1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 2 December 2018 b. Date Received: 10 December 2018 c. Counsel: None 2. REQUEST, ISSUES, BOARD TYPE, AND DECISION: The current characterization of service for the period under review is under other than honorable conditions. The applicant requests to general (under honorable conditions) or honorable and a change to the narrative reason for separation. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, he believed that the non-judicial punishment was primarily motivated to force him out of the service, not rehabilitate him as a Soldier. He never agreed to the narrative reason "in lieu of court martial." He views the under other than honorable conditions characterization of service as punishment without due process of law. In a records review conducted on 5 May 2021, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board denied the request upon finding the separation was both proper and equitable. Please see Section 9 of this document for more detail regarding the Board's decision (Board member names available upon request) 3. DISCHARGE DETAILS: a. Reason / Authority / Codes / Characterization: In Lieu of Trial by Court Martial / AR 600-8-24, Paragraph 3-13 / DFS / NA / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions b. Date of Discharge: 2 October 2009 c. Separation Facts: No (1) Date Charges Were Preferred: 23 February 2007 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: The evidence of record contains a DD Form 458, Charge Sheet which indicates on 7 June 2012, the applicant was charged with giving a public interview in which he communicated the following disgraceful statement, to wit: "I could never conceive of our leader betraying the trust we had in him .... As I read about the level of deception the Bush administration used to initiate and process this war, I was shocked. I became ashamed of wearing the uniform. How can we wear something with such a time honored tradition, knowing we waged war based on a misrepresentation and lies? It was a betrayal of the trust of the American people. And these lies were a betrayal of the trust of the military and the Soldiers. But I felt there was nothing to be done, and this administration was just continually violating the law to serve their purpose, and there was nothing to stop them. Realizing the President is taking us into a war that he misled us about has broken that bond of trust that we had. If the President can betray my trust, it's time for me to evaluate what he's telling me to do," or words to that effect, his statement bringing dishonor to. the Armed Forces (25 May 2006); and give a public interview in which he communicated the following disgraceful statement, to wit "I was shocked and at the same time ashamed that Bush had planned to invade Iraq before the 9/11 attacks. How could I wear this honorable uniform now knowing we invaded a country for a lie?", or words to that effect, his statemei1t bringing dishonor to the Armed Forces (7 June 2006). (3) Recommended Characterization: The applicant's chain of command recommended an Under Other Than Honorable Conditions discharge. On 20 July 2009, DA, Headquarters, Fort Lewis, The Commanding General, recommended approval of the applicant's request for resignation for the good of the service in lieu of trial by court-martial with a characterization of service of Under Other Than Honorable Conditions. (4) Legal Consultation Date: 26 June 2009, the applicant consulted with legal counsel and voluntarily tendered his resignation from the Army for the good of the service under the provisions of AR 600-8-24, chapter 3, paragraph 3-13. The applicant did not desire to appear before a court-martial or board of officers (BOI). (5) Administrative Separation Board: None (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: On 14 September 2009, The Department of the Army Ad Hoc Review Board reviewed his Resignation for the Good of the Service in Lieu of General Court-Martial tendered by the applicant. The Deputy Assistant Secretary (Army Review Boards) accepted his resignation and he was discharged from the US Army with an under other than honorable conditions characterization of service. 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 4 December 2003 / NIF b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 25 / BA Degree / NA c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: 0-2 / 13A, Field Artillery / 6 years, 3 months, 15 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: RA, 18 June 2003 to 2 December 2003 / NA Appointed 2LT / USAR, 3 December 2003 / NA e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: Korea f. Awards and Decorations: ARCOM, NDSM, GWOTSM, KDSM, ASR, OSR g. Performance Ratings: 1 January 2005 to 15 June 2005, Best Qualified 16 June 2005 to 2 November 2008, Fully Qualified h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: None i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: None j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: None. 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293 (two pages) and a DD Form 214 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: None submitted with the application 7. STATUTORY, REGULATORY AND POLICY REFERENCE(S): a. Army Regulation 600-8-24, Officer Transfers and Discharges, sets forth the basic authority for the separation of commissioned and warrant officers. (1) Paragraph 1-23, provides the authorized types of characterization of service or description of separation. (2) Paragraph 1-23a, states an officer will normally receive an honorable characterization of service when the quality of the officer's service has met the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty, or the final revocation of a security clearance under DODI 5200.02 and AR 380-67 for reasons that do not involve acts of misconduct for an officer. (3) Paragraph 1-23b, states an officer will normally receive a general (under honorable conditions) characterization of service when the officer's military record is satisfactory but not sufficiently meritorious to warrant an honorable discharge. (4) Paragraph 1-23c, states a discharge under other than honorable conditions is an administrative separation from the service. A discharge certificate will not be issued. An officer will normally receive an under other than honorable conditions when he or she: Resigns for the good of the Service; is dropped from the rolls (DFR) of the Army in accordance with paragraph 5-9; (3) is involuntarily separated due to misconduct, moral or professional dereliction, or for the final revocation of a security clearance under DODI 5200.02 and AR 380-67 as a result of an act or acts of misconduct, including misconduct for which punishment was imposed; and, is