1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 9 April 2019 b. Date Received: 12 April 2019 c. Counsel: None 2. REQUEST, ISSUES, BOARD TYPE, AND DECISION: The applicant requests an upgrade of general (under honorable conditions) discharge to honorable. The applicant seeks relief contending, in pertinent part and in effect, was suffering from PTSD. At the time, the applicant was trying to cope with the PTSD symptoms by drinking alcohol that led to a DUI and poor physical performance. They became the bases for separation. The applicant was arrested for a DUI while on R&R from Iraq, and upon returning to Iraq, failed multiple APFTs. The applicant became depressed and ashamed of the DUI arrest. The OERs would show that the applicant's performance decreased after deployment due to being affected by the PTSD. The applicant has since been diagnosed with PTSD by VA. The applicant is now disabled. 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 the applicant's active duty records are unavailable for review due to the period of service. The applicant is 30% service-connected for PTSD from the VA. In summary, the applicant's BH diagnosis is partially mitigating for the misconduct which led to separation from the Army. In a records review conducted at Arlington, VA on 1 April 2020, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board denied the request upon finding the separation was both proper and equitable. (Board member names available upon request) 3. DISCHARGE DETAILS: a. Reason / Authority / Codes / Characterization: Unacceptable Conduct / AR 600-8-24, Paragraphs 4-2b / JNC / NA / General (Under Honorable Conditions) b. Date of Discharge: 21 April 2009 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 28 January 2009 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: On 4 February 2008, the applicant engaged in an unprofessional verbal altercation with SSG S. On 18 March 2008, the applicant failed to remain calm and maintain his military bearing while speaking to SFC K.S. On 21 March 2008, the applicant was counseled by MAJ J.S. regarding his inability to perform his duties adequately as a battle captain.' On 11 June 2008, and 4 July 2008, the applicant failed the record Army Physical Fitness Tests. On 24 October 2008, BG W.M. filed a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand for driving an automobile while impaired by alcohol in his Official Military Performance File. (3) Recommended Characterization: General (Under Honorable Conditions) by the GCMCA, and the company and brigade commanders, and Honorable by the battalion commander (4) Legal Consultation Date: 9 February 2009 (5) DA Ad Hoc Review Board Recommendation: 20 March 2009 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 20 March 2009 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Ordered to AD: 3 April 2007 / Call/Ordered to/Extended AD, period NIF b. Age at Appointment / Education / GT Score: 33 / Bachelor of Arts Degree / NA c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: O-2 / 35D All Source Intelligence / 11 years, 19 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: DEP (18 June 1994 to 15 September 1994) / NA RA (16 September 1994 to 2 February 1997) / HD USAR (3 February 1997 to 26 November 2001) / NA Break in Service (27 November 2001 to 21 March 2005) / NA USAR (22 March 2005 to 13 June 2005) / NA MOB (14 June 2005 to 28 September 2005) / NIF USAR APPT (29 September 2005 to 2 April 2007) / NA e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: SWA / Iraq (10 June 2007 to 13 July 2008) f. Awards and Decorations: AGCM; NDSM-2; AFEM; GWOTSM; ASR; OSR; AFRM-M DEV; AFRM g. Performance Ratings: Three OERs rendered during period of service under current review: 29 March 2007 thru 5 December 2007, Outstanding Performance, Must Promote 15 March 2008 thru 15 September 2008, Unsatisfactory Performance, Do Not Promote 16 September 2008 thru 24 April 2009, Satisfactory Performance, Promote h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: Counseling Statements for being counseled on the overall performance as a battle captain; lacking intensity in the TOC; having a borderline conduct unbecoming of an officer in his actions with two NCOs; counseling becoming a regular event; character as a commissioned officer being questioned; being involved in a drinking and driving incident during his block leave; FLAG action being implemented; two subsequent APFT failures; and having four APFT failures. General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand with its associated documents, dated 9 June 2008, indicates the applicant was reprimanded for being arrested for driving while impaired on 21 May 2008. Two Army Physical Fitness Test Scorecards, in pertinent part, dated 11 June 2008, shows "0" for 2-mile run, and a total score of 148; and the latter dated 4 July 2008, shows "59" for 2-mile run. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: None / NA j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: Applicant's documentary evidence: VA Confidential medical evaluation, dated 10 December 2018, indicates the applicant had a diagnosis of PTSD that conformed to DSM-5 criteria, secondary to combat exposure during his military service. 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293 (Application for the Review of Discharge), dated 9 April 2019; DD Form 214; VA Confidential health record, dated 10 December 2018; four OERs; and GOMOR and its associated documents, dated 8 June 2008. Additional Evidence: An email correspondence forwarding DASA decision ALARACT message and discharge orders. 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: None provided with the application. 7. REGULATORY CITATION(S): Army Regulation (AR) 600-8-24 (Officer Transfers and Discharges), sets forth the basic authority for the separation of commissioned and warrant officers. Chapter 4 outlines the policy and procedure for the elimination of officers from the active Army for substandard performance of duty, misconduct, moral or professional dereliction, and in the interest of national security. Paragraph 1-22a, provides that 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. An honorable discharge is a separation with honor and entitles the recipient to benefits provided by law. A general (under honorable conditions) characterization of service will normally be issued to an officer when the officer's military record is satisfactory but not sufficiently meritorious to warrant an honorable discharge. A separation general (under honorable conditions) will normally be appropriate when an officer submits an unqualified resignation or a request for relief from active duty under circumstances involving misconduct which renders the officer unsuitable for further service, unless an under other than honorable conditions separation is appropriate. A discharge under other than honorable conditions is an administrative separation from the service under conditions other than honorable. An officer will normally receive an under other than honorable conditions when they resign for the good of the service, are dropped from the rolls of the Army, are involuntarily separated due to misconduct, moral or professional dereliction, or for the final revocation of a security clearance as a result of an act or acts of misconduct. 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 "JNC" as the appropriate code to assign Soldiers who are discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 600-8-24, Chapter 4, paragraph 4-2b, unacceptable conduct, pursuant to resignation or voluntary discharge in lieu of elimination proceedings. 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. The applicant's available record of service, and the issues and documents submitted with his application were carefully reviewed. The record confirms the applicant's discharge, based on unacceptable conduct, 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 Army officers. It brought discredit on the Army and was prejudicial to good order and discipline. The applicant provided no corroborating evidence demonstrating that the command's action was erroneous or sufficient evidence showing his service mitigated the unacceptable conduct or poor duty performance, such that he should have been retained on Active Duty. The applicant's contentions regarding his behavioral health issues which involved suffering from PTSD, as he was trying to cope with the PTSD symptoms by drinking alcohol that led to his DUI and poor physical performance, were carefully considered. A careful review of the applicant's documentary evidence indicates the applicant's behavioral health issues along with notable service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder 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 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 1 April 2020, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board denied the request upon finding the separation was both proper and equitable. 10. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New DD-214 / Issue a New 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 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 AR20190006830 1