1. Applicant’s Name: a. Application Date: 26 April 2021 b. Date Received: 26 April 2021 c. Counsel: Yes 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, becoming ill while on leave and missed the return flight to the duty station. The applicant’s platoon sergeant was aware of the situation, but the first sergeant was not; and an Article 15 was given when the applicant returned. The discharge was inequitable because it was based on one isolated medical incident for which the applicant should have been given a medical discharge. b. Board Type and Decision: In a records review conducted on 23 May 2023, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board denied the request upon finding the separation was both proper and equitable. 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 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) b. Date of Discharge: 5 December 2012 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 31 October 2012 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: The applicant was absent without leave from 18 July 2012 to 16 August 2012. The applicant wrongfully assaulted spouse, by grabbing nose. (3) Recommended Characterization: General (Under Honorable Conditions) (4) Legal Consultation Date: On 6 November 2012, the applicant waived legal counsel. (5) Administrative Separation Board: NA (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 7 November 2012 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 13 June 2011 / 3 years, 23 weeks b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 26 / High School Graduate / 95 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-3 / 92F10, Petroleum Supply Specialist / 1 year, 2 months, 14 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: None e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: None f. Awards and Decorations: NDSM, GWOTSM, ASR g. Performance Ratings: NA h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: Military Police Report, dated 27 February 2012, reflects the applicant was apprehended for Spouse Abuse, Simple Assault Consummated Battery, Wrongful Damaging of Private Property, Detention Cell Activation, and Detention Cell Deactivation (on post). FG Article 15, dated 18 April 2012, on or about 27 February 2012, unlawfully grab spouse. The punishment consisted of a reduction to E-2; forfeiture of $835 pay per month for two months (suspended); extra duty; restriction for 45 days and oral reprimand. Two Personnel Action forms reflect the applicant’s duty status changed as follows: From “PDY” to “AWOL,” effective 18 July 2012; and From “AWOL” to “CMA,” effective 16 August 2012. Two Developmental Counseling Forms for going AWOL and pending UCMJ. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: 96 days: AWOL, 18 July 2012 – 16 August 2012 / Return to Military Control CMA, 17 August 2012 – 26 October 2012 / Released from Confinement j. Behavioral Health Condition(s): (1) Applicant provided: None (2) AMHRR Listed: Report of Mental Status Evaluation, dated 20 August 2012, reflects the applicant was cleared for any administrative actions deemed appropriate by the command. The applicant could understand and participate in administrative proceedings; could appreciate the difference between right and wrong; and met medical retention requirements. The applicant was diagnosed with Adjustment Disorder with Anxiety and Depressed Mood (309.28). The service member manifests a long-standing, chronic pattern of difficulty adjusting (i.e., Adjustment Disorder) as characterized by a maladaptive reaction to an identifiable stressful life event of six months or longer. Service member has been screened for substance use disorders (i.e., alcohol and drugs). Service member was screened for substance use disorders. The applicant does not meet criteria for Alcohol Abuse (305.00) or Alcohol Dependence (303 .90). Per Service member, does not have a history of a substance use disorder, which is consistent with AHLTA record. From a Behavioral Health evaluation standpoint, Service member is recommended for treatment to address present concerns/issues and to enhance coping skills to deal with everyday Army/life stressors. The applicant is at great risk for safety concerns if the applicant continues to respond poorly to routine life and work stressors and does not receive treatment. The applicant was advised to receive treatment through the Department of Behavioral Health and through the Veteran Affairs Department once, the applicant transitions out of the Army. The applicant wants to get out of the Army; separation from the Army would be in the best interest of both the service member and the Army. Service member has not deployed yet assessed for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury, both of which screened negative. These conditions have not caused behaviors precipitating this chapter separation. Service member is currently responsible for behavior, can distinguish right from wrong, and possesses sufficient mental capacity to understand and participate in any administrative or judicial proceedings. Service member denied history of and current suicidal or homicidal ideation, as well as denied any other psychiatric conditions. Report of Medical History and assessment, dated 9 October 2012, the examining medical physician noted in the comments section: Sleep issues and counseling. Report of Medical Examination, dated 9 October 2012, the examining medical physician noted in the comments section: Sleep issues. 