1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 13 April 2021 b. Date Received: 19 April 2021 c. Counsel: 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, through counsel, an upgrade to honorable or general (under honorable conditions) along with a narrative reason, separation program designator (SPD) and reentry (RE) code change. The applicant's counsel seeks relief contending, in effect, while on active duty the applicant suffered from extensive medical issuers including debilitating high blood pressure and a broken ankle. These issued were not properly treated by medical personnel and adversely impacted the applicant's ability to perform his duties and ultimately resulted in the applicant's administrative separation. Since leaving the military, the applicant has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder, and panic disorder relating to his military service. The applicant also suffers from ankle pain related to his broken ankle which was never properly treated while the applicant was on active duty. The applicant's discharge and characterization were improper and inequitable given the circumstances. In a records review conducted on 15 December 2021, and by a 3-2 vote, the Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the circumstances surrounding the discharge (OBHI and PTSD diagnoses), and post-service accomplishments. Therefore, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade of the characterization of service to General (Under Honorable Conditions) and changed 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: Misconduct (Serious Offense) / AR 635-200, Paragraph 14-12c / JKQ / RE-3 / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions b. Date of Discharge: 16 April 2008 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 14 March 2008 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: The applicant was found guilty at a Summary Court-Martial for violations of Article 87 and 90 and the applicant also received a CG Article 15 for violations 86 and 91, UCMJ. (3) Recommended Characterization: Under Other Than Honorable Conditions (4) Legal Consultation Date: 7 March 2008 (5) Administrative Separation Board: The applicant waived the right to an administrative separation board. (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 3 April 2008 / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 8 November 2006 / 4 years, 19 weeks b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 22 / HS Graduate / 92 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-3 / 92Y10, Unit Supply Specialist / 1 year, 4 months, 10 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: CG Article 15, dated 6 December 2007, reflects the applicant failure to go at the time prescribed to his appointed place of duty; disobeyed a lawful order; was disrespectful toward a superior noncommissioned officer; was disrespect in deportment toward a senior noncommissioned officer; and disobeyed a lawful order from a noncommissioned officer. The punishment consisted of reduction to E2; forfeiture of $340 pay per month for one month (suspended), 14 days of extra duty and restriction (suspended). Special Court-Martial, held on 14 March 2008, reflects the applicant pled guilty and was found guilty of missing movement on two separate occasions and disobeying a lawful command. The punishment consisted of reduction to E1; forfeiture of $898 pay for one month; and confinement for 29 days. Report of Mental Status Evaluation, dated 20 March 2008, reflects the applicant had no psychiatric disease or defect that warranted disposition through medical channels. The applicant had the mental capacity to understand and participate in the proceedings and was mentally responsible. The applicant was counseled on multiple occasions for various acts of misconduct. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: Confinement X 29 days (14 March 2008 - 12 April 2008) j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: The applicant's counsel provides a letter from Dr. H.A, dated 2 October 2020, reflecting the applicant's diagnosis of PTSD. 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293, Counsel's Brief with 21 Enclosures (186 total pages) 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: The applicant's counsel states the applicant is employed and has earned multiple certifications. The applicant enjoys coaching youth basketball in his free time. 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) Paragraph 3-7c states 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. (5) 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. (6) 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. (7) 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. e. 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. f. Regulation635-5-1 (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). The SPD Code/RE Code Cross Reference Table shows that a Soldier assigned an SPD Code of "JKQ" will be assigned an RE Code of "3." 