1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 26 April 2021 b. Date Received: 26 April 2021 c. Counsel: N/A 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, suffering from PTSD for a long time. The applicant was in the Wounded Warrior Program and was sent to Pueblo, CO for treatment. The treatment was working, and the applicant asked to be extended; however, was denied. While trying to get medical extension orders to continue treatment, the applicant was discharged from the Army Reserve without a hearing and given an under other than honorable conditions discharge. The applicant was confused about the process and mistakenly did not provide the unit with the election of rights. The applicant also had legal counsel and who was unaware the applicant had not sent in the election of rights. Before the separation, legal counsel contacted the unit several times trying to assist the applicant. At no time was legal counsel informed the unit was proceeding to discharge the applicant without an administration separation board. Counsel did not learn until months later the applicant had been separated. The unit knew they could not charge the applicant with drug use based on the applicant's medical condition and charged the applicant with possessing drug paraphernalia. b. Board Type and Decision: In a records review conducted on 26 October 2023, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board determined that the characterization of service was inequitable based on the applicant's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Adjustment Disorder, Major Depression, and Anxiety outweighing the unsatisfactory participation basis for separation. Accordingly, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade to the characterization of service to General. 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: Unsatisfactory Participation / AR 135- 178, Chapter 12 / NA / NA / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions b. Date of Discharge: 9 December 2014 c. Separation Facts: The applicant's Army Military Human Resource Record (AMHRR) is void of the case separation file. However, the applicant provided documents which are described below in 3c(6). (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: NIF (2) Basis for Separation: NIF (3) Recommended Characterization: NIF (4) Legal Consultation Date: NIF (5) Administrative Separation Board: NIF (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 9 December 2014 / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 3 June 2011 / The applicant extended the current enlistment for a period of 1 year to 17 August 2012 / The AMHRR is void of any extension of enlistment. b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 38 / High School Graduate / 101 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-5 / 11B20, Infantryman / 14 years, 9 months, 9 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: USAR, 1 March 2000 - 24 May 2000 / NA IADT, 25 May 2000 - 8 September 2000 / HD USAR, 9 September 2004 - 15 August 2004 / NA OAD, 16 August 2004 - 12 February 2006 / HD USAR, 13 February 2006 - 18 August 2008 / NA OAD, 19 August 2008 - 2 November 2009 / HD USAR, 3 November 2009 - 1 September 2012 / NA OAD, 2 September 2012 - 6 March 2014 / HD e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: Hawaii, SWA / Iraq (1 January 2005 - 29 December 2005); Kuwait (2 November 2008 - 15 August 2009) f. Awards and Decorations: ICM-2CS, ARCOM, AAM-2, AGCM, ARCAM, NDSM GWOTEM, GWOTSM, ASR, OSR-2, AFRM-M, CIB g. Performance Ratings: 16 July 2010 - 15 July 2011 / Fully Capable 16 July 2011 - 15 July 2012 / Marginal h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: Military Police Report Number 02505- 2013-MPC108, 15 July 2013, reflects the SJA opined probable cause existed to believe the applicant committed the offenses of wrongful possession of methamphetamine and oxycodone; failure to obey a general order and possession of drug paraphernalia. Military Police Report Number 00475-2014-MPC108, 16 February 2014, preliminary investigation revealed the applicant left a backpack containing various personal identification cards, credit cards, checkbooks, private mail, and passports not belonging to the applicant. Coordination with the applicant' unit revealed the applicant had been separated from the military and is on terminal leave in Saipan. Investigation continues by CID. CID Report of Investigation - Final/Referred - 0057-2014 CID 108-87548 - 7G1A2, 18 March 2014, investigation revealed the applicant left a backpack containing numerous identification cards, credit cards, passports, and mail belonging to the listed personnel at the Staff Duty Desk at Building 692, SBI, prior to demobilization and return to Saipan. The personnel listed were not located and fully identified, and some information was listed unknown due to required fields in AC12. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: NIF j. Behavioral Health Condition(s): (1) Applicant provided: Mental Health C & P Examination Consult, 8 November 2016, reflects the applicant was diagnosed with F43.1 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. MH Treatment Plan, 4 January 2021, reflects the applicant uses marijuana daily to the point of incapacitation to relieve chronic pain and previously abused meth amphetamines. The applicant was diagnosed with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder and major depression. VA Guam Vet Center letter, 30 September 2021, reflects the applicant was granted a combined 100 percent service-connected disability for migraine headaches, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain disease, and sleep apnea syndromes. (2) AMHRR Listed: None 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 149; listed enclosures 1 thru 7; medical records; VA letter; DD Form 214; Orders 027-0002; IPERMS record. 