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: 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) 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 contends becoming ill while on leave and missed the return flight to the duty station. The applicant states that the applicant’s platoon sergeant was aware of the situation, but the first sergeant was not; and an Article 15 was given when the applicant returned. The applicant’s AMHRR does not contain any indication or evidence of arbitrary or capricious actions by the command. The applicant contends the event, which led to the discharge from the Army, was an isolated incident. Army Regulation 635-200, paragraph 3-5, in pertinent part, stipulates circumstances in which the conduct or performance of duty reflected by a single incident provides the basis for a characterization. 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 with Mixed Anxiety, Depressed Mood, Major Depressive Disorder, and Panic Disorder. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? Yes. The Board's Medical Advisor found applicant is service connected for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and has also been diagnosed with Panic Disorder dating to applicant’s time of service. The diagnoses of Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Anxiety and Depressed Mood are temporary conditions and are, in essence, subordinate conditions subsumed under MDD and Panic Disorder. (3) Does the condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? Partially. The Board's Medical Advisor applied liberal consideration and opined that the applicant’s MDD and Panic Disorder mitigate the applicant’s AWOL as there is a nexus between these disorders and avoidant behaviors such AWOL. However, the applicant’s MDD and Panic Disorder do not mitigate the applicant’s offense of domestic assault, as there is no nexus between such conditions and assaultive behavior. (4) Does the condition or experience outweigh the discharge? No. After applying liberal consideration to the evidence to include the Board Medical Advisor opine, the Board determined that, while the applicant’s MDD and Panic Disorder mitigate the applicant’s AWOL offense, the applicant’s MDD and Panic Disorder do not outweigh the applicant’s medically unmitigated assault of applicant’s spouse. b. Response to Contention(s): (1) The applicant contends that a discharge upgrade is warranted because the applicant’s AWOL resulted from the applicant becoming ill while on leave causing the applicant to miss the applicant’s return flight to the duty station. The applicant’s platoon sergeant was aware of the situation, but the first sergeant was not; and when an Article 15 was given when the applicant returned. The Board considered this contention and determined that while the applicant’s MDD and Panic Disorder mitigate the AWOL misconduct, the applicant’s MDD and Panic Disorder do not outweigh the applicant’s medically unmitigated assault of applicant’s spouse. Thus, the discharge is proper and equitable. (2) The applicant contends the event, which led to the discharge from the Army, was an isolated incident. The board considered this contention and found it non-persuasive based on the nature and severity of the applicant’s unmitigated domestic assault. In addition, the Board determined that Army Regulation 635-200, paragraph 3-5 authorizes the Separation Authority to determine circumstances in which the conduct or performance of duty is reflected by a single incident that provides the basis for a characterization. In this case, the applicant’s offense of domestic assault does not warrant a discharge upgrade. c. The Board determined that the discharge is, at this time, proper and equitable, in light of the current evidence of record. However, the applicant may request a personal appearance hearing to address the issues before the Board. The applicant is responsible for satisfying the burden of proof and providing documents or other evidence sufficient to support the applicant’s contention(s) that the discharge was improper or inequitable. d. Rationale for Decision: (1) The Board voted not to change the applicant’s characterization of service because though the applicant’s MDD and Panic Disorder mitigate the AWOL misconduct, the available evidence did not support a conclusion that the applicant’s MDD and Panic Disorder outweighed the remaining medically unmitigated basis for applicant’s separation – assault of applicant’s spouse. The Board also considered the applicant’s contention regarding the misconduct being an isolated incident and determined that the applicant’s offense of domestic assault does not warrant a discharge upgrade. The discharge was consistent with the procedural and substantive requirements of the regulation, was within the discretion of the separation authority, and the applicant was provided full administrative due process. Therefore, the applicant’s General discharge was proper and equitable as the applicant’s misconduct fell below that level of meritorious service warranted for an upgrade to Honorable discharge. (2) The Board voted not to change the applicant’s reason for discharge or accompanying SPD code under the same pretexts, and the reason the applicant was discharged was both proper and equitable. (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 / Separation Order: No b. Change Characterization to: No Change 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 AR20210001942 1