discharged following conviction by civilian authorities. (5) Chapter 3 prescribes the tasks, rules, and steps for processing voluntary resignations. Except as provided below, any officer of the Active Army or USAR may tender a resignation under provisions of this chapter. The Secretary of the Army or his designee may accept resignations and orders will be issued by direction of the CG, HRC. An officer whose resignation has been accepted will be separated on the date specified in DA's orders or as otherwise directed by the DA. An appropriate discharge certificate as specified by the CG, HRC, will be furnished by the appropriate commander at the time the officer is separated. The date of separation, as specified or directed, will not be changed without prior approval of HQDA nor can valid separation orders be revoked subsequent to the specified or directed date of separation. Except when resignation is under section VI of this chapter, USAR officers in an AGR status or on ADT, ADSW, TTAD and Soldiers on AD pursuant to 10 USC 12304 (Presidential Selected Reserve) will request resignations under the provisions of AR 135-175. Before such a request is submitted, they must be released from their AD status. (6) Paragraph 3-13 outlines the rules for processing requests for resignation for the good of the Service in lieu of trial by a general court-martial. (7) Paragraph 3-i. An officer separated under this paragraph normally receives characterization of service of under other than honorable conditions. b. 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 "DFS" as the appropriate code to assign Officers who are discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 600-8-24, Chapter 3-13, in lieu of trial by court-martial. 8. DISCUSSION OF FACT(S): The Army Discharge Review Board considers applications for upgrade as instructed by Department of Defense Instruction 1332.28. The applicant's record of service, the issues and documents submitted with the application were carefully reviewed. The record indicates the applicant was charged with the commission of offenses punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice with a punitive discharge. The applicant voluntarily requested resignation in lieu of trial by general court-martial under the provisions of Chapter 3, AR 600-8-24. The appropriate authority approved the applicant's request with issuance of an under other than honorable conditions characterization of service. The applicant did not desire to appear before a court-martial or a board of officers. The applicant seeks relief contending, he believed that the non-judicial punishment was primarily motivated to force him out of the service, not rehabilitate him as a Soldier; and he views the under other than honorable conditions characterization of service as punishment without due process of law. 9. BOARD DISCUSSION AND DETERMINATION: a. As directed by the 2017 memo signed by A.M. Kurta, the board considered the following factors: (1) Did the applicant have a condition or experience that may excuse or mitigate the discharge? No. The Board's Medical Advisor reviewed all available medical records and found no BH diagnoses on the applicant. The applicant provided no documents that, when applying liberal consideration, convinced the Board of a possible mitigating BH condition. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? N/A (3) Does the condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? N/A (4) Does the condition or experience outweigh the discharge? N/A b. The applicant seeks relief contending, he believed that the non-judicial punishment was primarily motivated to force him out of the service, not rehabilitate him as a Soldier; and he views the under other than honorable conditions characterization of service as punishment without due process of law. The record shows he deliberately missed movement as an Officer and then repeatedly went public with his objections. The record confirms 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 diminished the quality of his service below that meriting an honorable discharge at the time of separation. Finally, AR 600-8-24 (Officer Transfers and Discharges) states in Paragraph 1-23c that an officer will normally receive an under other than honorable conditions discharge when he or she resigns for the good of the Service, as the applicant did. c. The Board denied the request upon finding the separation was both proper and equitable. The Board determined that the documentation contained in the AMHRR, as well as evidence submitted by the applicant, did not support a finding that the applicant's discharge was improper or inequitable. However, the applicant may request a personal appearance hearing to address the issues before the Board. The applicant is responsible for satisfying the burden of proof and providing documents or other evidence sufficient to support the applicant's contention(s) that the discharge was improper or inequitable. d. Rationale for Decision: (1) The Board voted not to change the applicant's characterization of service because, despite applying liberal consideration, there were no mitigating circumstances that might explain the missed movement and public interview against the military, the applicant did not supply sufficient independent corroborating evidence to support contentions, and 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. (2) The Board voted not to change the applicant's reason for discharge or accompanying SPD code under the same pretexts, and the reason the applicant was discharged was both proper and equitable. 10. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New DD-214 / Separation Order: No b. Change Characterization to: No Change c. Change Reason / SPD Code to: No Change d. Change Authority to: No Change Authenticating Official: Legend: AWOL - Absent Without Leave AMHRR - Army Military Human Resource Record BCD - Bad Conduct Discharge BH - Behavioral Health CG - Company Grade Article 15 CID - Criminal Investigation Division ELS - Entry Level Status FG - Field Grade Article 15 GD - General Discharge HS - High School HD - Honorable Discharge IADT - Initial Active Duty Training MP - Military Police MST - Military Sexual Trauma NA - Not applicable NCO - Noncommissioned Officer NIF - Not in File NOS - Not Otherwise Specified OAD - Ordered to Active Duty OMPF - Official Military Personnel File PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder RE - Reentry SCM - Summary Court Martial SPCM - Special Court Martial SPD - Separation Program Designator TBI - Traumatic Brain Injury UNC - Uncharacterized Discharge UOTHC - Under Other Than Honorable Conditions VA - Department of Veterans Affairs [Type here] ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE AR20190000110 1