1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 12 December 2010 b. Date Received: 9 January 2020 c. Counsel: None 2. REQUEST, ISSUES, BOARD TYPE, AND DECISION: 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, he feels the decisions he made in the past were not filled with much thought and consideration; however, he has had the opportunity to reflect on them and feels an upgrade could further his future goals and assist him on his road to redemption. An upgrade would allow him the opportunity to get the proper education to secure a job or trade. He has faced both residential and financial hardships and he is currently living with his mother. He has completed the Medical Office Support Program at Job Corps. Through the program he learned customer service, personal responsibility, and accountability. In a telephonic personal appearance hearing conducted on 13 December 2021, and by a 4 - 1 vote, the Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's length of service, post-service accomlishments, and the circumstances surrounding the discharge (Depressive Disorder NOS and Personality Disorder). 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: Pattern of Misconduct / AR 635-200, Paragraph 14-12b / JKA / RE-3 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) b. Date of Discharge: 21 September 2012 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 2 August 2012 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: The applicant disrespected a noncommissioned officer on 1 and 8 November 2011; was derelict in the performance of his duties on 22 January 2012; failed to obey a lawful general regulation by being intoxicated during duty hours on 31 January 2012; disobeyed a noncommissioned officer on 26 and 30 April 2012; and lied to a noncommissioned officer on 26 April 2012. (3) Recommended Characterization: General, (Under Honorable Conditions) (4) Legal Consultation Date: 2 August 2012 (5) Administrative Separation Board: NA (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 22 August 2012 / General, (Under Honorable Conditions) 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 5 October 2010 / 3 years b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 19 / HS Graduate / 105 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-3 / 13M, MLRS/HIMARS Crewmember / 1 year, 11 months, 17 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: None / NA e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: None / None f. Awards and Decorations: NDSM, GWOTSM, ASR g. Performance Ratings: NA h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: As indicated in the Commander's Report, dated 14 August 2012, a Company Grade CG) Article 15, dated 28 February 2012, for failing to obey a lawful general regulation by being intoxicated during duty hours on 31 January 2012. The punishment consisted of a reduction to the grade of E-2, forfeiture of $389 pay (suspended), and 14 days of extra duty and restriction. As indicated in the Commander's Report, dated 14 August 2012, a CG Article 15, dated 15 May 2012, for disobeying and lying to a NCO on 26 April 2012 and 30 April 2012. The punishment consisted of a reduction to the grade of E-1, forfeiture of $389 pay (suspended), and 14 days' extra duty and restriction. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: None j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: NIF 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293, DD Form 214, Certified Medical Administrative Assistant Certificate 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: The applicant states he has completed the Medical Office Support Program at Job Corps. Through the program he learned customer service, personal responsibility, and accountability. 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 14-12a addresses minor disciplinary infractions, defined as a pattern of misconduct, consisting solely of minor military disciplinary infractions. (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 14-12b 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. 8. DISCUSSION OF FACT(S): The Army Discharge Review Board considers applications for upgrade as instructed by Department of Defense Instruction 1332.28. The applicant's AMHRR record of service, the issues and documents submitted with the application were carefully reviewed. The applicant requests an upgrade to honorable. The applicant contends an upgrade would allow him the opportunity to get the proper education to secure a job or trade. The Board does not grant relief for the purpose of gaining employment or enhancing employment opportunities. Additionally, 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. The applicant also contends he has faced both residential and financial hardships and he is currently living with his mother. Eligibility for housing supportive program benefits for Veterans 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. Moreover, all veterans at risk for homelessness or attempting to exit homelessness can request immediate assistance by calling the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans hotline at 1- 877-424-3838 for free and confidential assistance. 9. DOCUMENTS / TESTIMONY PRESENTED DURING PERSONAL APPEARANCE: In addition to the evidence in the record, the Board carefully considered the additional document(s) and testimony presented by the applicant at the personal appearance hearing. a. The applicant submitted the following additional documents: N/A b. The applicant presented the following additional contentions: Applicant provided oral argument and statements in support of the contentions provided in written submissions and in support of previously submitted documentary evidence. c. Counsel / Witnesses / Observers: N/A 10. 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. The applicant did not hold an in-service diagnosis. Post-service, the applicant is not service connected, but holds diagnoses of Depressive Disorder NOS and Personality Disorder. The applicant asserts he has Asperger's. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? Yes. It is more likely than not the applicant's diagnosis of Personality Disorder was present in-service; Personality Disorder are enduring patterns beginning in late adolescence, early adulthood. (3) Does the condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? No. Although liberal consideration was applied, the applicant's post-service diagnosis of Depressive Disorder was related to events after service and therefore do not mitigate the basis for separation. In terms of the applicant's Personality Disorder, while it provides context, it does not mitigate the misconduct as an individual is still able to differentiate between right and wrong understanding the consequences. While the applicant continues to assert he has Asperger's, and this is the reason for his misconduct, multiple providers have determined he does not have the diagnosis. (4) Does the condition or experience outweigh the discharge? No. Despite the ADRB's application of liberal consideration, the Board concurred with the opinion of the Board's Medical Advisor, a voting member, that the applicant's misconduct: disrespected a noncommissioned officer; derelict in the performance of his duties; failed to obey a lawful general regulation by being intoxicated during duty hours; disobeyed a noncommissioned officer; and lied to a noncommissioned officer outweighed the applicant's Depressive Disorder NOS and Personality Disorder and self-diagnosed Asperger's for the reasons listed in (3) above. b. Response to Contentions: (1) The applicant contends an upgrade would allow him the opportunity to get the proper education to secure a job or trade. Eligibility for Veteran's benefits, to include educational benefits under the Post-9/11 or Montgomery GI Bill, healthcare or VA loans, do 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. The Board does not grant relief for the purpose of gaining employment or enhancing employment opportunities. (2) The applicant also contends he has faced both residential and financial hardships and he is currently living with his mother. Eligibility for housing supportive program benefits for Veterans 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. c. The Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's length of service and the circumstances surrounding the discharge (Depressive Disorder NOS and Personality Disorder), and post-service accomplishments. d. Rationale for Decision: (1) The Board voted to change the applicant's characterization of service to Honorable. While the applicant's Personality Disorder did not outweigh the applicant's misconduct for disrespecting a noncommissioned officer; dereliction in the performance of his duties; failure to obey a lawful general regulation by being intoxicated during duty hours; disobeying a noncommissioned officer; and lying to a noncommissioned officer, the applicant's post-service accomplishments in the medical field show that the offenses were an aberration rather than normal behaviors. 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. 11. 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 AR20140004872 5