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's AMHRR record of service, the issues and documents submitted with the application were carefully reviewed. The applicant requests, through counsel, an upgrade to honorable or general (under honorable conditions) along with a narrative reason, separation program designator (SPD) and reentry (RE) code change. The applicant's counsel contends while the applicant was on active duty he suffered from extensive medical issuers including debilitating high blood pressure and a broken ankle. These issued were not properly treated by medical personnel and adversely impacted the applicant's ability to perform his duties and ultimately resulted in the applicant's administrative separation. The applicant's counsel also contends, since leaving the military, the applicant has been diagnosed with PTSD, major depressive disorder, and panic disorder relating to his military service. The applicant also suffers from ankle pain related to his broken ankle which was never properly treated while the applicant was on active duty. The AMHRR shows the applicant underwent a mental status evaluation (MSE) on 20 March 2008, which indicates the applicant had no psychiatric disease or defect that warranted disposition through medical channels. The applicant had the mental capacity to understand and participate in the proceedings and was mentally responsible. The MSE was considered by the separation authority. The applicant's counsel requests the applicant's narrative reason for the discharge be changed. The applicant was separated under the provisions of Chapter 14, paragraph 14-12c, AR 635- 200 with a general (under honorable conditions) discharge. The narrative reason specified by Army Regulations for a discharge under this paragraph is "Misconduct (Serious Offense)," and the separation code is "JKQ." Army Regulation 635-5, Separation Documents, governs the 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's counsel also requests the applicant's the separation code (SPD) be changed. Separation codes are three-character alphabetic combinations that identify reasons for, and types of, separation from active duty. The primary purpose of SPD codes is to provide statistical accounting of reasons for separation. They are intended exclusively for the internal use of DoD and the Military Services to assist in the collection and analysis of separation data. SPD Codes are controlled by OSD and then implemented in Army policy AR 635-5-1 to track types of separations the SPD code specified by Army Regulations for a discharge under Chapter 14, paragraph 14-12c, is "JKQ." Army Regulation 635-5, Separation Documents, governs the preparation of the DD Form 214 and dictates the entry of the 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 SPD code to be entered under this regulation. The SPD Code/RE Code Cross Reference Table shows that a Soldier assigned an SPD Code of "JKQ" will be assigned an RE Code of "3." 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 has been diagnosed with PTSD, Panic Disorder, Anxiety and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? Yes. Applicant supplied civilian BH documentation states that applicant's BH conditions (PTSD, Panic DO, Anxiety, MDD) all occurred during military service. (3) Does the condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? Yes. It is the opinion of the BH advisor that the applicant has a mitigating BH condition, PTSD, related to military service with the identified stressors being in-service physically assaulted and harassed. As there is an association between PTSD and avoidance behaviors, there is a nexus between his PTSD and his multiple FTRs and two incidents of missing movement. As there is an association between PTSD and difficulty with authority figures, there is a nexus between his diagnosis of PTSD and his incidents of disobeying orders and commands as well as disrespecting his military leadership. (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, that PTSD is often associated with avoidance behaviors and difficulty with authority. As a result, the ADRB applied liberal consideration and found that the BH conditions outweighed the basis for separation. b. Response to Contention(s): (1) The applicant's counsel contends while the applicant was on active duty he suffered from extensive medical issues including debilitating high blood pressure and a broken ankle. These issued were not properly treated by medical personnel and adversely impacted the applicant's ability to perform his duties and ultimately resulted in the applicant's administrative separation. The Board determined that physical ailments would not cause the applicant to disrespect his superiors or miss military movements. (2) The applicant's counsel contends, since leaving the military, the applicant has been diagnosed with PTSD, major depressive disorder, and panic disorder relating to his military service. The Board determined that this contention was valid, and granted relief based on the mitigating diagnosis of PTSD. The Board considered, but found an upgrade to Honorable not supported by the evidence of record. The Honorable characterization is appropriate when the quality of the Soldier's service generally has met the standards of accept conduct and performance of duty or is otherwise meritorious that any other characterization would be clearly inappropriate. The Board found that the applicant's service, given the nature of the misconduct, was not sufficiently meritorious to warrant an honorable discharge. c. The Board determined the discharge is inequitable based on the circumstances surrounding the discharge (OBHI and PTSD diagnoses), and post-service accomplishments. d. Rationale for Decision: (1) The Board voted to change the applicant's characterization of service to General, Under Honorable Conditions because the applicant's post-service PTSD diagnosis mitigated the offenses of FTR and disrespect. 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 current code is consistent with the procedural and substantive requirements of the regulation. 10. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New DD-214: Yes b. Change Characterization to: General, Under Honorable Conditions 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 AR20210012137 1