1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 26 April 2021 b. Date Received: 26 April 2021 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 honorable. The applicant requests a change to the narrative reason for discharge. The applicant did not present any issues of propriety or equity for the Board's consideration. b. Board Type and Decision: In a records review conducted on 13 July 2023, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the totality of the applicant's record, including the applicant's length and quality of service and the applicant's PTSD, TBI and Depression outweighing the applicant's basis for separation. Therefore, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade of 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. The Board determined the 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 / Honorable b. Date of Discharge: 28 June 2011 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 7 June 2011 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: For being in violation of a lawful general regulation in that on 1 November 2010 by wrongfully possessing military ammunition, for being cited for impaired driving with a blood alcohol content of .14 percent based on chemical analysis on 1 November 2010, and for failing to report for formations on 15 March 2011 and 26 April 2011. (3) Recommended Characterization: General (Under Honorable Conditions) (4) Legal Consultation Date: 7 June 2011 (5) Administrative Separation Board: NA (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 7 June 2011 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 9 November 2006 / 5 years, 22 weeks b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 19 / HS Graduate / 112 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-4 / 92A1P, Automated Logistical Specialist / 4 years, 7 months, 20 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: None e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: SWA / Iraq (5 December 2008 - 8 November 2009) f. Awards and Decorations: ARCOM, AAM, AGCM, NDSM, GWOTSM, ICM-CS, ASR, OSR / The applicant's AMHRR reflects award of the CAB, however, the award is not reflected on the DD Form 214. g. Performance Ratings: NA h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: Four Developmental Counseling Forms, for various acts of misconduct. CG Article 15, dated 1 February 2011, for wrongfully possessing military ammunition on or about 1 November 2010. The punishment consisted of a reduction to E-3, suspended, to be automatically remitted if not vacated before 31 July 2011; forfeiture of $455 pay, suspended, to be automatically remitted if not vacated before 31 July 2011; extra duty for 14 days. Record Of Supplementary Action Under Article 15, UCMJ, dated 17 March 2011, reflects the suspended portion of the punishment imposed on 1 February 2011, was vacated for: Article 86, failure to go at the time prescribed to the appointed place of duty, to wit: 0630 hours accountability formation on or about 15 March 2011. FG Article 15, dated 2 May 2011, for failing to go at the time prescribed to the appointed place of duty, to wit: 0630 hours accountability formation on 15 March 2011, for failing to go at the time prescribed to the appointed place of duty, to wit: 0630 hours accountability formation. The punishment consisted of a reduction to E-1; forfeiture of $733 pay per month for two months (suspended), to be automatically remitted if not vacated before 1 July 2011; and extra duty for 45 days. Military Police Report, dated 1 November 2011, reflects the applicant was apprehended for: failure to decrease the speed needed to avoid a collision, traffic accident with damage to government/private property, failure to sign registration card, impaired driving, failure to produce name and address, resisting officers, failure to obey a lawful order, disrespect to a noncommissioned officer and wrongful appropriation of government property. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: None j. Behavioral Health Condition(s): (1) Applicant provided: Explanation of Disability Compensation Evaluation, rated 70 percent for PTSD with alcohol use disorder and unspecified neurocognitive disorder and TBI (claimed as any acquired psychiatric disability (to also include posttraumatic stress disorder PTSD) and TBI). VA Letter dated 15 September 2017 reflecting a diagnosis of PTSD related to combat and Depression by a VA psychiatrist. (2) AMHRR Listed: Report of Medical History, dated 20 April 2011, the examining medical physician noted in the comments section: Excessive Stress. Report of Behavioral Health Evaluation (BHE), dated 26 April 2011, reflects the applicant was diagnosed with Alcohol Abuse but was mentally responsible with a clear thinking process and had the mental capacity to understand and participate in the proceedings. The applicant was cleared for any administrative actions deemed appropriate by command. The BHE was considered by the separation authority. 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293; DD Form 214; Letter from Department of Veterans Affairs; Explanation of Disability Compensation Evaluation (pages 3 and 5); copies of military personnel records; two third-party letters. 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Third-party letters for the applicant, show employment post service, with MGM Grand. 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 did not present any issues of propriety or equity for the Board's consideration. The applicant contends the narrative reason for the discharge needs changed. The applicant was separated under the provisions of Chapter 14, paragraph 14-12c, AR 635-200 with an honorable discharge. The narrative reason specified by Army Regulations for a discharge under this paragraph is "Misconduct (Serious Offense)," and the separation code is "JKQ." Army Regulation 635-8, Separation Processing and Documents, governs the preparation of the DD Form 214, and dictates the entry of the narrative reason for separation, entered in block 28 and separation code, entered in block 26 of the form, will be as listed in tables 2-2 or 2-3 of AR 635- 5-1, Separation Program Designator (SPD) Codes. The regulation stipulates no deviation is authorized. There is no provision for any other reason to be entered under this regulation. The applicant submitted two third-party letters which speak to the applicant's employment with MGM Grand. 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. The third party statements provided with the application speak highly of the applicant and recognize the applicant's good conduct after leaving the Army. 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, after applying liberal consideration found the applicant's PTSD, TBI and Depression could mitigate the applicant's original basis for separation that warranted a previous Board's discharge characterization upgrade to HD, and now warrants reconsideration of applicant's discharge narrative reason. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? Yes. The Board's Medical Advisor found that the applicant is diagnosed and service connected by the VA for PTSD and TBI. Service connection establishes that applicant's PTSD and TBI and Depression existed during military service. (3) Does the condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? Partial. The Board's Medical Advisor applied liberal consideration and opined that the applicant PTSD and TBI mitigates the applicant's DUI and FTR offenses given the nexus between PTSD/TBI and avoidance and self-medicating with substances. However, the Board Medical Advisor opined that the applicant's PTSD/TBI and Depression does not mitigate the applicant's offense of wrongfully possessing military ammunition given there is no natural sequela between PTSD/TBI, Depression and this offense and none of these conditions interfere with the ability to distinguish between right and wrong and act in accordance with the right. (4) Does the condition or experience outweigh the discharge? No. After applying liberal consideration to the evidence, including the Board Medical Advisor opine, the Board determined that, while the applicant's PTSD/TBI and Depression mitigate the DUI and FTRs, the applicant's PTSD/TBI and Depression do not outweigh the applicant's medically unmitigated offense - wrongful possession of military ammunition. Accordingly, the Board determined that a change to the applicant's narrative reason is not warranted in accordance with paragraph 9a. b. Response to Contention(s): The applicant contends the narrative reason for the discharge needs changed. The Board found validity in this contention and voted to upgrade the narrative reason for separation based on the totality of the applicant's record, including the applicant's length and quality of service and the applicant's PTSD, TBI and Depression outweighing the applicant's basis for separation. c. The Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the totality of the applicant's record, including the applicant's length and quality of service and the applicant's PTSD, TBI and Depression outweighing the applicant's basis for separation. Thus, relief is warranted. d. Rationale for Decision: (1) The Board voted not to change the characterization of service due to it already being Honorable. (2) The Board voted to change the reason for discharge to Misconduct (Minor Infractions) based on the totality of the applicant's record, including the applicant's length and quality of service and the applicant's PTSD, TBI and Depression outweighing the applicant's basis for separation. 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. 10. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New DD-214: Yes b. Change Characterization to: No Change 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 AR20210001807 1