1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 10 October 2019 b. Date Received: 15 October 2019 c. Counsel: None 2. REQUEST, ISSUES, BOARD TYPE, AND DECISION: a. Applicant's Requests and Issues: The current characterization of service for the period under review is under other than honorable conditions. The applicant requests an upgrade to honorable, a narrative reason change, and a change to the separation code. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, that a Red Cross message was received, indicating the applicant's Grandmother was on her death bed. The applicant states the applicant went home to see the Grandmother, and when the applicant arrived and went to the Grandmother's house (the woman who raised him), the Grandmother didn't know the applicant, and the applicant didn't know the Grandmother had Alzheimer's. Those two things were hard for the applicant to deal with, as stated by the applicant. The applicant states the applicant's mother was also in bad health. These were the most important women in the applicant's life and the applicant states having to make sure the applicant's younger brother and sister were good. The applicant states the applicant couldn't leave until everything was good. The applicant states the applicant's grandmother died 3 July 2012, and the mother got better but the great grandmother got worse and died in 2017. The applicant believes if these things had not happened, the applicant would have not gone AWOL. The applicant states the applicant is the oldest of 8 and when the applicant's mother got sick, the applicant had two younger brothers and a sister under the age of 18. The applicant states the applicant had to be there for the family and take care of them. The applicant states the applicant signed up to extend the current enlistment contract to help the unit and they didn't uphold their part of the deal. The applicant states the applicant did the applicant's part and was punished for taking care of family and paid more than enough for trying to make sure the family was okay. The applicant states the applicant did everything the Army asked and made one mistake. The applicant asks for an upgrade, having lost so much. b. Board Type and Decision: In a records review conducted on 15 July 2022, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's TBI and PTSD mitigating the AWOL for which the applicant was discharged. Therefore, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade of the characterization of service to Honorable and changed to the separation authority to AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12a, the narrative reason for separation to Misconduct (Minor Infractions), with a corresponding separation code of JKN. 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: 8 August 2013 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 26 June 2013 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reason: for being AWOL from 13 April 2012 until on or about 14 December 2012 and was apprehended by authorities. (3) Recommended Characterization: Under Other Than Honorable Conditions (4) Legal Consultation Date: 27 June 2013 (5) Administrative Separation Board: The applicant voluntarily waived consideration of the case by an administrative separation board, to include a personal appearance before such board. (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 18 July 2013 / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 27 September 2005 / 6 years b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 26 / HS Graduate / 100 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-4 / 92A10, Automated Logistical Specialist / 15 years, 20 days (The applicant's DD Form 214 under review makes reference to the applicant in block 12a (Date Entered AD This Period) as 1998/07/18; however, the applicant's enlistment contract dated 26 April 2004, indicates this date should be 26 April 2004. The DD Form 214 also does not fully account a period of prior service in the USAR (18 November 1997 to 25 April 2004). d. Prior Service / Characterizations: USAR, 18 November 1997 to 27 January 1998 / NA ADT, 28 January 1998 to 29 June 1998 / UNC USAR, 30 June 1998 to 25 April 2004 / UNK RA, 26 April 2004 to 26 September 2005 / HD (Concurrent Service) e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: SWA / Iraq (18 December 2004 to 23 March 2006) and Afghanistan (21 April 2009 to 5 April 2010) f. Awards and Decorations: ARCOM, AGCM-2, NDSM, ACM-2CS, GWOTSM, JMUA, ICM-2CS, ASR, OSR-3, NATOMDL g. Performance Ratings: None h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: DA Form's 4187 (Personnel Action), changing the applicant's duty status as following: Present for Duty (PDY) to Absent Without Leave (AWOL), effective 13 April 2012 AWOL to Dropped from Rolls (DFR), effective 14 May 2012 DFR to PDY, effective 14 December 2012 DD Form 468 (Charge Sheet), dated 20 June 2013, indicating the applicant was charged with being absent without authority from assigned unit from 13 April 2012 until being apprehended by law enforcement on or about 14 December 2012 and wrongfully possessing some amount of marijuana, a Schedule 1 controlled substance on or about 14 December 2012. Which was referred for trial to the summary court martial. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: Absent Without Leave for 246 days (13 April 2012 to 13 December 2012) / The record indicates the applicant was apprehended j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: NIF 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form's 293; Letters of support; Copy of request for Reenlistment or Extension in the Regular Army; mother's medical records; and privacy release forms that were sent to the applicant Congressman. 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. e. 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 "JKQ" as the appropriate code to assign enlisted Soldiers who are discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 14, paragraph 12c, misconduct (serious offense). f. Army Regulation 601-210, Regular Army and Reserve Components Enlistment Program, governs eligibility criteria, policies, and procedures for enlistment and processing of persons into the Regular Army, the U.S. Army Reserve, and Army National Guard for enlistment per DODI 1304.26. It also prescribes the appointment, reassignment, management, and mobilization of Reserve Officers' Training Corps cadets under the Simultaneous Membership Program. Chapter 4 provides the criteria and procedures for waiverable and nonwaiverable separations. Table 3-1, defines reentry eligibility (RE) codes: RE-1 Applies to: Person completing his or her term of active service who is considered qualified to reenter the U.S. Army. Eligibility: Qualified for enlistment if all other criteria are met. RE-3 Applies to: Person who is not considered fully qualified for reentry or continuous service at time of separation, but disqualification is waiverable. Eligibility: Ineligible unless a waiver is granted. 