1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 24 September 2020 b. Date Received: 13 October 2020 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, The applicant requests an upgrade to general (under honorable conditions) or honorable. b. The applicant states, in effect they are not making excuses for their poor choices as a young adult, however they struggled a lot when they returned from Iraq. They are committed to addressing their mental health struggles and turning their life around. If their discharge was upgraded the benefits would greatly improve their chances of succeeding in the future. c. Board Type and Decision: In a records review conducted on 1 December 2023, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's Panic Disorder and PTSD mitigating the wrongful drug use and AWOL. Therefore, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade of the characterization of service to Honorable and changed to the separation authority to AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12a, the narrative reason for separation to Misconduct (Minor Infractions), with a corresponding separation code of JKN, and the reentry code to RE-3. 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 (Drug Abuse) / AR 635- 200 14-12c (2) / JKK / RE-4 / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions. b. Date of Discharge: 6 April 2012 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: N/A (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: NIF/ UOTHC 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 9 June 2009 / 3 years, 17 weeks. b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 17 / NIF / NIF c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-3 / 11B10 Infantryman / 2 years, 7 months, 28 days. d. Prior Service / Characterizations: None e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: f. Awards and Decorations: ARCOM, ACM, NDSM, GWTSM, ICM-CS, ASR, OSR-2. CIB g. Performance Ratings: N/A h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: (1) An Enlistment/ Reenlistment Document provides the applicant enlisted in the United States Army Reserve at the rank of private (E-1) with an active-duty obligation of 3 years and 17 weeks on 7 May 2008. (2) Orders C2-126-216, provides the applicant deployed to Iraq on or about 28 June 2010 with the anticipated length of deployment being 365 days or until the mission was completed. (3) A Department of The Army, The Army Commendation Medal provides the applicant was a Private First Class, they received this medal for their exceptional meritorious service from 3 July 2010 to 27 June 2011 while serving during Operation New Dawn. (4) The AMHRR is void of the entire separation proceedings, however the Army Review Board Agency requested the applicant to provide copies of their separation files on 21 May 2021; copies were not provided. (5) A DD Form 214 shows on 4 April 2012 the applicant was discharged. * Authority: Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 14-12C * Narrative Reason: Misconduct (Drug Abuse) * Service Characterization: Under Other than Honorable Conditions * Remarks: Deployment; Iraq 4 July 2010 - 4 July 2011 * Date of Pay Grade: 4 January 2012 * Net Service: 2 years, 7 months, and 28 days * Signature: Electronically signed by the applicant i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: 29 November 2011 - 4 January 2012 / NIF; 1 March 2012 - 24 March 2012 / NIF j. Behavioral Health Condition(s): (1) Applicant provided: A Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) rating decision letter, and a VA decision letter provides the applicant is service connected for posttraumatic stress disorder. (2) AMHRR Listed: None 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293 (Discharge Review) application; Department of Veteran Affairs decision letter and one additional enclosure in support of their application; and a Department of Veteran Affairs rating decision letter that provides before the applicant was involutory separated they were seen for anxiety, panic disorder, insomnia, adjustment disorder and had a suicide attempt. They were admitted to inpatient psychiatry for four days for suicidal ideation and suicide risk. They were command referred on 5 January 2012; applicant stated they used methamphetamine and was in civilian confinement December 2011. 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: None submitted in support of 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), 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 635-200 provides the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel provides the authorized types of characterization of service or description of separation. (1) 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. (2) 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. (3) An 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. (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. 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. A soldier subject to this discharge under this regulation will be considered and processed for discharge even though he/she has filed an appeal or has stated his/her intention to do so. Paragraph 14-12c, states 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 (5) Chapter 15 provides explicitly for separation under the prerogative of the Secretary of the Army. Secretarial plenary separation authority is exercised sparingly and seldom delegated. Ordinarily, it is used when no other provision of this regulation applies, and early separation is clearly in the Army's best interest. Separations under this paragraph are effective only if approved in writing by the Secretary of the Army or the Secretary's approved designee as announced in updated memoranda. Secretarial separation authority is normally exercised on a case-by-case basis. e. Army Regulation 600-85 (Army Substance Abuse Program (ASAP)) governs the program and identifies Army policy on alcohol and other drug abuse, and responsibilities. The ASAP is a command program that emphasizes readiness and personal responsibility. (1) The ultimate decision regarding separation or retention of abusers is the responsibility of the Soldier's chain of command. Abuse of alcohol or the use of illicit drugs by military personnel is inconsistent with Army values and the standards of performance, discipline, and readiness necessary to accomplish the Army's missions. (2) Individuals who do not self-refer for treatment and are subsequently identified as positive for controlled substances for which they do not have a valid prescription may be considered in violation of the UCMJ for drug misuse/abuse. f. 