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: 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, applicant is experiencing hardships due to being disabled from PTSD as a direct result of the trauma applicant experienced while serving on active duty. During applicant's military service, applicant came under sub-standard leadership and instead of receiving the help applicant desperately needed and deserved, the applicant was instead discharged under other than honorable conditions after seven years of meritorious service to applicant's country. The applicant is now barred from medical care for PTSD and is unable to file a claim for VA service connected compensations. This issue has severely affected both the applicant and the applicant's family members and believes the applicant deserves to have military benefits. The applicant served this country and was involved in a very serious motor vehicle accident and was not afforded the proper treatment by applicant's senior leadership. Several of the applicant's fellow Soldier's experienced similar situations while serving under the same command, and were forced to file complaints with the IG to resolve similar conflicts. The applicant deserves treatment for applicant's TBI and PTSD injuries, which the applicant incurred while on active duty and were exacerbated by applicant's military service. The applicant deserves to have applicant's discharge upgraded to allow applicant to hold applicant's head high among colleagues because the applicant knows applicant stood ready to engage the enemy and was a guardian of freedom and the American way of life. The applicant is an American Soldier and no bad leader will ever take it away. The applicant asks the powers that be to right this wrong. In a records review conducted on 1 February 2022, 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: NIF / AR 135-178 / NIF / NIF / NIF / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions b. Date of Discharge: 5 September 2010 c. Separation Facts: (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: NIF 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 14 June 2004 / 8 years (USAR) b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 23 / Some College / 113 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-4 / 68W10, Health Care Specialist / 6 years, 2 months, 22 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: IADT, 30 June 2004 - 10 September 2004 / NIF (Concurrent Service) e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: NIF f. Awards and Decorations: ARCAM g. Performance Ratings: NA h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: Letter of Instruction, Unexcused Absence, dated 3 August 2007, reflects the applicant was absent from the scheduled unit training assembly (UTA) or multiple unit training assembly (MUTA) for the following period(s): 1 - 28 July 2007, 2 - 28 July 2007, 1 - 29 July 2007, 2 - 29 July 2007. Unless the absences indicated were excused, the applicant would have accrued 12 unexcused absences within one- year period. Letter of Instruction, Unexcused Absence, dated 28 July 2008, reflects the applicant was absent from the scheduled unit training assembly (UTA) or multiple unit training assembly (MUTA) for the following period(s): 1 - 26 July 2008 and 2 - 26 July 2008. Unless the absences indicated were excused, the applicant would have accrued 17 unexcused absences within one-year period. Letter of Instruction, Unexcused Absence, dated 24 August 2008, reflects the applicant was absent from the scheduled unit training assembly (UTA) or multiple unit training assembly (MUTA) for the following period(s): 1 - 26 July 2008 and 2 - 26 July 2008. Unless the absences indicated were excused, the applicant would have accrued 13 unexcused absences within one- year period. Electronic Copy of DD Form 2624, dated 5 February 2009, reflects the applicant tested positive for a controlled substance, during an Inspection Random (IR) urinalysis testing, conducted on 25 January 2009. Service School Academic Evaluation Report, dated 16 February 2009, reflects the applicant failed to achieve course standards for Hazardous Materials Incident Response Operation Level by failing the written test and the retest. Achievement of Hazardous Materials Incident Response Operation Level is a requirement for graduating the Mass Casualty Decontamination Course. Three Developmental Counseling Forms, for various acts of misconduct. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: NIF j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: The applicant provided a copy of medical record from Wilmington Treatment Center, dated 9 September 2019, which reflects the applicant was diagnosed with PTSD. 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293; Certificate of Achievement; Orders 10-243- 00033; USARC Form 25-R; Student Loan Repayment Program Addendum; Selected Reserve Incentive Program - Enlistment Bonus Addendum; Certificate and Acknowledgment United States Army Reserve Service Requirements and Methods of Fulfillment; Statement of Understanding The Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve; DD Form 4/1; Chronological Statement of Retirement Points; DD Form 220; DA Form 7004-R; Order Number: 00003; Self- Authored statement; two ARBA Letters; Order Number 003338; Order 004823; Pre-Nursing Certificate; Undergraduate Transcript; DA Form 2171E-R; Economic Hardship Deferment Worksheet; South Carolina Department of Social Services Family Independence and Food Stamps Programs document; USARGET report; Orders: 4158019; DA Form 4187; Emergency Department Report; two DA Form 4856; three Letter of Instructions - Unexcused Absence; Award of the ARCAM; Affidavit of Service by Mail; Orders 08-246-00211; Notification of Recommendation for Student Status Review (memo); Change in Student (memo); Medical Review Office for Drug Result (memo); 11 Photographs; Victim's Rights Information Sheet; State of South Carolina, Checklist with allied documents; Certificate of Completion; Petition for Oder of Protections with allied documents; State of South Carolina Family Court documents; Wilmington Treatment Center medical treatment records. 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: The applicant states applicant has ended the toxic relationship and was granted custody of applicant's infant daughter. The applicant has turned applicant's life around and has had no further dealings with law enforcement despite applicant's disabilities, applicant now suffers from PTSD and TBI. 