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 under other than honorable conditions. The applicant requests an upgrade to honorable. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, having honorable periods of reenlistment. b. Board Type and Decision: In a records review conducted on 13 June 2023, and by a 5- 0 vote, the Board determined that the characterization of service was inequitable based on the applicant's length and quality of service, letters of support from the chain of command and applicant's Adjustment Disorder outweighing the applicant's multiple AWOL incidents, wrongful use of cocaine, oxycodone, and oxymorphine basis for separation. Accordingly, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade to the characterization of service to General, Under Honorable Conditions. The Board determined the narrative reason/SPD code and RE code were proper and equitable and voted not to change them. The Board voted not to change the reentry eligibility (RE) code because it was proper and equitable due to applicant's illicit drug use warranting consideration prior to reentry of military service. 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 / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions b. Date of Discharge: 2 October 2007 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 6 July 2007 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: AWOL between on or about 21 March 2007, until on or about 26 March 2007, the applicant was apprehended, during this period the applicant admitted to wrongfully using cocaine. Once again, the applicant went AWOL between on or about 11 April 2007, until on or about 17 April 2007 and the applicant wrongfully used cocaine, oxycodone, and oxymorphine between on or about 14 April 2007, and on or about 17 April 2007. (3) Recommended Characterization: Under Other Than Honorable Conditions (4) Legal Consultation Date: 10 July 2007 (5) Administrative Separation Board: On 24 July 2007, the applicant was notified to appear before an administrative separation board and advised of rights. On 20 August 2007, the administrative separation board convened, and the applicant appeared with counsel. The board recommended the applicant's discharge with characterization of service of under other than honorable conditions. On 12 September 2007, the separation authority approved the findings and recommendations of the administrative separation board. (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 12 September 2007 / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 20 April 2006 / 4 years b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 33 / some college / 122 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-4 / 88N10, Transportation Management Coordinator / 6 years, 7 months, 1 day d. Prior Service / Characterizations: RA, 1 March 2001 - 31 March 2004 / HD RA, 1 April 2004 - 19 April 2006 / HD e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: Korea / None f. Awards and Decorations: ARCOM, AAM-2, NDSM, GWOTSM, KDSM, ASR, OSR g. Performance Ratings: NA h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: Military Police Report, dated 23 March 2007, reflects the applicant was apprehended for: AWOL; AWOL Apprehended (on post). Military Police Report, dated 18 April 2007, reflects the applicant was apprehended for: AWOL; AWOL Surrendered (on post). Electronic Copy of DD Form 2624, dated 23 April 2007, reflects the applicant tested positive for cocaine 2016, during an Inspection Other (IO) urinalysis testing, conducted on 27 March 2007. Electronic Copy of DD Form 2624, dated 7 May 2007, reflects the applicant tested positive for COC 151890, OXCOD 793, OXMOR 646, THC 143, during an Inspection Other (IO) urinalysis testing, conducted on 17 April 2007. CID Report of Investigation Initial Final, dated 18 May 2007, reflects an investigation determined the applicant committed the offense of wrongful use of controlled substance (COC, THC, OXCOD, and OXMOR) when the applicant tested positive on a UUI, and a CDU conducted on 27 March 2007 and 17 April 2007. FG Article 15, dated 8 June 2007, for wrongfully going AWOL from 21 March to 26 March 2007. On or about 23 March 2007, wrongfully use cocaine. On or about 14 April 2007 wrongfully use marihuana. The punishment consisted of a reduction to E-1 and extra duty for 45 days. Four Personnel Action forms, reflect the applicant's duty status changed as follows: From "PDY" to "AWOL," effective 21 March 2007; From "AWOL" to "PDY," effective 26 March 2007; From "PDY" to "AWOL," effective 11 April 2007; and From "AWOL" to "PDY," effective 17 April 2007. Numerous Developmental Counseling Forms, for various acts of misconduct. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: 11 days: AWOL, 21 March 2007 - 25 March 2007 / NIF AWOL, 11 April 2007 - 16 April 2007 / NIF j. Behavioral Health Condition(s): (1) Applicant provided: None (2) AMHRR Listed: None 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 214; 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 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) Paragraph 3-7c states Under Other Than Honorable Conditions discharge is an administrative separation from the Service under conditions other than honorable and it may be issued for misconduct, fraudulent entry, security reasons, or in lieu of trial by court martial based on certain circumstances or patterns of behavior or acts or omissions that constitute a significant departure from the conduct expected of Soldiers in the Army. (5) 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. (6) 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. (7) 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 waivable and nonwaivable 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 waivable. 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's Army Military Human Resources Record (AMHRR), the issues, and documents submitted with the application were carefully reviewed. The applicant contends good service. The Board will consider the applicant's service accomplishments and the quality of service according to the DODI 1332.28. 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: adjustment disorder. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? Yes. The Board's Medical Advisor found the applicant was diagnosed with adjustment disorder on active duty. (3) Does the condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? No. The Board's Medical Advisor applied liberal consideration and opined that the applicant has evidence of one potentially mitigating condition at the time of service, adjustment disorder with mixed emotional features (adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood). Such diagnoses are not typically considered mitigating conditions although may be given weight based on degree of impairment noted in the record; after review of relevant records in this case, documentation does not support that this diagnosis was of such severity as to mitigate the misconduct leading to discharge. Applicant has no service-connected mental health conditions. The advisor appreciates references to possible PTSD in applicant's VA record, but the circumstances and any potential impact on functioning while on active duty are not elaborated sufficiently to be considered potentially mitigating at the time of service. There is also no compelling evidence that Bipolar Disorder subsequently diagnosed through the VA was relevant/contributory at the time of service. Ultimately, the medical advisor does not find there are any mental health conditions/diagnoses at the time of service that would create a nexus between such a condition and illicit substance use and AWOL leading to discharge (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 the available evidence did not support a conclusion that the applicant's adjustment disorder outweighed the basis for applicant's separation - multiple AWOL incidents, wrongful use of cocaine, oxycodone, and oxymorphine - for the aforementioned reason(s). b. Response to Contention(s): The applicant contends good service. The Board 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. c. The Board determined that the characterization of service was inequitable based on the applicant's length and quality of service, letters of support from the chain of command and applicant's Adjustment Disorder outweighing the applicant's multiple AWOL incidents, wrongful use of cocaine, oxycodone, and oxymorphine basis for separation. Accordingly, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade to the characterization of service to General, Under Honorable Conditions. The Board determined the narrative reason/SPD code and RE code were proper and equitable and voted not to change them. The Board voted not to change the reentry eligibility (RE) code because it was proper and equitable due to applicant's illicit drug use warranting consideration prior to reentry of military service. d. Rationale for Decision: (1) The Board voted to change the applicant's characterization of service to General Under Honorable Conditions based on applicant's length and quality of service, letters of support from the chain of command and applicant's Adjustment Disorder outweighing the applicant's multiple AWOL incidents, wrongful use of cocaine, oxycodone, and oxymorphine basis for separation. Thus, the prior characterization is no longer appropriate. (2) The Board voted not to change the applicant's reason for discharge or accompanying SPD code as the reason the applicant was discharged was both proper and equitable. (3) The Board voted not to change the reentry eligibility (RE) code because it was proper and equitable due to applicant's illicit drug use warranting consideration prior to reentry of military service. 10. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New DD-214: Yes b. Change Characterization to: General, Under Honorable Conditions c. Change Reason / SPD Code to: No Change d. Change RE Code to: No Change e. 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 AR20210001907 1