1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 27 April 2021 b. Date Received: 10 May 2021 c. Counsel: 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 through legal counsel requests an upgrade to honorable. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, that after enlisting in the Army he developed several mental health disorders, including Bi-Polar Disorder, PTSD, and Personality Disorder. The applicant sought and received medical care during service but continued to struggle with the symptoms. Prior to the discharge the applicant experienced an increase in the severity of the symptoms and to alleviate those symptoms, left base without authorization and drank alcohol as a form of a self-mediation. Under the new directives, the applicant believes the Board should view mental health conditions as mitigating factors and upgrade the discharge status to Honorable. b. Board Type and Decision: In a records review conducted on 31 March 2023, and by a 5-0 vote, the Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's Bipolar Disorder mitigating the applicant's pattern of misconduct - Absent Without Leave (AWOL) and underage drinking. 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. 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: Pattern of Misconduct / AR 635-200 / Chapter 14-12b / JKA / RE-3 / General, Under Honorable Conditions b. Date of Discharge: 7 August 2006 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 7 July 2006 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: for being absent without leave (AWOL) for 29 days and later caught by the military police drinking alcohol while underage at Solo Point which the applicant broke restriction from the Article 15 for the AWOL thereby violating a direct order. (3) Recommended Characterization: General (Under Honorable Conditions) (4) Legal Consultation Date: 8 July 2006 (5) Administrative Separation Board: NA (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 19 July 2006/ General (Under Honorable Conditions) 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 27 September 2005 / 5 years, 20 weeks b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 19 / HS Graduate / 115 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-3 / 19D10, Cavalry Scout / 10 months, 11 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: None e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: None f. Awards and Decorations: NDSM, GWOTSM, ASR g. Performance Ratings: None h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: DA Form's 4187 (Personnel Action) changing the applicant's duty status as follows: Present for Duty (PDY) to Absent Without Leave (AWOL), effective 28 March 2006; and AWOL to PDY, effective 26 April 2006 FG Article 15 dated 8 May 2006 for being absent without leave from 28 March 2006 until the applicant return on 26 April 2006. The punishment consisted of reduction to E-1, forfeiture of $636.00 pay per month for two months, and 45 days extra duty and restrictions. Counseling statements for being absence without leave and notification of being separated under the provisions of AR 635-200, Chapter 5-13. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: Absent without leave 30 days (28 March 2006 to 26 April 2006) / mode of return unknown j. Applicant Provided and/or AMHHR Listed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health Condition(s): Report of Mental Status Evaluation, dated 16 May 2006 which indicates the applicant was diagnosed with an Axis I for Alcohol Dependence. It was noted that the applicant had the mental capacity to understand and participated in the proceedings and was mentally responsible. The applicant was psychiatrically cleared for any administrative action deemed appropriated by his command and met psychiatric criteria for expeditious separation IAW Chapter 5-13. It was also noted that the applicant did not have a severe mental disorder and was not considered mentally disordered. However, the applicant manifested a long-standing disorder of character, behavior and adaptability that was of such severity to preclude adequate military service. Although not at significant at risk for suicide or homicide, due to a lifelong pattern of maladaptive responses to routine stress, the applicant may become dangerous to self/others in the future. Chronological Records of Medical Care of in-service received by the applicant indicate the applicant was having issue with Adjustment Disorder with Disturbance of Emotions and Conduct. 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293; legal brief; Affidavit; report of mental status evaluation; in-service treatment records; recommendation/separation packet; and Department of Veterans Affairs medical records. 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), 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. (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 14-12b, addresses a pattern of misconduct consisting of either discreditable involvement with civilian or military authorities or discreditable conduct and conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline including conduct violating the accepted standards of personal conduct found in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Army Regulations, the civilian law and time-honored customs and traditions of the Army. 