1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 17 November 2019 b. Date Received: 5 February 2020 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 uncharacterized. The applicant requests an upgrade to honorable. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, an employment with the United States Postal Service would not allow the applicant to buy back the active-duty service period noted on the DD Form 214. The applicant was serving in the Army National Guard at the time and there were no disciplinary issues. The applicant would like to have the DD Form 214 corrected to reflect an honorable discharge to receive credit for the time the applicant was attending the Explosive Ordnance Disposal school and away from work. b. Board Type and Decision: In a records review conducted on 20 January 2023, 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, prior period of honorable service and no misconduct in file. Accordingly, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade to the characterization of service to Honorable. The Board determined the narrative reason/SPD 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: Completion of Required Active Service / AR 635-200, Chapter 4 / MBK / NA / Uncharacterized b. Date of Discharge: 15 February 2005 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: NA (2) Basis for Separation: Completion of Required Active Service (3) Recommended Characterization: NA (4) Legal Consultation Date: NA (5) Administrative Separation Board: NA (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: NA 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 5 December 2003 / NIF b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 31 / High School Graduate / 107 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-5 / 55D, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Specialist / 9 years, 3 months, 2 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: RA, 14 November 1990 - 20 September 1994 / HD RA, 21 September 1994 - 31 January 1997 / HD USARCG. 1 February 1997 - 28 July 1998 / HD Break in Service, 29 July 1998 - 22 July 2003 ARNG, 23 July 2003 - 4 December 2003 / NA (Concurrent Service) e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: NIF f. Awards and Decorations: AAM-3, AGCM-2, NDSM-2, HSM, NCOPDR, GWOTSM, ASR, OSR g. Performance Ratings: July 2003 - November 2003 / Fully Capable December 2003 - November 2004 / Fully Capable December 2004 - November 2005 / Fully Capable h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: There are no orders reflecting the applicant being ordered to active duty to complete the Explosive Ordnance Disposal training at Fort Rucker, AL. Two following separate DD Forms 214 reflecting the same "Date entered AD," but different "Separation Date" and "Character of Service" are further described below: DD Form 214 of prior service, ending 30 March 2004: The DD Form 214 of prior service reflects the applicant entered active-duty training on 5 December 2003 and was separated on 30 March 2004 with an honorable character of service at Redstone Arsenal, AL, and transferred to the ARNG unit, 430th EOD, 1401 Memorial Drive, Greenville, NC. DD Form 214 under current review: The DD Form 214 reflects the applicant entered active-duty training on 5 December 2003 and was separated on 15 February 2005 with an uncharacterized service at Fort Rucker, AL, and transferred to the ARNG unit, 430th EOD, 1401 Memorial Drive, Greenville, NC. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: None j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: None 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293 and DD Form 214. 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: The applicant is employed with the United States Postal Service. 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) 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 sets forth 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 3-9a(3) states a separation will be described as entry-level with service uncharacterized if processing is initiated while a Soldier is in entry-level status, except when a Soldier is on active duty with less than 181 days of continuous active military service, has completed IET, has been awarded an MOS, and has reported for duty at a follow-on unit of assignment (see para 11-3c). RC Soldiers will receive a characterization of service as "honorable" upon successful completion of IET. (4) Chapter 4 establishes the policies and procedures for separating a Soldier upon expiration of enlistment of fulfillment of service obligation. The periods of military service required of all Army Soldiers will be in accordance with applicable laws. Periods for which enlistment is authorized are in NGR 600-200, AR 140-111, and AR 601-210. Periods for which Soldiers are ordered to AD are prescribed by law. Soldier enlisted or ordered to AD normally will be discharged or released from AD on the date he/she completes the period for which enlisted or ordered to AD. Personnel released from AD and transferred to the USAR upon completion of the term of service for which ordered into active Federal service, or released to their Reserve Component upon completion of AD. These Soldiers will not be discharged until completion of their reserve obligation. (5) Paragraph 4-5, states, a Soldier being separated upon expiration of enlistment or fulfillment of service obligation will be awarded a character of service of honorable, unless the Soldier is in entry-level status and service is uncharacterized. (6) Glossary defines entry-level status for RA Soldiers is the first 180 days of continuous AD or the first 180 days of continuous AD following a break of more than 92 days of active military service. For ARNGUS and USAR Soldiers, entry-level status begins upon enlistment in the ARNG or USAR. For Soldiers ordered to IADT for one continuous period, it terminates 180 days after beginning training. For Soldiers ordered to IADT for the split or alternate training option, it terminates 90 days after beginning Phase II advanced individual training (AIT). (Soldiers completing Phase I BT or basic combat training remain in entry-level status until 90 days after beginning Phase II.) 