1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 14 March 2020 b. Date Received: 3 April 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 made a mistake in 2013 after returning from Afghanistan with trying to cope with the PTSD by using alcohol. At the time, the command used the applicant as an example to others and was discharged. The applicant served in combat in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Since the discharge, the applicant has been receiving PTSD counseling therapy through civilian counseling at Kaiser Hospital in Salem, Oregon, and currently at American Lake VA in Lakewood, Washington. The applicant has not committed any further offenses in almost seven years as a civilian. b. Board Type and Decision: In a records review conducted on 17 March 2023, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's PTSD mitigated the alcohol-related offenses. Therefore, the Board voted to recommend relief with issuance of a new DD214, with an upgrade of the characterization of service to Honorable, the separation authority to AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12a, the narrative reason for separation to Misconduct (Minor Infractions). The Board determined the reentry eligibility (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: 18 July 2013 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 2 April 2013 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: On 27 January 2013, the applicant was found operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol content of .15. (3) Recommended Characterization: General (Under Honorable Conditions) (4) Legal Consultation Date: 4 April 2013 / The applicant voluntarily waived consideration of the separation proceedings by an administrative separation board contingent upon receiving a characterization of service no less favorable than a general, (under honorable conditions) discharge. (5) Administrative Separation Board: Waived (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 10 April 2013 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: Re-Enlistment / 11 March 2010 / NIF b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 22 / High School Graduate / 103 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-4 / 15F1S, ACFT Electrician / 8 years, 1 month, 17 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: RA, 2 June 2005 - 10 March 2010 / HD e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: SWA / Afghanistan (4 October 2011 - 7 September 2012) and Iraq (20 October 2008 - 20 October 2009) f. Awards and Decorations: ACM-CS, ICM-2CS, AGCM-2, NDSM, GWOTSM, ASR, OSR-2, NATOMDL g. Performance Ratings: NA h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: General Officer Memorandum Of Reprimand, dated 12 February 2013, reflects the applicant was driving while under the influence of alcohol. After being stopped for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol on 27 January 2013, the applicant was administered a breathalyzer test, which determined the BAC to be .15 percent. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: None j. Behavioral Health Condition(s): (1) Applicant provided: applicant contends PTSD in service (2) AMHRR Listed: 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) 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 14-12c prescribes 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 Resources Record (AMHRR) and the issues submitted with the application were carefully reviewed. The applicant contends making a mistake after returning from Afghanistan by using alcohol to cope with the PTSD. 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 ARBA sent a letter to the applicant at the address in the application on 24 June 2021, requesting documentation to support a PTSD diagnosis but received no response from the applicant. The applicant contends being used as an example to others by the command. The applicant's AMHRR does not contain any indication or evidence of arbitrary or capricious actions by the command. The applicant contends good service, including two combat tours. The Board will consider the applicant's service accomplishments and the quality of service according to the DODI 1332.28. The applicant contends obtaining counseling therapy through the VA and had not committed any further offenses as a civilian. The Army Discharge Review Board is authorized to consider post-service factors in the recharacterization of a discharge. No law or regulation provides for the upgrade of an unfavorable discharge based solely on the passage of time or good conduct in civilian life after leaving the service. The Board reviews each discharge on a case-by-case basis to determine if post-service accomplishments help demonstrate previous in-service misconduct was an aberration and not indicative of the member's overall character. 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/experiences: PTSD (50% Service Connected). (2) Did the condition exist, or experience occur during military service? Yes. The Board's Medical Advisor found VA establishment of service connection for PTSD establishes it existed during active 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 a mitigating BH condition, PTSD. As there is a nexus between PTSD and use of alcohol to self- medicate painful emotional symptoms, there is a nexus between PTSD and arrest for DUI. (4) Does the condition or experience outweigh the discharge? Yes. The board determined the mitigation from service-connected PTSD outweighed the serious misconduct of driving under the influence, but did not wholly excuse the misconduct, rendering the applicant's overall service as honorable with a separation for a minor infraction. b. Response to Contention(s): (1) The applicant contends making a mistake after returning from Afghanistan by using alcohol to cope with the PTSD. The contention was considered and found valid leading to an upgrade in characterization of service and narrative reason. (2) The applicant contends being used as an example to others by the command. The ADRB, after liberally considering all the evidence, determined that the Army Separation Board proceedings do not contain any indication or evidence of arbitrary or capricious actions, but rather made their decision after independently reviewing the evidence regarding the applicant's misconduct. (3) The applicant contends good service, including two combat tours. The board considered the applicant's good service and ultimately relief was granted for another reason. (4) The applicant contends obtaining counseling therapy through the VA and had not committed any further offenses as a civilian. The ADRB is authorized to consider post-service factors in the recharacterization of a discharge. However, there is no law or regulation which provides an unfavorable discharge may be upgraded based solely on the passage of time or good conduct in civilian life subsequent to leaving the service. Outstanding post-service conduct, to the extent such matters provide a basis for a more thorough understanding of the applicant's performance and conduct during the period of service under review, is considered during Board proceedings. The Board reviews each discharge on a case-by-case basis to determine if post-service accomplishments help demonstrate previous in-service misconduct was an aberration and not indicative of the member's overall character. In this case, the Board voted to grant relief based on medical mitigation of PTSD. c. The Board applicant's PTSD mitigated the alcohol-related offenses. Therefore, the Board voted to recommend relief with issuance of a new DD214, with an upgrade of the characterization of service to Honorable, the separation authority to AR 635-200, paragraph 14- 12a, the narrative reason for separation to Misconduct (Minor Infractions). d. Rationale for Decision: (1) The Board voted to change the applicant's characterization of service because the PTSD mitigated the alcohol-related offenses. The applicant's overall service is sufficiently meritorious to be characterized as Honorable. (2) The Board voted to change the applicant's reason and SPD code to Misconduct (Minor Infractions)/JKN due to the applicant's condition mitigating but not wholly excusing the misconduct. (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 / Separation Order: Yes. b. Change Characterization to: Honorable. c. Change Reason / SPD code to: Misconduct (Minor Infraction)/JKN. d. Change RE Code to: No change. e. Change Authority to: AR 635-200 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 AR20200006691 1