1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 9 February 2020 b. Date Received: 14 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 under other than honorable conditions. The applicant requests an upgrade to honorable. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, the applicant was in a rough place in 2012 and unknowingly suffering from PTSD and sleep apnea. The applicant was always stressed and frustrated and sometimes taking it out on those around the applicant. The applicant started self- medicating with marijuana to help relax and unwind and it worked while smoking the applicant returned to the old cheerful person. Unfortunately, a few months later the unit received a drug test, and the applicant was discharged. The applicant served two combat tours with no problems the entire time in the military and had no problems besides this one incident which ended the applicant's career as a Soldier. The applicant understands marijuana is against the law. The applicant comes from a family of alcoholics so the applicant fears drinking as an outlet and made what the applicant believes was the best decision for the applicant mentally. The applicant believes they did more than enough to earn an honorable discharge and is hoping the record will be enough to get an upgrade. b. Board Type and Decision: In a records review conducted on 10 February 2023, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board determined that the discharge was inequitable based on the applicant's in service diagnosis of PTSD mitigating the applicant's misconduct- Abuse of Illegal Drugs. Therefore, the Board voted to recommend relief with issuance of a new separation order, with an upgrade of the characterization of service to Honorable. 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: Abuse of Illegal Drugs / AR 135-178, Chapter 12-1d / NA / NA / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions b. Date of Discharge: 8 July 2012 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 18 June 2012 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: Abuse of illegal drugs. (3) Recommended Characterization: The unit commander recommended the applicant be retained in the Army. However, the Battalion and Brigade Commander recommended a general (under honorable conditions) discharge. (4) Legal Consultation Date: Undated / The applicant indicated on the acknowledgement of separation proceedings the opportunity to consult with legal counsel in paragraph 2a. (5) Administrative Separation Board: NIF (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 18 June 2012 / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 27 June 2011 / 6 years (USAR) b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 22 / GED / 104 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-5 / 88M20, Motor Transport Operator / 6 years, 3 months, 25 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: USAR, 13 March 2006 - 13 June 2007 / NIF IATD, 14 June 2007 - 3 August 2007 / UNC USAR, 4 August 2007 - 5 January 2008 / NIF AD, 6 January 2008 - 31 December 2008 / HD USAR, 1 January 2009 - 7 July 2010 / NIF AD, 8 July 2010 - 24 May 2011 / HD USAR, 25 May 2011 - 26 June 2011 / NIF e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: SWA / Iraq (17 March 2008 - 12 December 2008); Kuwait (17 July 2010 - 24 April 2011) f. Awards and Decorations: JSCM, ARCOM, AAM, MUC, NDSM, GWOTEM, GWOTSM, ICM-CS, ASR, OSR-2, AFRMM-2, CAB g. Performance Ratings: NIF h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: Electronic Copy of DD Form 2624, dated 2 April 2012, reflects the applicant tested positive for THC 135 (marijuana), during an Inspection Random (IR) urinalysis testing, conducted on 17 March 2012. Orders 12-185-0036, dated 3 July 2012, reflect the applicant was to be discharged on 8 July 2012, from the United States Army Reserve. The applicant was also reduced in grade from E-5 to E-1 with an effective date of 3 July 2012. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: None j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: 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 135-178 prescribes the policies, standards, and procedures to ensure the readiness and competency of the U.S. Army while providing for the orderly administrative separation of Army National Guard of the United States (ARNGUS) and U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) enlisted Soldiers for a variety of reasons. Readiness is promoted by maintaining high standards of conduct and performance. (1) Paragraph 2-9a prescribes an honorable characterization 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. (2) Paragraph 2-9b, prescribes, if a Soldier's service has been honest and faithful, it is appropriate to characterize that service as general (under honorable conditions). Characterization of service as general (under honorable conditions) is warranted when significant negative aspects of the Soldier's conduct or performance of duty outweigh positive aspects of the Soldier's military record. (3) Paragraph 2-9c, prescribes the service may be characterized as under other than honorable conditions only when discharge is for misconduct, fraudulent entry, unsatisfactory participation, or security reasons, and under other circumstances. (4) Chapter 11 (previously Chapter 12) 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, and convictions by civil authorities. 