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), dated 25 September 2019, 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 sets forth 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 and U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) enlisted Soldiers for a variety of reasons. The separation policies throughout the different Chapters in this regulation promote the readiness of the Army by providing an orderly means to judge the suitability of persons to serve on the basis of their conduct and their ability to meet required standards of duty performance and discipline. Specific categories include minor disciplinary infractions, a pattern of misconduct, and commission of a serious offense, to include abuse of illegal drugs, and convictions by civil authorities. (1) Paragraph 2-7, prescribes possible characterizations of service include an honorable, general (under honorable conditions), under other than honorable conditions, or uncharacterized if the Soldier is in entry level status. However, the permissible range of characterization varies based on the reason for separation. (2) Paragraph 2-8, prescribes the characterization is based upon the quality of the Soldier's service, including the reasons for separation and determined in accordance with standards of acceptable personal conduct and performance of duty as found in the UCMJ, Army regulations, and the time-honored customs and traditions of the Army. The reasons for separation, including the specific circumstances that form the basis for the discharge are considered on the issue of characterization 8. DISCUSSION 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 record of service, the issues and documents submitted with the application were carefully reviewed. The AMHRR is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to the applicant's discharge from the Army Reserve. The applicant's AMHRR does contain a properly constituted discharge order: Orders 10-243-00033, dated 31 August 2010. 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 applicant had sub-standard leadership and instead of receiving the help needed applicant was discharged. The AMHRR does not contain any indication or evidence of arbitrary or capricious actions by the command. The applicant contends applicant was diagnosed with PTSD by The Wilmington Treatment Center. The applicant provided a medical report indicating a diagnoses of PTSD. The AMHRR does not contain a mental status evaluation (MSE). The applicant contends good service. The Board considered the service accomplishments and the quality of service. The applicant contends applicant has gained custody of daughter and has turned applicant's life around and has had no further dealings with law enforcement. 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 applicant contends an upgrade of the discharge would allow veterans benefits. Eligibility for veteran's benefits does not fall within the purview of the Army Discharge Review Board. Accordingly, the applicant should contact a local office of the Department of Veterans Affairs for further assistance. 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 DoD and VA medical records and found the applicant was diagnosed with Spice Dependence, Alcohol Abuse, Depression, PTSD, Anxiety, and ADD/ADHD, which, in the opinion of the Board's Medical Advisor could potentially mitigate the applicant's misconduct which led to separation from the Army. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? No. The Board's Medical Advisor, a voting member, reviewed DoD and VA medical records and found the applicant submitted clinical/Medical/ Nursing Discharge Form dated 13 OCT 2013, that contains BH diagnoses of Spice Dependence, Alcohol Abuse, Depression, PTSD, Anxiety and ADD/ADHD and another medical document dated 9 SEP 2019 that also contains a BH diagnosis of PTSD, however concluded the weight of the evidence did not support that any of these conditions existed during military service. (3) Does the condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? No. The Board's Medical Advisor could not opine, even with liberal consideration of all the evidence, whether or not the applicant's BH conditions mitigated any of the applicant's basis for separation without knowing the actual basis of separation. (4) Does the condition or experience outweigh the discharge? No. Despite the ADRB's application of liberal consideration, the Board concurred with the opinion of the Board's Medical Advisor, a voting member, that the evidence did not support a conclusion that any of the applicant's medical conditions outweighed the basis for applicant's separation. b. Response to Contention(s): (1) The applicant contends applicant had sub-standard leadership and instead of receiving the help needed applicant was discharged. The Board considered this contention but determined it did not overcome the presumption of government regularity and therefore did not warrant any change to the applicant's discharge. (2) The applicant contends applicant was diagnosed with PTSD by The Wilmington Treatment Center. The Board considered this contention during proceedings, however even with liberal consideration of all the evidence, the Board could not determine whether or not the applicant's BH conditions, including PTSD mitigated any of the applicant's basis for separation without knowing the actual basis of separation. (3) The applicant contends good service. The Board recognizes and appreciates the applicant's willingness to serve and considered this contention during board proceedings. (4) The applicant contends applicant has gained custody of daughter and has turned applicant's life around and has had no further dealings with law enforcement. The ADRB is authorized to consider post-service factors in the recharacterization of a discharge. However, there is no law or regulation which provides an unfavorable discharge must be upgraded based solely on the passage of time or good conduct in civilian life subsequent to leaving the service. Outstanding post-service conduct, to the extent such matters provide a basis for a more thorough understanding of the applicant's performance and conduct during the period of service under review, is considered during Board proceedings. 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. In this case, the Board was unable to weigh these post-service factors without knowing the actual basis of separation. (5) The applicant contends an upgrade of the discharge would allow veterans benefits. The Board determined that eligibility for Veteran's benefits, to include educational benefits under the Post-9/11 or Montgomery GI Bill, healthcare or VA loans, do not fall within the purview of the Army Discharge Review Board. Accordingly, the applicant should contact a local office of the Department of Veterans Affairs for further assistance. 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, despite applying liberal consideration, the Board cannot determine whether or not applicant's Spice Dependence, Alcohol Abuse, Depression, PTSD, Anxiety and ADD/ADHD mitigate any of the applicant's basis for separation without knowing the actual basis of separation. 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. (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 AR20210003273 1