1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 31 January 2020 b. Date Received: 10 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 general (under honorable conditions). The applicant requests an upgrade to honorable. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, a misdiagnosed/undiagnosed PTSD condition led the applicant to be AWOL on certain occasions and eventually lead to the applicant's discharge. Prior to the applicant's discharge, the applicant had lost a very close friend who grew up with the applicant. The applicant recruited/encouraged the friend to join, but the friend lost his life by an IED in Iraq shortly after bootcamp and to this day the applicant has nightmares about it. After hearing the news of the applicant's friend, the applicant went into a state of severe depression. Additionally, the applicant's spouse of 11 years had been having strokes taking the contraceptive YAZ; there were times the applicant would arrive back at their off-post apartment and the spouse would be in pain due to a migraine symptom of another incoming stroke. A few years later, the applicant's spouse was diagnosed with kidney diseases, and the doctors believe the medication YAZ caused this, as well as infertility. The applicant believes wholeheartedly applicant did not deserve the characterization received, based on the two other enlistments the applicant completed Honorably. The applicant completed enlistments both before and after honorably, adding two more MOS's under the applicant's belt during the second enlistment. At the time of the discharge the applicant is appealing, the applicant was going through some personal issues the Active-Duty Army "didn't have time" for the applicant to take care of and the applicant was still suffering the loss of applicant's close childhood friend. So, the applicant decided to take the JAG Officer's advice to get released from Active Duty, and eventually join the Army Reserves/National Guard. The applicant's goal at that point in time was to take care of applicant's spouse and have a life with the spouse outside of the military. b. Board Type and Decision: In a records review conducted on 1 March 2023, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board granted the request upon finding that the discharge of service was inequitable based on the applicant's PTSD diagnosis mitigated the applicant's AWOL offenses. Accordingly, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade to the characterization of service to Honorable. Further, the Board determined the narrative reason for the applicant's separation is now inequitable. Therefore, the Board directed the issue of a new DD Form 214 changing the separation authority to AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12a, the narrative reason for separation to Misconduct (Minor Infractions), and the separation code to JKN. The Board determined the RE code was proper and equitable and voted not to change it. 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 / Chapter 14-12c / JKQ / RE-3 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) b. Date of Discharge: 4 January 2007 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 20 November 2006 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: for being absent without leave from between on or about 17 October 2006 and 19 October 2006 and on numerous occasions between the months of September and October 2006, the applicant failed to report at the time prescribed to the appointed place of duty. (3) Recommended Characterization: General (Under Honorable Conditions) (4) Legal Consultation Date: 20 November 2006 (5) Administrative Separation Board: NA (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 16 December 2006 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 7 November 2005 / 4 years b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 21 / HS Graduate / 108 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-4 / 63B10, Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic / 3 years, 8 months, 17 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: RA, 16 April 2003 to 6 November 2005 / HD e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: Hawaii, SWA / Iraq (11 January 2004 to 11 January 2005) f. Awards and Decorations: NDSM, GWOTSEM, GWOTSM, ASR, OSR-2 g. Performance Ratings: None h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: FG Article 15 dated 15 November 2006, for without authority being absent from the unit from 17 October 2006 until on or about 19 October 2006, and without authority, failed to go at the time prescribed to the appointed place of duty on (5 September 2006, 25 September 2006, and 27 October 2006). The punishment consisted of reduction to E-2, forfeiture of $713.00 pay per month for two months (suspended), and extra duty for 45 days. DA Form's 4187 (Personnel Action) changing the applicant's duty status from: Present for Duty to Absent Without Leave, 17 October 2006, and Absent Without Leave to Present for Duty, 19 October 2006 Report of Mental Status Evaluation dated 20 September 2006, which indicates the applicant had the mental capacity to understand and participate in the proceedings and was mentally responsible. The applicant met DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder-Stable. The applicant had a profile for lower back pain and was a T3. The applicant profile for the lower back pain was started January 2005. The applicant met retention requirements of Chapter 3, AR 40-501 and did not warrant disposition through medical channels. Several negative counseling statements for various acts of misconduct and duty performance. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: Absent Without Leave, two days (17 October 2006 to 18 October 2006) / mode of return unknown. j. Applicant Provided and/or AMHHR Listed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health Condition(s): NA 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293; photo of the applicant and friends; obituary of PVT M.E.B.; letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs reference award of 60 percent service-connected disability; NGB Form 22 for a period of post-service; and DD Form 214 for the period of service under review. 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Documents in the AMHRR show that the applicant served in the Army National Guard of Nevada from 17 January 2008 until honorably discharged on 16 May 2012. 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-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. The applicant's Army Military Human Resource Record (AAMHRR), the issues and documents submitted with the application were carefully reviewed. Evidence in the AMHRR indicates separation action was initiated against the applicant for being absent without leave between on or about 17 October 2006 and 19 October 2006, and on numerous occasions between the months of September and October 2006, failing to report at the time prescribed to the appointed place of duty. The applicant was separated under the provisions of Chapter 14, paragraph 14-12c, AR 635-200 with a general (under honorable conditions) discharge. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, a misdiagnosed/undiagnosed PTSD condition led the applicant to be AWOL on certain occasions and eventually lead to the applicant discharge. The applicant contends, in effect, believes wholeheartedly did not deserve the characterization of service received, based on the two other enlistments the applicant completed Honorably. The applicant's service accomplishments and the quality of the applicant's service will be considered by the board according to the DODI 1332.28. It should also be noted, the service record contains no evidence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder diagnosis, and the applicant did not submit any evidence to support the contention that the discharge was the result of any medical condition. 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 that the applicant has the following potentially-mitigating diagnosis: PTSD. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? Yes. Applicant has a service-connected PTSD diagnosis. (3) Does the condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? Yes. The Board's Medical Advisor applied liberal consideration and opined that, given the nexus between trauma and avoidance, the basis for separation is mitigated. (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 PTSD outweighed the AWOL basis for separation for the aforementioned reason. b. Response to Contention(s): The applicant seeks relief contending that the applicant had PTSD condition that led to the applicant's AWOL offenses. The Board, applying liberal consideration, determined that this contention was valid and voted to upgrade the characterization of service due to PTSD mitigating the applicant's AWOL charges c. The Board determined that the characterization of service was inequitable based on the applicant's PTSD mitigating the applicant's AWOL offenses. Accordingly, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade to the characterization of service to Honorable. Further, the Board determined the narrative reason for the applicant's separation is now inequitable. Therefore, the Board directed the issue of a new DD Form 214 changing the separation authority to AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12a, the narrative reason for separation to Misconduct (Minor Infractions), and the separation code to JKN. The Board determined the RE code was proper and equitable and voted not to change it. d. Rationale for Decision: (1) The Board voted to change the applicant's characterization of service to Honorable because the applicant's 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 AR20200004776 1