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 narrative reason change and RE code change. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, the discharge was inequitable because it was based on one isolated incident in 61 months of service. The applicant served a tour in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The applicant self-referred to the Army Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) and told the 1SG they were having martial problems. The applicant went for help because the applicant did not know what to do at the time, the applicant was only 22 years old. The applicant went on a binge however was never late for work and never received any disciplinary action. The applicant's spouse at the time started using prescription pills which caused marriage problems. The spouse was taking money and the applicant ended up on a friend's couch for a while. After the applicant left the spouse called the unit over and over to try to get money. The unit then started the packet for the Chapter 9 discharge. Alcohol failure was not the case. The applicant had competed the ASAP program and was released. Less than a week later the commander signed the packet and there was nothing more the applicant could do. The applicant now sees they cold have tried to fight the matter and stayed in. Since then, the applicant has kept a great job and even bought out contract from a company which hired the applicant. The applicant is a volunteer firefighter for the community and has a new child on the way. b. Board Type and Decision: In a records review conducted on 18 April 2023, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board, based on the applicant's PTSD and TBI outweighing the applicant's illicit substance use basis for separation. The Board determined the narrative reason for the applicant's separation is now inequitable. Therefore, the Board directed the issue of a new DD Form 214 changing the separation authority to AR 635-200, the narrative reason for separation to Miscellaneous/General reasons, the separation code to JND, and the RE code to RE-3. The Board determined the characterization of service 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: Alcohol Rehabilitation Failure / AR 635-200, Chapter 9 / JPD / RE-4 / Honorable b. Date of Discharge: 18 July 2012 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 19 June 2012 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: For an abuse related rehabilitation failure. The applicant's inability to be rehabilitated. It is unlikely further efforts to rehabilitate the applicant into a satisfactory Soldier will be successful. (3) Recommended Characterization: Honorable (4) Legal Consultation Date: On 19 June 2012, the applicant waived legal counsel. (5) Administrative Separation Board: NA (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 3 July 2012 / Honorable 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 4 December 2009 / 4 years b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 20 / High School Graduate / 110 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-4 / 42A10, Human Resources Specialist / 5 years, 1 month, 7 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: USAF, 12 June 2007 - 2 July 2008 / HD RA, 2 July 2008 - 3 December 2009 / HD e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: SWA / Iraq (19 March 2009 - 17 March 2010) f. Awards and Decorations: JSCM, JSAM, AAM, JMUA, USAF-OUA, USA/USAD PUC, AGCM, NDSM, GWOTSM, ICM-CS, NCOPDR, ASR, OSR, USAFTR g. Performance Ratings: NA h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: Summary of Army Substance Abuse Program Rehabilitation Failure (memo), dated 11 April 2012, reflects the applicant's rehabilitation team met on 11 April 2012, and determined the applicant had not made satisfactory progress toward achieving the criteria for successful rehabilitation as outlined in AR 600-85, paragraph 3-2 and 3-3. Further rehabilitation efforts in a military environment were not justified considering the applicant's lack of progress. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: None j. Behavioral Health Condition(s): (1) Applicant provided: None (2) AMHRR Listed: Report of Medical History, dated 10 May 2012, the examining medical physician noted in the comments section: Inpatient for opiate drug abuse. 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293 and all listed documents in section 8. 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: The applicant has remained employed and is a volunteer firefighter for the community. 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) 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. 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 "JPD" as the appropriate code to assign enlisted Soldiers who are discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 9, for alcohol 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 waivable and nonwaivable separations. Table 3-1, defines reentry eligibility (RE) codes: RE-1 Applies to: Person completing his or her term of active service who is considered qualified to reenter the U.S. Army. Eligibility: Qualified for enlistment if all other criteria are met. 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. RE-4 Applies to: Person separated from last period of service with a nonwaivable 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 a narrative reason change and RE code change. 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 11 April 2012, the unit commander in consultation with the Clinical Director/Army Substance Abuse Program (ASAP), declared the applicant a rehabilitation failure. The applicant did not have the potential for continued military service because the level of need for medication management and length of treatment exceeded what was available in the Active Duty Army. The applicant contends the narrative reason for the discharge needs changed. The applicant was separated under the provisions of Chapter 9, AR 635-200 with a honorable discharge. The narrative reason specified by Army Regulations for a discharge under this paragraph is "alcohol rehabilitation failure," and the separation code is "JPD." Army Regulation 635-8, Separation Processing and Documents, governs 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 requests a reentry eligibility (RE) code change. Soldiers processed for separation are assigned reentry codes based on their service records or the reason for discharge. Based on Army Regulation 601-210, the applicant was appropriately assigned an RE code of "4." An RE code of "4" cannot be waived, and the applicant is no longer eligible for reenlistment. 