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 "JKA" as the appropriate code to assign enlisted Soldiers who are discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 14, paragraph 12b, pattern of misconduct. 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 through legal counsel requests an upgrade to honorable. The applicant's Army Military Human Resource Record (AMHRR), the issues and documents submitted with the application were carefully reviewed. The applicant requests that the discharge be upgraded to honorable. The applicant was separated under the provisions of Chapter 14, paragraph 14-12b, AR 635-200 with a general (under honorable conditions) discharge. The narrative reason specified by Army Regulations for a discharge under this paragraph is "Pattern of Misconduct," and the separation code is "JKA." By the pattern of misconduct, the applicant knowingly risked a military career that ultimately caused the separation from the Army with a general, under honorable conditions discharge. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, that after enlisting in the Army the applicant developed several mental health disorders, including Bi-Polar Disorder, PTSD, and Personality Disorder. The applicant sought and received medical care during service but continued to struggle with the symptoms. Prior to the discharge the applicant experienced an increase in the severity of the symptoms and to alleviate those symptoms, left base without authorization and drank alcohol as a form of a self-mediation. Under the new directives, the applicant believes the Board should view the mental health conditions as a mitigating factor and upgrade the discharge status to Honorable. The applicant's contentions were noted. Evidence submitted with the application and in the AMHRR indicate the applicant suffered with medical issues or adjustment disorder with disturbance of emotions and conduct and Alcohol Dependence at the time of discharge. Issue relating to PTSD, Social & Panic Disorder were also noted in post-service documents from the Department of Veterans Affairs. It should also be noted that in the counsel's brief it was cited that the applicant's period of AWOL was the result of the applicant having left base without authorization to find the spouse who had gone AWOL from a different duty station. Once the applicant was able get her back home safely and settled, the applicant returned to the base to prepare to deploy. The applicant later began to feel an increase in stress and anxiety, and mental health began to deteriorate which later resulting in the applicant being discharged because of a pattern of misconduct. 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: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD); Bipolar Disorder. (2) Did the condition exist, or experience occur during military service? Yes. The Board's Medical Advisor found the diagnosis of MDD was made while applicant was on active duty. 100% VA service connection for Bipolar DO establishes it existed during military service. (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 a BH condition, Bipolar Disorder, which mitigates the misconduct. As there is an association between Bipolar DO and erratic, illogical behaviors, there is a nexus between Bipolar disorder and offenses of AWOL and breaking restriction. As there is an association between bipolar disorder and disregard for rules and regulations, there is a nexus between his diagnosis of Bipolar DO and the applicant's underage drinking. (4) Does the condition or experience outweigh the discharge? Yes. The Board concurred with the opinion of the Board's Medical Advisor, a voting member. As a result, the ADRB applied liberal consideration and determined that the applicant's Bipolar Disorder outweighed the applicant's offense of AWOL and breaking restriction/underage drinking. b. Response to Contention(s): The applicant seeks relief contending that after enlisting in the Army he developed several mental health disorders, including Bi-Polar Disorder, PTSD, and Personality Disorder. The Board determined that this contention was valid and voted to upgrade the characterization of service due to the applicant's service connected for Adjustment DO with disturbance of emotions and conduct; Major Depressive DO (MDD); Personality DO. VA: Bipolar DO (100% SC) mitigating the applicant's offense of AWOL and breaking restriction. c. The Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the applicant's Bipolar Disorder mitigating the applicant's pattern of misconduct - Absent Without Leave (AWOL) and underage drinking. 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. d. Rationale for Decision: (1) The Board voted to change the applicant's characterization of service to Honorable because the applicant's Bipolar Disorder mitigated the applicant's offense of AWOL and breaking restriction/underage drinking. 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 RE code will not change, as the mitigating conditions is service limiting. 10. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New DD-214 / Separation Order: Yes b. Change Characterization to: Honorable c. Change Reason / SPD code to: Misconduct (Minor Infractions)/JKN d. Change RE Code to: No Change e. Change Authority to: AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12a 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 AR20210010027 1