1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 11 March 2020 b. Date Received: 16 March 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, the applicant was dealing with the death of a friend, a divorce, and being mistreated by a senior noncommissioned officer (NCO). The applicant missed doctor's appointments and that was considered "Patterns of Misconduct" and the applicant was separated. The applicant suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression all stemming from the applicant's time in service. The applicant would like to be able to receive the GI Bill. b. Board Type and Decision: In a records review conducted on 10 March 2023, and by a 3-2 vote, the Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's Adjustment Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, PTSD, and MST outweighing the basis for separation - FTR, forgery, and failing to be in proper uniform. Therefore, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade of the characterization of service to honorable and changed the separation authority to AR 635-200, Chapter 15, and the narrative reason for separation to Secretarial Authority, with a corresponding separation code to JFF. 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: Pattern of Misconduct / AR 635-200, Paragraph 14-12b / JKA / RE-3 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) b. Date of Discharge: 18 February 2011 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 8 February 2011 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: On or about 20 August 2010, the applicant received an Article 15 for fifteen violations of Article 86 of the UCMJ by not showing up to the prescribed place of duty. On or about 2 June 2010, the applicant received an Article 15 for violating Article 123 of the UCMJ for forgery with intent to defraud the government. Since that time the applicant continued to show a pattern of misconduct to include failing to be in proper uniform. (3) Recommended Characterization: General (Under Honorable Conditions) (4) Legal Consultation Date: 8 February 2001 (Applicant declined the opportunity to consult with counsel) (5) Administrative Separation Board: NA (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 10 February 2011 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 2 April 2008 / 3 years b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 26 / HS Graduate / 98 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-4 / 14T10, Patriot Operator/Maintainer / 3 years, 11 months, 30 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: RA, 16 August 2006 - 4 September 2007 / HD e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: None f. Awards and Decorations: AAM--2, AGCM, NDSM, GWOTSM, ASR g. Performance Ratings: NA h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: FG Article 15, dated 20 August 2010, reflects the applicant, with intent to defraud, falsely make a signature of CPT M as an endorsement to a certain AER Loan, which said AER Loan would, if genuine, apparently operate to the legal harm of another. The punishment consisted of reduction to private first class/E-3; forfeiture of $600 pay per month for one month; and extra duty and restriction for 45 days. FG Article 15, dated 12 January 2011, reflects the applicant failed to go at the prescribed time to the appointed place of duty on 15 separate occasions. The punishment consisted of reduction to private/E-1; forfeiture of $733 pay per month for two months; and extra duty and restriction for 45 days. A Report of Mental Status Evaluation (MSE), dated 2 December 2010, reflects the applicant had the mental capacity to understand and participate in the proceedings and was mentally responsible. The applicant was psychiatrically cleared for any administrative or judicial action deemed appropriate by command. The applicant was counseled on multiple occasions for various forms of misconduct. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: None j. Applicant Provided and/or AMHHR Listed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health Condition(s): None 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293 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) 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. (5) 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. (6) Paragraph 14-2b addresses a pattern of misconduct consisting of either discreditable involvement with civilian or military authorities or discreditable conduct and conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline including conduct violating the accepted standards of personal conduct found in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Army Regulations, the civilian law and time-honored customs and traditions of the Army. (7) Chapter 15 provides explicitly for separation under the prerogative of the Secretary of the Army. Secretarial plenary separation authority is exercised sparingly and seldom delegated. Ordinarily, it is used when no other provision of this regulation applies, and early separation is clearly in the Army's best interest. Separations under this paragraph are effective only if approved in writing by the Secretary of the Army or the Secretary's approved designee as announced in updated memoranda. Secretarial separation authority is normally exercised on a case-by-case basis. 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 Army Military Human Resource Record (AMHRR), the issues and documents submitted with the application were carefully reviewed. The applicant requests an upgrade to honorable. The applicant contends, in effect, the applicant was dealing with the death of a friend, a divorce, and being mistreated by a senior NCO. The applicant missed doctor's appointments and that was considered "Patterns of Misconduct" and the applicant was separated. There is no evidence in the AMHRR the applicant ever sought assistance before committing the misconduct, which led to the separation action under review. The applicant contends, in effect, being mistreated by a senior NCO. 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 character of the applicant's discharge is commensurate with his overall service record. The applicant contends, in effect, to be suffering from PTSD, anxiety, and depression all stemming from the applicant's time in service. The applicant's AMHRR contains no documentation of PTSD diagnosis. The applicant did not submit any evidence, other than the applicant's statement, to support the contention the discharge resulted from any medical condition. The AMHRR shows the applicant underwent a MSE on 2 December 2010, which indicates the applicant had the mental capacity to understand and participate in the proceedings and was mentally responsible. The applicant was psychiatrically cleared for any administrative or judicial action deemed appropriate by command. The MSE does not indicate any diagnosis. The MSE was considered by the separation authority. The applicant contends, in effect, would like to be able to receive the GI Bill. Eligibility for veteran's benefits to include educational benefits under the Post-9/11 or Montgomery GI Bill does not fall within the purview of the Army Discharge Review Board. Accordingly, the applicant should contact a local office of the Department of Veterans Affairs for further assistance. 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 diagnoses and experiences: the applicant held in-service diagnoses of Adjustment Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, and Panic Disorder. Post-service, the applicant is service connected for PTSD related to a friend's suicide and MST. Additional diagnoses are Panic Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? Yes. The applicant held in-service diagnoses of Adjustment Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, and Panic Disorder. The applicant has reported MST. (3) Does the condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? Partial. The Board's Medical Advisor applied liberal consideration and opined that given the nexus between trauma and avoidance and difficulty with authority FTRs and related are mitigated. However, forgery is not a progression or sequela of trauma. (4) Does the condition or experience outweigh the discharge? Yes. After applying liberal consideration to the evidence, including the Board Medical Advisor opine, the Board determined that the applicant's Adjustment Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, PTSD, and MST outweighed the basis for separation - FTR, forgery, and failing to be in proper uniform - for the aforementioned reasons. b. Response to Contention(s): (1) The applicant contends the applicant was dealing with the death of a friend, a divorce, and being mistreated by a senior NCO. The applicant missed doctor's appointments and states that was considered "Patterns of Misconduct" and the applicant was separated. 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 Adjustment Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, PTSD, and MST outweighing the basis for separation. (2) The applicant contends to be suffering from PTSD, anxiety, and depression all stemming from the applicant's time in service. The Board considered this contention and ultimately determined that the applicant's Adjustment Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, PTSD, and MST outweighed the basis for separation. c. The Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's Adjustment Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, PTSD, and MST outweighing the basis for separation - FTR, forgery, and failing to be in proper uniform. Therefore, the Board voted to grant relief. d. Rationale for Decision: (1) The Board voted to change the applicant's characterization of service to Honorable based on the applicant's Adjustment Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, PTSD, and MST outweighing the basis for separation - FTR, forgery, and failing to be in proper uniform. Thus, the prior characterization is no longer appropriate. (2) The Board voted to change the reason for discharge to Secretarial Authority under the same pretexts, thus the reason for discharge is no longer appropriate. The SPD code associated with the new reason for discharge is JFF. (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: Secretarial Authority / JFF d. Change RE Code to: No Change e. Change Authority to: AR 635-200, Chapter 15 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 AR20200005877 1