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 requests an upgrade to honorable, a narrative reason change, and a change to the separation code. The applicant's record of service, the issues and documents submitted with the application were carefully reviewed. The applicant's Army Military Human Resource Record (AMHRR) indicates separation action was initiated against the applicant for being AWOL from 13 April 2012 until on or about 14 December 2012. The applicant was separated under the provisions of Chapter 14, paragraph 14-12c, AR 635- 200 with an under other than honorable conditions discharge. The narrative reason specified by Army Regulations for a discharge under this paragraph is "Misconduct (Serious Offense)," and the separation code is "JKQ." Army Regulation 635-8, Separation Processing and Documents, governs the preparation of the DD Form 214 and dictates the entry of the narrative reason for separation, entered in block 28 and separation code, entered in block 26 of the form, will be as listed in tables 2-2 or 2-3 of AR 635-5-1, Separation Program Designator (SPD) Codes. The regulation stipulates no deviation is authorized. There is no provision for any other reason to be entered under this regulation. Separation codes are three-character alphabetic combinations that identify reasons for, and types of, separation from active duty. The primary purpose of SPD codes is to provide statistical accounting of reasons for separation. They are intended exclusively for the internal use of DoD and the Military Services to assist in the collection and analysis of separation data. SPD Codes are controlled by OSD and then implemented in Army policy AR 635-5-1 to track types of separations the SPD code specified by Army Regulations for a discharge under Chapter 14, paragraph 14-12c, is "JKQ." Army Regulation 635-8, Separation Processing and Documents, governs the preparation of the DD Form 214 and dictates the entry of the separation code entered in block 26 of the form, will be as listed in tables 2-2 or 2-3 of AR 635-5-1, Separation Program Designator (SPD) Codes. The regulation stipulates no deviation is authorized. There is no provision for any other SPD code to be entered under this regulation. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, that a Red Cross message was received, indicating the applicant's Grandmother was on her death bed. The applicant states the applicant went home to see the Grandmother, and when the applicant arrived and went to the Grandmother's house (the woman who raised him), the Grandmother didn't know the applicant, and the applicant didn't know the Grandmother had Alzheimer's. Those two things were hard for the applicant to deal with, as stated by the applicant. The applicant states the applicant's mother was also in bad health. These were the most important women in the applicant's life and the applicant states having to make sure the applicant's younger brother and sister were good. The applicant states the applicant couldn't leave until everything was good. The applicant states the applicant's grandmother died 3 July 2012, and the mother got better but the great grandmother got worse and died in 2017. The applicant believes if these things had not happened, the applicant would have not gone AWOL. The applicant states the applicant is the oldest of 8 and when the applicant's mother got sick, the applicant had two younger brothers and a sister under the age of 18. The applicant states the applicant had to be there for the family and take care of them. The applicant states the applicant signed up to extend the current enlistment contract to help the unit and they didn't uphold their part of the deal. The applicant states the applicant did the applicant's part and was punished for taking care of family and paid more than enough for trying to make sure the family was okay. The applicant states the applicant did everything the Army asked and made one mistake. The applicant asks for an upgrade, having lost so much. The applicant's contentions were noted; however, the applicant had many legitimate avenues through which to obtain assistance or relief and there is no evidence in the record that the 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 the applicant's DOD and VA health records, applicant's statement, and/or civilian provider documentation and found the following diagnoses or experiences which can, under certain circumstances, potentially mitigate or excuse misconduct leading to separation: Concussion with loss of consciousness, Post-Concussion Syndrome, PTSD. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? Yes. The Board's Medical Advisor found that applicant's diagnoses (Concussion, Post-Concussion Syndrome, PTSD) all occurred during military service. (3) Does the condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? Yes. The Board's Medical Advisor applied liberal consideration and opined that the applicant has two mitigating BH conditions, PTSD and TBI. As there is an association between both of these conditions and avoidant behaviors, there is a nexus between these diagnoses and the applicant's offense of being AWOL. (4) Does the condition or experience outweigh the discharge? Yes. The Board concurred with the opinion of the Board's Medical Advisor, a voting member. As a result, the ADRB applied liberal consideration and found that the applicant's TBI/PTSD completely outweighed the AWOL basis for separation. b. Response to Contention(s): The applicant seeks relief contending the applicant's mother, grandmother, and great grandmother were of poor health, with the elder two passing away. Since the applicant is the oldest of eight, including two minors, the applicant had to be there for his family and take care of them. The Board considered this contention during proceedings, but ultimately did not address the contention due to an upgrade being granted based on the applicant's TBI/PTSD fully outweighing the applicant's AWOL basis for separation. c. The Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's TBI and PTSD mitigating the AWOL for which the applicant was discharged. d. Rationale for Decision: (1) The Board voted to change the applicant's characterization of service to Honorable because the applicant's TBI and PTSD mitigated the applicant's misconduct of AWOL. Thus the prior characterization is no longer appropriate. (2) The Board voted to change the reason for discharge to Misconduct (Minor Infractions) under the same pretexts, thus the reason for discharge is no longer appropriate. The SPD code associated with the new reason for discharge is JKN. (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: Honorable c. Change Reason / SPD Code to: Misconduct (Minor Infractions)/JKN d. Change RE Code to: No Change e. Change Authority to: AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12a 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 AR20200003321 1