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 "MBK" as the appropriate code to assign enlisted Soldiers who are discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 4, for completion of required active service, who are eligible to reenlist or with a DCSS in force and who are REFRAD on completion of enlistment and transferred to the Reserve Components to complete Military Service obligation f. Army Regulation 635-8, Separation Processing and Documents prescribes the transition processing function of the military personnel system. It supersedes and consolidates AR 635-5, AR 635-10, and DA Pam 600-8-11. This regulation provides principles of support, standards of service, policies, tasks, rules, and steps governing required actions in the field to support processing personnel for separation and preparation of separation documents. (1) Chapter 5 prescribes when to prepare separation documents. The DD Form 214 is a summary of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty. It provides a brief, clear- cut record of all current active, prior active, and prior inactive duty service at the time of REFRAD, retirement, or discharge. The DD Form 214 is not intended to have any legal effect on termination of a Soldier's service. (2) Chapter 5-6 aa, states AR 601-210 determines reentry eligibility and provides regulatory guidance on reentry codes. These codes are not applicable to officers, USMA cadets who fail to graduate, or to RC Soldiers being separated for other than cause. (3) 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 waivable and nonwaivable separations. Table 3-1 defines reentry eligibility (RE) codes: RE-3 Applies to: Person who is not considered fully qualified for reentry or continuous service at time of separation, but disqualification is waivable. 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. The applicant's Army Military Human Resource Record (AMHRR) of service, the issues, and document submitted with the application were carefully reviewed. The applicant's AMHRR contains a DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), which was not authenticated with the applicant's signature. The DD Form 214 indicates the applicant was discharged under the provisions of AR 635-200, Chapter 4, by reason of "Completion of Required Active Service," with character of service as uncharacterized. The applicant contends separation with an uncharacterized service was not appropriate and should have received an honorable discharge. Army Regulation 635-200 states a separation will be described as entry-level with service uncharacterized if, at the time separation action is initiated, the Soldier has less than 180 days of continuous active-duty service. For ARNGUS, entry-level status begins upon enlistment in the ARNG, and for Soldiers ordered to IADT for the split or alternate training option, it terminates 90 days after beginning Phase II advanced individual training (AIT). The applicant's AMHRR includes evidence the applicant entered Active Duty on 5 December 2003 and completed the Phase I course on 30 March 2004. At the time of the applicant's discharge from the EOD training, the applicant had served 1 year, 2 months, and 11 days on Active Duty. The applicant's AMHRR includes no acts of misconduct or derogatory information. Upon the applicant's separation from Active Duty, the applicant was transferred to the ARNG of NC for continued service. The available evidence of the record reflects the applicant was not in an ELS status and should not have received an uncharacterized discharge. The applicant's AMHRR contains two separate DD Forms 214 reflecting the same date of entering active duty on 5 December 2003, at block 12a and both reflects completion of the Phase I course. However, any changes to the DD Forms 214 to reflect corrections do not fall within this Board's purview. The applicant may apply to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR), using the enclosed DD Form 149 regarding this matter. A DD Form 149 may also be obtained from a Veterans' Service Organization. 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? N/A. The applicant was not discharged for misconduct, rather, the discharge was based on completion of required active service. Therefore, there was no mitigation based on applicant having no medical conditions. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? N/A (3) Does the condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? N/A (4) Does the condition or experience outweigh the discharge? N/A b. Response to Contention(s): (1) The applicant contends separation with an uncharacterized service was not appropriate and should have received an honorable discharge. The Board determined that this contention was valid and voted to upgrade the characterization of service to Honorable as there was no misconduct and applicant completed the required active service. (2) The applicant's AMHRR contains two separate DD Forms 214 reflecting the same date of entering active duty on 5 December 2003, at block 12a and both reflects completion of the Phase I course. The Board considered this contention during proceedings, however the applicant's requested change to the DD Form 214 does not fall within the purview of the ADRB. The applicant may apply to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR), using a DD Form 149 regarding this matter. A DD Form 149 may be obtained from a Veterans' Service Organization. c. The Board determined that the characterization of service was inequitable based on the applicant's length and quality of service, prior period of honorable service and no misconduct in file. Accordingly, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade to the characterization of service to Honorable. The Board determined the narrative reason/SPD code were proper and equitable and voted not to change them. d. Rationale for Decision: (1) The Board voted to change the applicant's characterization of service to Honorable because the applicant's length and quality of service, prior period of honorable service and no misconduct in file outweighed the uncharacterized discharge. 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 as the reason the applicant was discharged was both proper and equitable. (3) The RE code will not change, as there is no RE-code listed on the applicant's discharge paperwork, due to being in the Army Reserves, no upgrade actions are required for this item. 10. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New DD-214: Yes b. Change Characterization to: Honorable 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 AR20200003396 1