1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 19 July 2019 b. Date Received: 19 August 2019 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 an upgrade to honorable or general (under honorable conditions). The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, applicant was administratively discharged while pending a medical separation. Applicant was dealing with family issues which greatly affected the applicant after a deployment and applicant did not know how to cope with them. In a records review conducted on 11 March 2022, 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 (OBHI and PTSD diagnoses). Accordingly, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade to the characterization of service to General, Under Honorable Conditions. The Board determined the narrative reason/SPD code and RE code were proper and equitable and voted not to change them. 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 / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions b. Date of Discharge: 21 October 2010 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 21 June 2010 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: The applicant was AWOL from 8 December 2008 to 29April 2009; violated Texas Penal Code 31.07, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle on 29 April 2009; tested positive for cocaine use on 5 August 2009 and 5 December 2008; disobeyed a lawful order on 10 June 2088; and struck another Soldier in the face on 29 July 2008. Additionally, the applicant was AWOL from 9 June 2008 to 10 June 200, 12 August 2008 to 13 August 2008 and failed to report on 5 August 2008 and 7 June 2008. (3) Recommended Characterization: Under Other Than Honorable Conditions (4) Legal Consultation Date: 27 September 2010 (5) Administrative Separation Board: The applicant waived consideration of applicant's case by an administrative separation board on 27 September 2010. (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 30 September 2010 / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 20 August 2004 / reenlistment contract is not in file b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 20 / HS Graduate / 98 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-4 / 91A10, Automated Logistical Specialist / 7 years, 5 months, 5 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: 29 November 2001 - 19 August 2004 / HD e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: Korea, SWA / Iraq (9 March 2004 - 1 May 2005) and (30 June 2006 - 30 August 2007) f. Awards and Decorations: ICM-CS-2, ARCOM, AAM, MUC, AGCM-2, NDSM, GWOTSM, GWOTEM, KDSM, OSR-3, CAB g. Performance Ratings: NA h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: A Trial by Summary Court-Martial, convened on 7 November 2008, found the applicant guilty of willfully disobeying a lawful command; unlawfully striking SPC G with a closed fist; being AWOL from 9 June 2008 until 10 June 2008 and from 12 August 2008 until 13 August 2008; failure to go to formation on 7 June 2008; and failure to go to work call on 5 August 2008. The punishment consisted of reduction to private/E-2 and confinement for 19 days. FG Article 15, dated 7 July 2009, reflects the applicant was absent without authority from applicant's unit from on or about 8 December 2008 until applicant was apprehended on or about 29 April 2009. The punishment consisted of reduction to private/E-1; forfeiture of $300 pay per month for 2 months; and extra duty for 45 days. FG Article 15, dated 28 September 2009, reflects the applicant wrongfully used cocaine between on or about 29 November 2008 and 5 December 2008; between on or about 30 July 2009 and 5 August 2009; and on or about 5 August 2009. The punishment consisted of forfeiture of $699 pay per month for 2 months, suspended, to be automatically remitted if not vacated before 26 March 2010 and extra duty and restriction for 45 days. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: The applicant's DD Form 214 shows lost time for the following periods: (9 May 2006 - 10 May 2006), (11 May 2006 - 21 May 2006), (9 June 2008 - 9 June 2008), (12 August 2008 - 12 August 2008), (30 September 2008 - 6 October 2008), (10 October 2008 - 27 October 2008), (8 December 2008 - 28 May 2009), (29 May 2009 - 14 June 2009), and 30 October 2009 - 31 August 2010. j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: None 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293, DD Form 214 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) 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. 8. SUMMARY OF FACT(S): The Army Discharge Review Board considers applications for upgrade as instructed by Department of Defense Instruction 1332.28. The applicant's AMHRR record of service, the issues and documents submitted with the application were carefully reviewed. The applicant requests an upgrade to honorable or general (under honorable conditions). The applicant contends applicant was administratively discharged while pending a medical separation. 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 applicant contends dealing with family issues which greatly affected applicant after the deployment and applicant did not know how to cope with them. The applicant had many legitimate avenues through which to obtain assistance or relief and there is no evidence in the record that applicant ever sought such assistance before committing the misconduct, which led to the separation action under review. 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. The Board's Medical Advisor, a voting member, reviewed DoD and VA medical records, and applicant submissions, and found the applicant was diagnosed with Adjustment Disorder and PTSD, which, in the opinion of the Board's Medical Advisor, after applying liberal consideration, could potentially mitigate a discharge. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? Yes. The Board's Medical Advisor found the applicant was diagnosed with an Adjustment Disorder and PTSD during military service. (3) Does the condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? Partially. The Board's Medical Advisor opined that the medical condition or experience partially mitigates the basis of separation. Specifically given the nexus between trauma, avoidance, substance use, and difficulty with authority, the applicant's AWOLs, substance use, and disobeying an order are mitigated. However, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and striking another Soldier are not behaviors attributable to the diagnoses. (4) Does the condition or experience outweigh the discharge? No. Despite the Board's application of liberal consideration, the Board concurred with the opinion of the Board's Medical Advisor, a voting member, that the available evidence did not support a conclusion that any of the applicant's medical conditions completely outweighed the basis for applicant's separation. b. Response to Contention(s): (1) The applicant contends applicant was administratively discharged while pending a medical separation. The Board considered this contention and the applicant's assertion of a pending medical separation, however the Board determined that there is insufficient evidence of said medical separation in official or medical records, and the applicant did not provide supporting documentation by a qualified medical professional to provide merit to the claim. The Board determined that the assertion alone did not outweigh the basis of separation, however the applicant's overall service and applicant's PTSD warranted an upgrade to General, Under Honorable Conditions. (2) The applicant contends dealing with family issues which greatly affected applicant after applicant's deployment and applicant did not know how to cope with them. The Board determined that the Army has many legitimate avenues available to service members requesting assistance with family issues and post deployment concerns. There is no evidence in the official records nor provided by the applicant that such assistance was pursued by the applicant. c. 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 (OBHI and PTSD diagnoses). Accordingly, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade to the characterization of service to General, Under Honorable Conditions. The Board determined the narrative reason/SPD code and RE code were proper and equitable and voted not to change them. However, the applicant may request a personal appearance hearing to address further 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 to change the applicant's characterization of service to General, Under Honorable Conditions because the applicant had PTSD which mitigated the applicant's misconduct of AWOLs, substance use, and disobeying an order. Thus the prior characterization is no longer appropriate. (2) The Board voted not to change the applicant's reason for discharge or accompanying SPD code under the same pretexts, as the reason the applicant was discharged was both proper and equitable. (3) The RE code will not change, as the current code is 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: General, Under Honorable Conditions c. Change Reason / SPD Code to: No Change d. Change RE Code to: No Change e. 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 N/A - Not applicable NCO - Noncommissioned Officer NIF - Not in File NOS - Not Otherwise Specified OAD - Ordered to Active Duty OBH (I) - Other Behavioral Health (Issues) OMPF - Official Military Personnel File PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder RE - Re-entry 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 AR20190012108 1