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. The applicant contends family issues affected behavior and ultimately caused the discharge. There is no evidence in the AMHRR the applicant ever sought assistance before committing the misconduct, which led to the separation action under review. The applicant contends good service, including a combat tour. The Board will consider the applicant's service accomplishments and the quality of service according to the DODI 1332.28. The applicant contends completing the ASAP and was released. The Summary of Army Substance Abuse Program Rehabilitation Failure (memo), dated 11 April 2012, reflects the applicant's rehabilitation team met on 11 April 2012, and determined the applicant had not made satisfactory progress toward achieving the criteria for successful rehabilitation as outlined in AR 600-85, paragraph 3-2 and 3-3. Further rehabilitation efforts in a military environment were not justified considering the applicant's lack of progress. Discharge from military service should be effected. The applicant's AMHRR does not contain any indication or evidence of arbitrary or capricious actions by the command. The third-party statements provided with the application speak highly of the applicant. They all recognize the applicant's good conduct while serving and after leaving the Army. The applicant has remained employed and is a volunteer firefighter for the community. 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. 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 found that the applicant has the following potentially mitigating diagnoses/experiences: PTSD and TBI. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? Yes. The Board's Medical Advisor found the applicant was diagnosed with PTSD on active duty, and is now service connected for PTSD and TBI. (3) Does the condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? Yes. The Board's Medical Advisor applied liberal consideration and opined that the applicant has clear presence of both PTSD and TBI as evidenced by medical records and service-connections for these conditions. Both conditions mitigate illicit substance use, as there is a nexus between such conditions and the self-medication of symptoms which ultimately led to discharge. Although there is no clear indication in the applicant's medical record of whether the applicant formally completed ASAP prior to discharge, there is compelling evidence that the applicant remained abstinent from illicit substances as evidenced by "in remission" specifier and narrative information over the last several contacts with treating psychiatrist. (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 and TBI outweighed the illicit drug use basis for separation for the aforementioned reason(s). b. Response to Contention(s): (1) The applicant contends the narrative reason for the discharge needs changed. The Board liberally considered this contention and determined the narrative reason for discharge is inequitable as the applicant's medical record indicates the applicant is "in remission" from substance abuse challenges. The Board voted to upgrade the narrative reason to Miscellaneous/General reasons. (2) The applicant requests a reentry eligibility (RE) code change. The Board liberally considered this contention and determined the reentry code is inequitable as the applicant's PTSD and TBI outweighed the illicit drug use basis for separation and warrants an upgrade. The Board voted to upgrade the reentry code to RE-3. (3) The applicant contends the event which led to the discharge from the Army was an isolated incident. The Board considered this contention during proceedings, but ultimately did not address the contention due to an upgrade being granted based on the applicant's PTSD and TBI fully outweighing the applicant's illicit drug use basis for separation. (4) The applicant contends family issues affected behavior and ultimately caused the discharge. The Board considered this contention and determined that the applicant's family issues does not mitigate the applicant's illicit drug use as the Army affords many avenues to Soldier's including seeking separation for hardship. (5) The applicant contends good service, including a combat tour. The Board considered this contention during board proceedings along with the totality of the applicant's service record (6) The applicant contends completing the ASAP and was released. The Board considered this contention and determined there are no documents in the applicant's records reflecting ASAP completion by the applicant. However, there is evidence of applicant's continued abstinence from illicit drug use. (7) The applicant has remained employed and is a volunteer firefighter for the community. The Board considered this contention and determined that the applicant's post- service accomplishments do not outweigh the misconduct based on the seriousness of the applicant's offense of illicit drug use. c. The Board determined based on the applicant's PTSD and TBI outweighing the applicant's illicit substance use basis for separation. The Board determined the narrative reason for the applicant's separation is now inequitable. Therefore, the Board directed the issue of a new DD Form 214 changing the separation authority to AR 635-200, the narrative reason for separation to Miscellaneous/General reasons, and the separation code to JND and the RE code to RE-3. The Board determined the characterization of service was proper and equitable and voted not to change it. d. Rationale for Decision: (1) The Board determined the discharge is proper and equitable as a prior ADRB has upgraded the discharge with a characterization of Honorable. Therefore, no further relief is available. (2) The Board voted to change the reason for discharge to Miscellaneous/General reasons under the same pretexts, thus the reason for discharge is no longer appropriate. The SPD code associated with the new reason for discharge is JND. (3) The Board voted to change the RE code to RE-3. 10. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New DD-214 / Separation Order: Yes b. Change Characterization to: No Change c. Change Reason / SPD code to: Miscellaneous/General Reasons /JND d. Change RE Code to: RE-3 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 AR20210002033 1