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 "JKK" as the appropriate code to assign enlisted Soldiers who are discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 14, paragraph 12c, misconduct (drug abuse). g. 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-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 waiverable. Eligibility: Ineligible unless a waiver is granted. * RE-4 Applies to: Person separated from last period of service with a nonwaiverable 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. h. Title 38, U.S. Code, sections 1110 and 1131, permits the VA to award compensation for a medical condition which was incurred in or aggravated by active military service. The VA, however, is not required by law to determine medical unfitness for further military service. The VA, in accordance with its own policies and regulations, awards compensation solely on the basis that a medical condition exists and that said medical condition reduces or impairs the social or industrial adaptability of the individual concerned. Consequently, due to the two concepts involved, an individual's medical condition, although not considered medically unfitting for military service at the time of processing for separation, discharge, or retirement, may be sufficient to qualify the individual for VA benefits based on an evaluation by that agency. 8. SUMMARY OF FACT(S): The Army Discharge Review Board considers applications for upgrade as instructed by Department of Defense Instruction 1332.28. a. The applicant requests an upgrade to honorable or general under honorable conditions. The applicant's DD Form 214 provides that the applicant received a under other than honorable conditions characterization of service (UOTHC), which is normally considered appropriate for a soldier discharged for misconduct (drug abuse). b. Based on the available evidence the applicant enlisted in the army at the age of 17, they deployed to Iraq for 12 months from July 2010 - July 2011 and received the Army Commendation Medal for their meritorious service. On 4 January 2012, the applicant received a rank deduction to E-1. The AMHRR is void of the specific facts and circumstances that led to their deduction in rank. c. Administrative irregularity occurred in the proper retention of required records; specifically, the AMHRR is void of the entire separation proceedings to include the required medical and mental health separation examinations. The records do provide a properly constituted DD Form 214 signed by the applicant, that provides they were separated under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200 Chapter 14 12c with a characterization of service of Under Other Than Honorable Conditions and misconduct (drug abuse) as the narrative reason for separation. d. Chapter 14 establishes policy and prescribes procedures for members being separated for misconduct. Specific categories include minor disciplinary infractions, a pattern of misconduct, commission of a serious offense and convictions by civil authorities. Action will be taken to separate a member for misconduct when it is clearly established that rehabilitation is impracticable or is unlikely to succeed. 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. e. Published Department of Defense guidance indicates that the guidance is not intended to interfere or impede on the Board's statutory independence. The Board will determine the relative weight of the action that led to the discharge and whether it supports relief or not. In reaching its determination, the Board shall consider the applicant's petition, available records and/or submitted documents in support of the petition. 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 DO; Episodic Mood Disorders; Panic DO with agoraphobia; PTSD (VA SC). [Note-diagnoses of Adjustment DO and Episodic Mood DO is subsumed under PTSD). (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? Yes. The Board's Medical Advisor found the military diagnosed Adjustment DO, Episodic Mood Disorders and Panic DO. VA service connection for PTSD establishes it began while on active duty. (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 two mitigating BH conditions, Panic Disorder and PTSD. As there is an association between these conditions and self medication with illicit drugs, there is a nexus between these diagnoses and the applicant's wrongful drug use. As there is an association between PTSD and avoidant behaviors, there is a nexus between this diagnosis and the applicant's period of AWOL. (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 Panic Disorder outweighed the drug abuse and AWOL basis for separation for the aforementioned reasons. b. Response to Contention(s): (1) The applicant contends they suffered significantly following their return from Iraq. Applicant provided evidence that reflects the applicant was diagnosed with PTSD, and before being discharge, they were seen for anxiety, had a suicide attempt and admitted to inpatient psychiatry for four days; suicidal ideation and suicide risk. The Board considered this contention and determined it was valid, that the applicant's Panic Disorder and PTSD mitigated the applicant's misconduct, and voted to grant relief. c. The Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's Panic Disorder and PTSD mitigating the wrongful drug use and AWOL. Therefore, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade of the characterization of service to Honorable and changed to the separation authority to AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12a, the narrative reason for separation to Misconduct (Minor Infractions), with a corresponding separation code of JKN, and the reentry code to RE-3. d. Rationale for Decision: (1) The Board voted to change the applicant's characterization of service to Honorable because the applicant's PTSD and Panic Disorder mitigated the applicant's misconduct of drug abuse and AWOL. Based on a preponderance of evidence, the Board determined that the reason for the applicant's separation and the character of service the applicant received upon separation were inequitable. Thus, the prior characterization is no longer appropriate. (2) The Board voted to change the reason for discharge to Misconduct (Minor Infractions) under the same pretexts, thus the reason for discharge is no longer appropriate. The SPD code associated with the new reason for discharge is JKN. (3) The Board voted to change the RE code to RE-3. 10. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New DD-214: Yes b. Change Characterization to: Honorable c. Change Reason / SPD Code to: Misconduct (Minor Infractions)/JKN d. Change RE Code to: RE-3 e. Change Authority to: AR 635-200 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 AR20210007085 1