1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 15 March 2019 b. Date Received: 29 March 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, there was no evidence of the claims brought against him. The applicant also states the other individuals involved were not separated. In a records review conducted on 25 June 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: Misconduct (Serious Offense) / AR 635-200, Paragraph 14-12c / JKQ / RE-3 / General, Under Honorable Conditions b. Date of Discharge: 19 May 2017 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 26 January 2017 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: The applicant engaged in an adulterous relationship, made false official statements, and wrongfully cohabitated with a person not his spouse. (3) Recommended Characterization: General, under honorable conditions . (4) Legal Consultation Date: NIF (5) Administrative Separation Board: 13 March 2017, recommended the applicant be separated from Service with a General, under honorable conditions discharge (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 16 March 2017 / General, under honorable conditions 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 6 February 2013 / 4 years b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 18 / HS Graduate / 116 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-4 / 25U, Signal Support Specialist / 7 years, 9 months, 21 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: RA, 29 July 2009 - 5 February 2013 / HD e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: SWA / Iraq 20 November 2010 - 20 October 2011 f. Awards and Decorations: ARCOM, AAM-3, MUC, AGCM, NDSM, GWOTSM, ICM-CS, ASR, OSR, CAB g. Performance Ratings: NA h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: DA Form 1574-2 (Report of Proceedings by Board Of Officers), dated 13 March 2017, which found the applicant: * Did make a false official statement on or about 8 August 2016, which does not warrant separation * Did not make a false official statement on 27 October 2016, which does not warrant separation * Did wrongfully have sexual intercourse between on or about 1 March 2016 and on or about 1 November 2016 with SPC D.F., a woman not his wife, which does warrant separation i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: None j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: Report of Mental Status Evaluation, dated 12 January 2017, reflects the applicant was cleared for any administrative actions deemed appropriate by the command. The applicant could understand the difference between right and wrong and could participate in the proceedings. The applicant was diagnosed with: Anxiety Disorder, Unspecified (By History). 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 149, Memorandum, Findings and Recommendation., dated 29 August 2016, DA Form 1574-1 (Report of Proceedings by Investigating Officer)-2, Orders 237-002, dated 23 August 2016, Promotion List, dated 23 August 2016, Memo, Reason Why Article 15 ..., dated 10 November 2016, Letter of Support, Letter from applicant's wife, Permanent Order 075-050, ARCOM Certificate-2, AAM Certificate- 2, COA-3, Certificate of Training-5, DA Form 1059 (Service School Academic Evaluation Report), AGCM Certificate, Certificate of Completion for the Modern Army Combative Course, Certificate of Attendance, Text messages, DA Form 4856 (Developmental Counseling Form)-2, DA Form 2627 (Record of Proceedings Under Article 15, UCMJ), Memo, Appointment of Investigating Officer, dated 28 September 2016, Administrative Separation Board Summarized Transcript, Memo, Referral of Respondent.., dated 1 February 2017, Memo, Notification to Appear Before a Board of Officers.., dated 3 February 2017, Memo, Separation Under AR 635- 200..., Memo, Acknowledgement of Receipt of Separation Notice.., dated 26 January 2017, Memo, Findings and Recommendation for Army Regulation.., dated 9 August 2016. 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: None submitted with application. 7. 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 there was no evidence of the claims brought against him. The applicant contends the other individuals involved were not separated. 8. 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) Paragraph 3-7c states Under other-than-honorable-conditions discharge is an administrative separation from the Service under conditions other than honorable and it may be issued for misconduct, fraudulent entry, security reasons, or in lieu of trial by court martial based on certain circumstances or patterns of behavior or acts or omissions that constitute a significant departure from the conduct expected of Soldiers in the Army. (5) 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. (6) 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. (7) 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. 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) Applicant has been diagnosed with PTSD by the VA. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? (YES) The VA has service connected the applicant's diagnosis of PTSD. (3) Does the condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? (NO) The ADRB decided that while PTSD may occasionally cause brief lapses in judgment, it does not cause long-term impairment in judgment nor does it affect an individual's ability to distinguish right from wrong. Accordingly, the ADRB found that adultery over the course of more than six months is not mitigated. (4) Does the condition or experience outweigh the discharge? (NO) Despite applying liberal consideration, the ADRB concurred with the Medical Advisor's opinion that the applicant's diagnosis of PTSD does not outweigh his discharge characterization. The Board found that adultery, false official statement, and wrongful cohabitation are not mitigated by the applicant's PTSD diagnosis. Rather, the evidence reflects applicant engaged in misconduct over an extended period that resulted in his discharge. The Board found the diagnosis of PTSD did not outweigh this multi-month period of misconduct. b. The applicant contends there was no evidence of the claims brought against him. The applicant's discharge packet contains documents including the report of a separation board. The ADRB reviewed the report of the separation board and found, after careful consideration, that evidence did exist of the claims brought against the applicant. c. The applicant contends the other individuals involved were not separated. The ADRB makes decisions based on the merits of each case. The ADRB did not consider the consequences of the applicant's actions on other individuals. d. The Board determined that the applicant was properly and equitably discharged. e. Rationale for Decision: (1) The Board voted not to change the applicant's characterization of service because, despite applying liberal consideration, the applicant's diagnosis of PTSD does not cause long- term impairment in judgment nor does it affect an individual's ability to distinguish right from wrong that would mitigate the adultery for which the applicant was discharged. The ADRB found that 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 because, despite applying liberal consideration, there were no BH diagnoses which mitigated the misconduct and the reason the applicant was discharged was both proper and equitable. (3) Because the characterization and reason were 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 / Separation Order: No b. Change Characterization to: No Change 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 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 AR20190006005 1