or seen. The applicant is still the one who is ultimately responsible for the actions and behavior. Since discharge, the applicant has been sober, attends school and works two jobs to ensure the future is more secure. The hope is to return to military service, as the applicant never wanted a discharge. With three Article 15s, the misconduct discharge would normally be warranted, however, the applicant respectfully submits that the command did not provide the support that was available at that time to help the applicant redirect and maintain good order and discipline. The applicant believes the board took the easy route to discharge the applicant despite the support from witnesses and actual service. The applicant knows that over the years all military branches have changed the approach to returning warriors and understands there are many levels of post-traumatic stress. The applicant believes that this played a significant part in the behavior and is seeking help for it on one's own. An upgrade will not only enable the applicant to attempt to reentering the military, but will also give the applicant the peace of mind knowing that the service was of value as well as the applicant and that there are those who do hear and act on what is just. The applicant further details contentions in an allied self-authored statement. 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 Alcohol Abuse. The applicant is 10% service-connected for non-BH conditions from the VA. The VA has also diagnosed the applicant with Alcohol Abuse, Marijuana Abuse, Alcohol Use Disorder, and Persistent Depressive Disorder. In summary, the applicant does not have 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 26 February 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 (i.e. post- service diagnosis of OBHI), and a 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 and changed to the separation authority to AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12a, the narrative reason for separation to Misconduct (Minor Infractions), and the separation code to JKN. (Board member names available upon request) 3. DISCHARGE DETAILS: a. Reason / Authority / Codes / Characterization: Misconduct (Serious Offense) / AR 635-200 / Chapter 14-12c / JKQ / RE-3 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) b. Date of Discharge: 5 October 2010 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 27 May 2010 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: He was apprehended on two separate occasion for Driving While Intoxicated and cited twice for driving on a suspended license. (3) Recommended Characterization: General (Under Honorable Conditions) (4) Legal Consultation Date: 27 May 2010 (5) Administrative Separation Board: On 29 June 2010, the applicant was notified to appear before an administrative separation board and advised of his rights. On 7 July 2010, the administrative separation board convened and the applicant appeared with counsel. The board recommended the applicant's discharge with characterization of service of Under Other Than Honorable Conditions. On 9 September 2010, the separation authority approved the findings and recommendations of the administrative separation board and directed the applicant's discharge with a characterization of service of general (under honorable conditions). (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 9 September 2010 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 25 March 2003 / 5 years b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 19 / HS Graduate / 104 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-5 / 25B10, IT Specialist / 7 years, 8 months, 13 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: None e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: Alaska, Germany, SWA / Afghanistan (13 December 2007 - 12 March 2009); Iraq (15 October 2003 - 7 March 2004 / 5 October 2005 - 28 September 2006) f. Awards and Decorations: ACM-CS, ICM-3CS, ARCOM, AAM, MUC, AGCM, NDSM, GWOTEM, GWOTSM, NCOPDR, ASR, OSR-3, NATOMDL g. Performance Ratings: 1 September 2007 - 30 November 2007 / Fully Capable 1 December 2007 - 31 August 2008 / Fully Capable 1 September 2008 - 25 February 2009 / Fully Capable h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: Military Police Report, dated 4 December 2006, reflects the applicant was apprehended for: Drunken Driving (Off Post). Military Police Report, dated 6 June 2009, reflects the applicant was apprehended for: Driving While License is Suspend (On Post). Military Police Report, dated 8 October 2009, reflects the applicant was apprehended for: Traffic Accident Resulting in Personal Injury (On Post); Traffic Accident with Damage to Private Property (On Post); Failure To Exercise Due Care (On Post); Driving While License Suspended or Revoked (On Post). Military Police Report, dated 30 January 2010, reflects the applicant was apprehended for: Drunken, or Reckless Operation of a Vehicle Aircraft, or Vessel on: Drunken, or Reckless Operation of a Vehicle Aircraft, or Vessel (On Post). FG Article 15, dated 8 February 2010, for physically controlling a vehicle while the alcohol concentration in his breath was equal to or exceeded .08 grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath, which is a violation of Alaska State Statute (29 January 2010). The punishment consisted of a reduction to E-1; forfeiture of $723 pay per month for two months; and, extra duty and restriction for 45 days. General Officer Memorandum Of Reprimand, dated 18 February 2010, driving under the influence of alcohol on Fort Richardson, Alaska, on 30 January 2010. A Military Police Officer conducted a traffic stop of your vehicle after observing his vehicle turn from the Glenn Highway off-ramp and travel in the opposing traffic lane, coming very close to striking a guardrail on the Fort Richardson overpass. Upon contact with him, the Officer noticed the odor of alcohol. He failed a series of Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and provided a breath sample resulting in a Breath Alcohol Content (BRAC) of .181 percent. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: None j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: Report of Behavioral Health Evaluation, dated 10 March 2010, reflects the applicant was mentally responsible with a clear thinking process and had the mental capacity to understand and participate in the proceedings. The applicant was cleared for any administrative actions deemed appropriate by the command. The applicant was diagnosed with: Alcohol Abuse. 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293, with allied brief. 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: The applicant states, he has been sober, attends school and works two jobs. 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 states a Soldier is subject to action per this section for commission of a serious military or civilian offense, if the specific circumstances of the offense warrant separation and a punitive discharge is, or would be, authorized for the same or a closely related offense under the Manual for Courts-Martial. 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 "JKQ" as the appropriate code to assign enlisted Soldiers who are discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 14, paragraph 12c, misconduct (serious offense). The SPD Code/RE Code Cross Reference Table shows that a Soldier assigned an SPD Code of "JKQ" will be assigned an RE Code of 3. 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 and a reentry eligibility (RE) code change. The applicant's 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. The applicant believes he was suffering from PTSD, which affected his behavior and led to his discharge. 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 applicant desires to rejoin the Military Service. However, Soldiers being processed for separation are assigned reentry codes based on their service records or the reason for discharge. Based on Army Regulation 635-5-1 and the SPD Code/RE Code Cross Reference Table, the applicant was appropriately assigned an RE code of 3. There are no basis upon which to grant a change to the reason or to the RE code. An RE Code of 3 indicates the applicant requires a waiver prior to being allowed to reenlist. If reenlistment is desired, the applicant should contact a local recruiter to determine eligibility to reenlist. Recruiters can best advise a former service member as to the needs of the Army at the time, and are required to process waivers of reentry eligibility (RE) codes if appropriate. The Army Discharge Review Board is authorized to consider post-service factors in the recharacterization of a discharge. However, there is no law or regulation which provides an unfavorable discharge may be upgraded based solely on the passage of time or good conduct in civilian life subsequent to leaving the service. Outstanding post-service conduct, to the extent such matters provide a basis for a more thorough understanding of the applicant's performance and conduct during the period of service under review, is considered during Board proceedings. The Board reviews each discharge on a case-by-case basis to determine if post-service accomplishments help demonstrate previous in-service misconduct was an aberration and not indicative of the member's overall character. 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 26 February 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 (i.e. post-service diagnosis of OBHI), and a 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 and changed to the separation authority to AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12a, the narrative reason for separation to Misconduct (Minor Infractions), and the separation code to JKN. 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 / 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 AR20180006834 4