1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 17 April 2020 b. Date Received: 21 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 discharge is inequitable because the applicant was suffering from undiagnosed depressive disorder due the hardships of being deployed to Iraq. The applicant began to self-medicate with alcohol and marijuana to cope with the pains of war. The applicant completed the punishment but was not allowed to complete the Army Substance Abuse Program (ASAP). The applicant states there was still honorable service although the applicant was dealing with mental issues. b. Board Type and Decision: In a records review conducted on 24 March 2023, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's PTSD outweighing the misconduct - drug abuse and AWOL. 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, and the reentry code to RE-3. 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 (Drug Abuse) / AR 635- 200 / Chapter 14-12c (2) / JKK / RE-4 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) b. Date of Discharge: 23 December 2009 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 10 October 2009 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: The applicant received two FG Article 15s for wrongful use of marijuana and was convicted of AWOL at a Summary Court-Martial on 25 August 2009. (3) Recommended Characterization: The commander recommended the applicant be retained in the service. (4) Legal Consultation Date: 5 November 2009 (5) Administrative Separation Board: NA (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 16 November 2009 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 15 July 2005 / 5 years, 26 weeks b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 20 / GED / 96 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-4 / 91H10, Track Vehicle Repairer / 4 years, 4 months, 13 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: None e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: German, SWA / Iraq (6 August 2006 - 22 October 2007) f. Awards and Decorations: ARCOM, AAM, AGCM, NDSM, GWOTSM, ICM-CS, ASR, OSR, Driver and Mechanic Badge-Driver Wheeled Vehicle(S) clasp- Mechanic Clasp g. Performance Ratings: NA h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: Electronic Copy of DD Form 2624, dated 8 May 2008, reflects the applicant tested positive for THC 301, during an Inspection Unit (IU) urinalysis testing, conducted on 14 April 2008. FG Article 15, dated 18 September 2008, reflects the applicant wrongfully used marijuana between on or about 14 March 2008 to on or about 14 April 2008. The punishment consisted of reduction to private/E-2; forfeiture of $378 pay per month for two months; extra duty for 45 days; restriction for 45 days, suspended, to be automatically remitted if not vacated before 15 March 2009. Electronic Copy of DD Form 2624, dated 4 December 2008, reflects the applicant tested positive for THC 29, during an Inspection Unit (IU) urinalysis testing, conducted on 24 November 2008. FG Article 15, dated 29 March 2009, reflects the applicant wrongfully used marijuana on or between 24 October 2008 and 24 November 2008. The punishment consisted of reduction to private/E-1; forfeiture of $699 pay per month for two months; extra duty for 45 days; and restriction for 45 days, suspended, to be automatically remitted if not vacated before 25 September 2009. At a Summary Court-Martial held on 25 August 2009, the applicant was found guilty of being absent without authority from on or about 20 April 2009 until on or about 14 May 2009. The punishment consisted of hard labor for 30 days. A Report of Mental Status Evaluation (MSE) dated 24 September 2008, which reflects the applicant had the mental capacity to understand and participate in the proceedings and was mentally responsibility. The evaluation revealed no evidence of any psychiatric disorder which would explain the behaviors for which the separation was being considered. A Report of Behavioral Health Evaluation (BHE), dated 20 June 2009, reflects the applicant had the mental capacity to understand and participate in the proceedings and was mentally responsible. There was no diagnosis listed. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: AWOL x26 days (20 April 2009 - 15 May 2009) / Returned j. Behavioral Health Condition(s): (1) Applicant provided: A letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs, dated 17 April 2020, which reflects the applicant has a combined service-connected evaluation of 80 percent. The applicant also provides a Rated Disabilities List which indicates the applicant is service connected for unspecified depressive disorder with PTSD (previously rated as Unspecified Depressive Disorder (claimed as PTSD) at 70 percent disabling. (2) AMHRR Listed: None 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293, Letter from the Department of Veteran Affairs, dated 17 April 2020, Rated Disabilities List. 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: The applicant is employed and coaches in sport leagues within the community. 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 14-12c(2) terms abuse of illegal drugs as serious misconduct. It continues; however, by recognizing relevant facts may mitigate the nature of the offense. Therefore, a single drug abuse offense may be combined with one or more minor disciplinary infractions or incidents of other misconduct and processed for separation under paragraph 14- 12a or 14-12b as appropriate. 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 the discharge is inequitable because the applicant was suffering from undiagnosed depressive disorder due the hardships of being deployed to Iraq and began to self- medicate with alcohol and marijuana to cope with the pains of war. The applicant's AMHRR contains no documentation of a mental health diagnosis. The AMHRR shows the applicant underwent a MSE on 24 September 2008, which indicates the applicant had the mental capacity to understand and participate in the proceedings and was mentally responsible. The MSE does not indicate any diagnosis. The evaluation revealed no evidence of any psychiatric disorder which would explain the behaviors for which the separation was being initiated. The MSE was considered by the separation authority. The applicant provides a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs, dated 17 April 2020, which reflects the applicant has a combined service-connected evaluation of 80 percent. The applicant also provides a Rated Disabilities List which indicates the applicant is service connected for unspecified depressive disorder with PTSD (previously rated as Unspecified Depressive Disorder (claimed as PTSD) at 70 percent disabling. The applicant states there was still honorable service although the applicant was dealing with mental issues. The Board will consider the applicant's service accomplishments and the quality of service according to the DODI 1332.28. The applicant is employed and coaches in sport leagues within the community. 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: the applicant is service connected for combat related PTSD. (2) Did the condition exist, or experience occur during military service? Yes. Although not diagnosed, in-service records outline trauma events with symptoms prior to separation. (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 and avoidance, the basis 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 determined that the applicant's PTSD outweighed the applicant's misconduct - drug abuse and AWOL for the aforementioned reason. b. Response to Contention(s): (1) The applicant contends the discharge is inequitable because the applicant was suffering from undiagnosed depressive disorder due the hardships of being deployed to Iraq and began to self-medicate with alcohol and marijuana to cope with the pains of war. The contention was considered and found valid leading to an upgrade in characterization of service and narrative reason. (2) The applicant states there was still honorable service although the applicant was dealing with mental issues. 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 AWOL and drug abuse basis for separation. c. The Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's PTSD mitigated the applicant's drug use and AWOL. 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, and the reentry code to RE-3. 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 drug use and 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 Board voted to change the RE code to RE-3. 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 Infractions)/JKN d. Change RE Code to: RE-3 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 AR20200007778 1