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 11-1d, prescribes illegal drug use is serious misconduct. Discharge action normally will be based upon commission of a serious offense. However, relevant facts may mitigate the nature of the offense. Therefore, a single drug offense may be combined with one or more disciplinary infractions or incidents or other misconduct and processed for discharge. (6) Paragraph 11-8 states an under other than honorable conditions discharge is normally considered appropriate; however, a general (under honorable conditions) or an honorable discharge may be 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), the issues and documents submitted with the application were carefully reviewed. The applicant contends, in effect, the applicant unknowingly was suffering from PTSD and sleep apnea which affected the applicant's behavior. The applicant's AMHRR contains no documentation of a PTSD diagnosis. The applicant did not submit any evidence, other than the statement, to support the contention the discharge resulted from any medical condition. The AMHRR does not contain a mental status evaluation (MSE). The applicant contends self-medicating with marijuana to help relax and unwind. 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 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 the event which led to the discharge from the Army was an isolated incident. Army Regulation 635-200, paragraph 3-5, in pertinent part, stipulates circumstances in which the conduct or performance of duty reflected by a single incident provides the basis for a characterization. The applicant believes being betrayed after all the applicant sacrificed for the Army, the first time getting in trouble the choice was to discharge the applicant instead of helping the applicant. Army Regulation 135-178, paragraph 2-4, entitled counseling and rehabilitation, states the separation authority may waive the rehabilitative requirements when it is determined reassignment is not feasible due to commuting distance; or Soldier would create serious disciplinary problems, hazard to the military mission, or affect unit readiness; or rehabilitation would not produce the quality Soldier. The applicant's AMHRR does not contain any indication or evidence of arbitrary or capricious actions by the command. 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 DoD and VA medical records and found, applicant's statement, and/or civilian provider documentation and found that the applicant has the following potentially mitigating diagnoses/experiences: Adjustment Disorder. Additionally, the applicant is service connected for combat related PTSD with additional diagnoses of Depressive and Anxiety Disorders and Cannabis Use Disorder. (2) Did the condition exist, or experience occur during military service? Yes. The applicant is service connected for combat related PTSD, with additional diagnoses of Depressive and Anxiety Disorders and Cannabis Use Disorder occurring post-service and not service connected. (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 substance use, the basis for separation is fully 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 applicant's Abuse of Illegal Drugs for the aforementioned reason. b. Response to Contention(s): (1) The applicant contends unknowingly suffering from PTSD and sleep apnea which affected the applicant's behavior. The Board considered this contention during proceedings and determined that the applicant's PTSD mitigated the applicant's drug use, therefore relief was warranted. (2) The applicant contends self-medicating with marijuana to help relax and unwind. The Board determined that this contention was valid due to medical mitigation and relief was warranted. (3) The applicant contends good service, including two combat tours. The Board considered, recognizes, and appreciates the applicant's willingness to serve and considered this contention during board proceedings along with the totality of the applicant's service record. (4) The applicant believes being betrayed after all the applicant sacrificed for the Army, the first time getting in trouble the choice was to discharge the applicant instead of helping the applicant. The applicant contends the event which led to the discharge from the Army was an isolated incident. 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 PTSD outweighing the applicant's drug abuse basis for separation. c. The Board determined that the discharge was inequitable based on the applicant's in service diagnosis of PTSD mitigating the applicant's misconduct- Abuse of Illegal Drugs. 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 accepted of separation - Abuse of Illegal Drugs. Thus, the prior characterization is no longer appropriate. (2) As there were no Reasons/SPD Codes/RE-codes listed on the applicant's discharge paperwork, due to being in the Army Reserves, no upgrade actions are required for these items. 10. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New DD-214 / Separation Order: Yes b. Change Characterization to: Honorable c. 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 AR20200007614 1