1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 14 February 2019 b. Date Received: 19 February 2019 c. Counsel: None 2. REQUEST, ISSUES, BOARD TYPE, AND DECISION: The current characterization of service for the period under review is general, under honorable conditions. The applicant requests an upgrade to honorable. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and experienced racism and harassment. In a records review conducted on 25 June 2021, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board determined that the characterization of service was inequitable based on the applicant's length and quality of service, to include combat service, and the circumstances surrounding the discharge (PTSD diagnosis), and homelessness. Accordingly, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade to the characterization of service to Honorable. 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: Misconduct (Minor Infractions) / AR 635-200 / Chapter 14-12a / JKN / RE-3 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) b. Date of Discharge: 8 March 2012 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 25 January 2012 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: On or about 22 September 2011, the applicant absented himself from his unit until 19 October 2011; on 8 December 2011, the applicant failed to properly maintain his equipment as directed by his NCO; on 10 December 2011, the applicant failed to be properly shaven as directed by his NCO; and on 8 December 2011, the applicant failed to have the necessary equipment for an in-ranks inspection. (3) Recommended Characterization: General, under honorable conditions (4) Legal Consultation Date: 30 January 2012 (5) Administrative Separation Board: NA (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: NIF / General, Under Honorable Conditions 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 21 January 2009 / 4 years, 16 weeks b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 20 / GED / 126 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-4 / 11B, Infantryman, 3 years, 21 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: None e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: SWA / Afghanistan 9 July 2009 - 15 July 2010 f. Awards and Decorations: ARCOM, NDSM, AMC-CS-2, GWOTSM, ASR, OSR, NATO Medal g. Performance Ratings: NA h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: FG Article 15, dated 29 November 2011, reflects the applicant was absent with authority from on or about 22 September 2011 to on or about 19 October 2011. The punishment consisted of reduction to private/E-1; forfeiture of $733.00 pay for two months; and extra duty and restriction for 45 days. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: AWOL for 27 days, 22 September 2011 - 18 October 2011 / The Applicant Returned to military control. j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: Mental Status Evaluation, dated 31 October 2011, reflects the applicant was cleared for any administrative actions deemed appropriate by the command. The applicant was mentally responsible with clear a thinking process and could appreciate the difference between right and wrong. The applicant was diagnosed with: Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Disturbance of Emotions and Conduct. The applicant provides a letter from the Department of Veteran Affairs, dated 13 February 2019, which reflects the applicant is rated as 100-percent service connected for PTSD. 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293, DD Form 214, Letter from the Department of Veteran Affairs 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: None submitted with the application. 7. STATUTORY, REGULATORY AND POLICY REFERENCE(S): a. Section 1553, Title 10, United States Code (Review of Discharge or Dismissal) provides for the creation, composition, and scope of review conducted by a Discharge Review Board(s) within established governing standards. As amended by Sections 521 and 525 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, 10 USC 1553 provides 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), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), sexual trauma, intimate partner violence (IPV), or spousal abuse, as a basis for discharge review. The amended guidance provides 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, sexual trauma, IPV, or spousal abuse, as a basis for the discharge. Further, the guidance provides that Military Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records and Discharge Review Boards will develop and provide specialized training specific to sexual trauma, IPV, spousal abuse, as well as the various responses of individuals to trauma. b. Multiple Department of Defense Policy Guidance Memoranda published between 2014 and 2018. The documents are commonly referred to by the signatory authorities' last names (2014 Secretary of Defense Guidance [Hagel memo], 2016 Acting Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness [Carson memo], 2017 Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness [Kurta memo], and 2018 Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness [Wilkie memo]. (1) Individually and collectively, these documents provide further clarification 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. (2) 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. c. Army Regulation 15-180 (Army Discharge Review Board), dated 25 September 2019, sets forth the policies and procedures under which the Army Discharge Review Board is authorized to review the character, reason, and authority of any Servicemember discharged from active military service within 15 years of the Servicemember's date of discharge. Additionally, it prescribes actions and composition of the Army Discharge Review Board under Public Law 95-126; Section 1553, Title 10 United States Code; and Department of Defense Directive 1332.41 and Instruction 1332.28. d. Army Regulation 635-200 provides the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel. (1) Chapter 3, Section II provides the authorized types of characterization of service or description of separation. (2) Paragraph 3-7a states an Honorable discharge is a separation with honor and is appropriate when the quality of the Soldier's service generally has met the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty for Army personnel or is otherwise so meritorious that any other characterization would be clearly inappropriate. (3) Paragraph 3-7b states a General discharge is a separation from the Army under honorable conditions and is issued to a Soldier whose military record is satisfactory but not sufficiently meritorious to warrant an honorable discharge. (4) 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. (5) Paragraph 14-3 prescribes a discharge under other than honorable conditions is normally appropriate for a Soldier discharged under this chapter. However, the separation authority may direct a general discharge if such is merited by the Soldier's overall record. (6) Paragraph 14-12a, addresses minor disciplinary infractions, defined as a pattern of misconduct, consisting solely of minor military disciplinary infractions. 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 applicant contends, in effect, he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and experienced racism and harassment. 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? (YES) VA medical records indicate that the applicant is 100% service connected for combat-related PTSD. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? (YES) Applicant is 100% service connected for PTSD by the VA. (3) Does the condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? (YES) The ADRB decided that the applicant's avoidant behavior is mitigated by his diagnosis of PTSD (4) Does the condition or experience outweigh the discharge? (YES) The ADRB found that the severity of the applicant's PTSD condition greatly outweighs the applicant's discharge and warrants an upgrade to his discharge. b. The Board determined that the characterization of service was inequitable based on the applicant's length and quality of service, to include combat service, and the circumstances surrounding the discharge (PTSD diagnosis), and homelessness. c. The applicant contends he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The ADRB found that the applicant's PTSD is well documented by the VA. d. The applicant contends he experienced racism and harassment. The Board carefully considered the applicant's experience of racism and harassment, but focused their liberal consideration of the case on the applicant's PTSD. e. Rationale for Decision: (1) The Board voted to change the applicant's characterization of service to Honorable because the applicant is service-connected for PTSD which mitigates the applicant's AWOL. Thus the prior characterization is no longer appropriate. (2) The Board voted not to change the applicant's reason for discharge because, despite applying liberal consideration, the current reason code was both proper and equitable. (3) Because the reason was not changed, the SPD/RE code will not change, as the current codes are consistent with the procedural and substantive requirements of the regulation. 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 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 OBH - Other Behavioral Health 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 ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE AR20190004059 4