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 (Enlisted Administrative Separations) 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) Paragraph 2-9c(3) prescribes no Soldier will be discharged in accordance with this regulation, with service characterized as under other than honorable conditions, unless they are afforded the right to present their case before an administrative separation board. The Soldier will be afforded the advice and assistance of counsel. Such discharge must be supported by approved board findings, and an approved board recommendation for discharge under other than honorable conditions. (5) Paragraph 2-9c(4) prescribes as an exception to paragraph 2-9c(3), a discharge with service characterized as under other than honorable conditions may be issued without board action if the Soldier waives their right to board action. (6) Chapter 12 provides in pertinent part, that individuals can be separated for being an unsatisfactory participant. Soldier is subject to discharge for unsatisfactory participation when it is determined that the Soldier is unqualified for further military service because: The Soldier is an unsatisfactory participant as prescribed by AR 135-91, chapter 4; Attempts to have the Soldier respond or comply with orders or correspondence. (7) Paragraph 12-3 stipulates a characterization of service normally will be under other than honorable conditions, but characterization as general (under honorable conditions) may be warranted under the guidelines in chapter 2, section III. 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 applicant's Army Military Human Resources Record (AMHRR) is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to the discharge from the Army Reserve. The applicant's AMHRR does contain a properly constituted discharge order: Orders 14-357- 00005, 23 December 2014. The orders indicate the applicant was discharged under the provisions of AR 135-178, with a characterization of service of under other than honorable conditions. The applicant contends being diagnosed with PTSD by the VA. The applicant provided Mental Health C & P Examination Consult, 8 November 2016, which reflects the applicant was diagnosed with F43.1 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. A MH Treatment Plan, 4 January 2021, reflects the applicant used marijuana daily to the point of incapacitation to relieve chronic pain and previously abused meth amphetamines. The applicant was diagnosed with chronic post- traumatic stress disorder and major depression. A VA Guam Vet Center letter, 30 September 2021, reflects the applicant was granted a combined 100 percent service-connected disability for migraine headaches, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain disease, and sleep apnea syndromes. The AMHRR does not contain a mental status evaluation. The applicant contends being discharged from the Army Reserve without a hearing and given an under other than honorable conditions discharge. The applicant was confused about the process and mistakenly did not provide the unit with the election of rights. The applicant did not submit any evidence, other than the applicant's statement, to support the contention. Army Regulation 135-178, Paragraph 2-9c(3) prescribes no Soldier will be discharged in accordance with this regulation, with service characterized as under other than honorable conditions, unless they are afforded the right to present their case before an administrative separation board. The Soldier will be afforded the advice and assistance of counsel. Such discharge must be supported by approved board findings, and an approved board recommendation for discharge under other than honorable conditions. Paragraph 2-9c(4) prescribes as an exception to paragraph 2-9c(3), a discharge with service characterized as under other than honorable conditions may be issued without board action if the Soldier waives their right to board action. The applicant's Army Military Human Resources Record (AMHRR) is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to the discharge from the Army Reserve. 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 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/experiences: PTSD, TBI, Adjustment Disorder, Major Depression, Anxiety. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? Yes. The Board's Medical Advisor found that the applicant was diagnosed in service with an Adjustment Disorder, Major Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD. The applicant is also service connected by the VA for PTSD and TBI. (3) Does the condition or experience excuse or mitigate the discharge? Yes. The Board's Medical Advisor applied liberal consideration and opined that the applicant's behavioral health conditions mitigate the applicant's basis of separation. Given the nexus between PTSD, TBI, Major Depression, and avoidance, the Unsatisfactory Participation that led to the applicant's separation is mitigated. The service record contains additional misconduct of larceny which is not mitigated by any of the applicant's BH conditions (i.e., PTSD, TBI, Adjustment Disorder, Major Depression, Anxiety) since none of the 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? Yes. After applying liberal consideration to the evidence, including the Board Medical Advisor opine, the Board determined that the applicant's PTSD, TBI, Adjustment Disorder, Major Depression, and Anxiety outweighed the unsatisfactory participation basis for separation. b. Response to Contention(s): (1) The applicant contends being diagnosed with PTSD by the VA. The Board liberally considered this contention and determined that the applicant's PTSD, TBI, Adjustment Disorder, Major Depression, and Anxiety outweighed the unsatisfactory participation basis for separation. (2) The applicant contends being discharged from the Army Reserve without a hearing and given an under other than honorable conditions discharge. The applicant was confused about the process and mistakenly did not provide the unit with the election of rights. The Board considered this contention but found insufficient evidence in the applicant's AMHRR or applicant-provided evidence to support that an impropriety took place in the discharge process. Therefore, further upgrade is not warranted. c. The Board determined that the characterization of service was inequitable based on the applicant's PTSD, TBI, Adjustment Disorder, Major Depression, and Anxiety outweighing the unsatisfactory participation basis for separation. Accordingly, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade to the characterization of service to General. d. Rationale for Decision: The Board voted to change the applicant's characterization of service to General because the applicant's PTSD, TBI, Adjustment Disorder, Major Depression, Anxiety outweighed the unsatisfactory participation basis for separation. The Board determined that an upgrade to Honorable characterization is not warranted based on the standard parameters of USAR characterizations and other misconduct noted in the evidentiary record (per an 18 MAR 14 CID report). 10. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New Separation Order: Yes b. Change Characterization to: General c. Change Authority to: AR 135-178 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 AR20210001854 1