1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 20 July 2020 b. Date Received: 5 August 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, to be 70 percent disabled for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to military sexual trauma (MST). The applicant was sexually abused four times while serving in the military. The first time the applicant was abused was after a "Singles" field day at Fort Polk, LA. The applicant met and was paired with a Soldier from a different battalion. The Soldier asked the applicant out and the applicant accepted. After having just one alcoholic drink, the applicant could not walk due to the Soldier had put a date rape drug in the applicant's drink. The Soldier then took the applicant back to the applicant's barracks room where the Soldier undressed the applicant and proceeded to rape the applicant multiple times. The next assault came from the applicant's sergeant (SGT). The applicant was moving into an off-base apartment. The SGT revealed genitals to the applicant and told the applicant to "put it in your mouth." The next incident happened when the company first SGT (1SG) was preparing to get discharged. The 1SG asked the applicant to help with a task and drove the applicant to a secluded area and revealed genitals and forced the applicant to perform oral sex. The fourth and final time was when the applicant was in in-patient rehab and one of the counselors pulled the applicant's shirt up and fondled the applicant. The applicant became erratic and told the lead manager and was discharged the very next day from the program. The reason the applicant was discharged from the military was "failure to complete rehab." The applicant never got a chance to properly report the counselor that fondled the applicant. It was apparent that they wanted to make sure there was no report of sexual assault because of the rapid discharge from the facility. When the applicant returned to the company; the applicant was told that the applicant would be discharged due to failing to complete rehab. The applicant tried to explain what had happened, however the applicant was informed that there was no report of what the applicant says happened. At this point the applicant was so broken down by the many sexually related incidents that the applicant just wanted to get out of the military as fast as possible. The applicant did not fight the discharge at the time. The applicant was later determined to have PTSD related to MST. It was also determined that the applicant's substance abuse in the military and after was a direct result of the trauma listed above. Board Type and Decision: In a records review conducted on 11 August 2023, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's length and quality of service, the circumstances surrounding the discharge (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to Military Sexual Trauma and Intimate Partner Violence). 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, and a change to the reentry eligibility (RE) code to 1. b. 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: Drug Rehabilitation Failure / AR 635- 200, Chapter 9 / JPC / RE-4 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) b. Date of Discharge: 3 July 2012 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 13 June 2012 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: The applicant failed the Army Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) and subsequently was released due to unsatisfactory progress, performance, and conduct. (3) Recommended Characterization: General (Under Honorable Conditions) (4) Legal Consultation Date: On 13 June 2012, the applicant waived legal counsel. (5) Administrative Separation Board: NA (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 14 June 2012 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 28 October 2008 / 6 years b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 19 / High School Graduate / 113 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-4 / 25Q10, Multichannel Transmission Systems Operator-Maintainer / 3 years, 8 months, 6 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: None e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: None f. Awards and Decorations: AAM, AGCM, NDSM, GWTSM, ASR g. Performance Ratings: NA h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: A DA Form 4833 (Commander Report of Disciplinary or Administrative Action) reflects the applicant was referred on 12 June 2011 for domestic violence and simple assault - consummated with battery for actions on 12 June 2011. On 22 July 2011 this case was dismissed in court. The applicant states they were wrongfully arrested for domestic violence. Patient Progress Report, dated 24 April 2012, reflects the applicant was released from the ASAP. The applicant's in-progress evaluation was poor, and the counselor recommended terminating treatment and separation. The unit commander's appraisal of the applicant's performance was unsatisfactory. The reason for separation from the ASAP programs was "Separation/Termination as Alcohol/Drug Abuse Rehab Failure." Report of Medical Examination, dated 4 May 2012, the examining medical physician noted in the comments section: Anxiety disorder and vocal cord disfunction. Developmental Counseling Form, dated 17 May 2012, reflects the applicant was counseled for notification of intent to separate for ASAP failure. Four Developmental Counseling Forms, for various acts of misconduct. The applicant's Enlisted Record Brief, dated 20 June 2012, reflects the applicant was flagged for adverse action (AA), effective 8 March 2012 and for involuntary separation/field initiated (BA), effective 17 May 2012; was ineligible for reenlistment due to pending separation (9V). The Assignment Eligibility Availability code reflects the applicant was temporarily ineligible for reassignments due to medical, convalescence, confinement due to trial by court martial, enrollment in Track III ASAP, or local bar to reenlistment. FLAGS / AEA codes: AA, BA / C RE/Prohibition code: 9V i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: None j. Behavioral Health Condition(s): (1) Applicant provided: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) letter, dated 11 July 2023 and VA disability rating decision, undated, reflecting the applicant was rated 70 percent disability for PTSD (also claimed anxiety condition). The VA letter states according to the applicant's chart, the applicant has been involved in therapy for MST. (2) AMHRR Listed: None 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293; VA Letter, VA Rating Decision. 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 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 9 outlines the procedures for discharging individuals because of alcohol or other drug abuse. A member who has been referred to the Army Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) for alcohol or drug abuse may be separated because of inability or refusal to participate in, cooperate in, or successfully complete such a program if there is a lack of potential for continued Army service and rehabilitation efforts are no longer practical. (5) Paragraph 9-4, stipulates the service of Soldiers discharged under this section will be characterized as Honorable or Under Honorable Conditions unless the Soldier is in entry-level status and an uncharacterized description of service is required. An Honorable discharge is mandated in any case in which the Government initially introduces into the final discharge process limited use evidence as defined by AR 600-85. (6) 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. 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 "JPC" as the appropriate code to assign enlisted Soldiers who are discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 9, for drug rehabilitation failure. 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-4 Applies to: Person separated from last period of service with a nonwaiverable disqualification. This includes anyone with a DA imposed bar to reenlistment in effect at time of separation or separated for any reason (except length of service retirement) with 18 or more years active Federal service. Eligibility: Ineligible for enlistment. 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), the issues, and documents submitted with the application were carefully reviewed. The evidence of AMHRR indicates on 24 April 2012, the unit commander in consultation with the Clinical Director/ASAP, declared the applicant a rehabilitation failure. The applicant requests an Honorable discharge due to having PTSD related to MST. The applicant was sexually abused four times while serving in the military. The applicant provided a VA letter, dated 11 July 2023 and a VA disability rating decision, undated, reflecting the applicant has 70 percent disability for PTSD (also claimed anxiety condition). The VA letter states the applicant has been involved in therapy for MST. The AMHRR is void of a mental status evaluation or behavioral health evaluation. 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 and the following diagnoses and experiences are present: the applicant held in-service diagnoses of Acute Reaction to Stress and Adjustment Disorder with FAP confirming she was a victim of severe IPV. Post-service, the applicant is service connected for PTSD due to MST and IPV. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? Yes. The applicant held in-service diagnoses of Acute Reaction to Stress and Adjustment Disorder with FAP confirming she was a victim of severe IPV. Post-service, the applicant is service connected for PTSD due to MST and IPV. (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 discharge is mitigated. (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 PTSD due to MST and IPV outweighed the drug rehabilitation failure basis for separation for the aforementioned reason(s). b. Response to Contention(s): The applicant contends an Honorable discharge is warranted due to PTSD diagnosis. The Board determined that this contention was valid and voted to upgrade the characterization of service due to PTSD mitigating the applicant's drug abuse rehabilitation failure charges. c. The Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's length and quality of service, to include combat service, the circumstances surrounding the discharge (OBHI and PTSD diagnoses), and post-service accomplishments. 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, and a change to the reentry eligibility (RE) code to 1. 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 rehabilitation failure. 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 Board voted to change the RE code to RE-1. 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: RE-1 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 AR20200008013 1