1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 15 September 2021 b. Date Received: 15 September 2021 c. Counsel: None 2. REQUEST, ISSUES, BOARD TYPE, AND DECISION: The current characterization of service for the period under review is general (under honorable conditions). The applicant requests an upgrade to honorable. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, the applicant had the option of resigning or facing a show cause board. The applicant chose to resign conditioned upon receiving an honorable discharge. The resignation was accepted by the Commanding General, but was denied by the Secretary of the Army. Had the applicant known the outcome the applicant would have chosen to face the show cause board. The applicant was given bad advice and never given the opportunity to defend the discharge. The discharge status and the circumstances surrounding it still causes the applicant pain. The applicant served honorably and was awarded the BSM for service in Afghanistan. The applicant helped to find a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preventing Soldier suicide. In a telephonic personal appearance hearing conducted on 16 May 2022, and by a 3 - 2 vote, the majority of the Board determined that the characterization of service was inequitable based on the applicant's length and quality of service, to include combat service, time since the discharge, and post service accomplishments. Accordingly, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade to the characterization of service to Honorable. The Board determined the narrative reason/SPD code and RE code were proper and equitable and voted not to change them. Please see Section 10 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: Unacceptable Conduct / AR 600-8-24, Chapter 4-2B / JNC / NA / General (Under Honorable Conditions) b. Date of Discharge: 1 March 2010 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 23 November 2009 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: The applicant received a GOMOR on 10 May 2009, for fraternizing with an enlisted Soldier in violation of AR 600-20, paragraph 4-14; consumed alcohol with that same Soldier in violation of USCENTCOM General Order #1B; and violated the Task Force Duke Policy Letter #20 by entering off-limits areas to consume alcohol and gamble. (3) Recommended Characterization: NIF (4) Board of Inquiry (BOI): The applicant submitted a conditional resignation upon receiving a discharge of no less than honorable. (5) GOSCA Recommendation Date / Characterization: On 19 January 2010, the GOSCA recommended approval of the applicant's request for resignation. (6) DASA Review Board Decision Date / Characterization: On 12 February 2010, the DASA did not accept the applicant's resignation where he conditioned it upon receiving an honorable discharge. The DASA directed the applicant be involuntarily separated for misconduct with a general (under honorable conditions) characterization of service. 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Appointment: 26 May 2006 / Indefinite b. Age at Appointment / Education: 22 / Bachelor's Degree c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: O-2 / 88A Transportation, General / 3 years, 9 months, 4 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: None e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: SWA / Afghanistan (14 June 2008 - 13 September 2009) f. Awards and Decorations: ACM-CS, BSM, ARCOM, NDSM, GWOTSM, ASR, OSR, NATO MDL, Ranger Tab, CAM g. Performance Ratings: 25 July 2007 - 24 July 2008 / Best Qualified 25 July 2008 - 10 May 2009 / Do Not Promote 15 May 2009 - 20 November 2009 / Best Qualified h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: GOMOR dated 10 May 2009, reflects the applicant fraternized with an enlisted Soldier in violation of Army Regulation 600-20, paragraph 4-14. In addition to engaging in an inappropriate and unprofessional relationship, the applicant consumed alcohol with that Soldier in violation of USCENTCOM General Order #1B. Moreover, the applicant violated Task Force Commander's Policy Letter #20 by entering off-limits areas to consume alcohol and gamble. The applicant's actions had an adverse impact on the discipline and moral of the unit. i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: None j. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: None 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293, Personal Statement, Letter from the Army Review Boards Agency 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: The applicant helped to find a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preventing Soldier suicide. 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 600-8-24, Officer Transfers and Discharges, sets forth the basic authority for the separation of commissioned and warrant officers. Chapter 4 outlines the policy and procedure for the elimination of officers from the active Army for substandard performance of duty, misconduct, moral or professional dereliction, and in the interest of national security. A discharge of honorable, general, or under other than honorable conditions characterization of service may be 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's (AMHRR) record of service, the issues and documents submitted with the application were carefully reviewed. The applicant requests an upgrade to honorable. The applicant contends there was an option of resigning or facing a show cause board. The applicant chose to resign conditioned upon receiving an honorable discharge. The resignation was accepted by the Commanding General, but was denied by the Secretary of the Army. Had the applicant known the outcome the applicant would have chosen to face the show cause board. The applicant was given bad advice and never given the opportunity to defend the discharge. The discharge status and the circumstances surrounding it still causes the applicant pain. The record does not contain any indication or evidence of arbitrary or capricious actions by the command and all requirements of law and regulation were met and the rights of the applicant were fully protected throughout the separation process. The applicant served honorably and was awarded the BSM for service in Afghanistan. The applicant's service accomplishments and the quality of the service prior to the incidents that caused the initiation of discharge proceeding will be considered according to the DODI 1332.28. The applicant helped to find a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preventing Soldier suicide. The Army Discharge Review Board 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 may 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. 9. DOCUMENTS / TESTIMONY PRESENTED DURING PERSONAL APPEARANCE: In addition to the evidence in the record, the Board carefully considered the additional document(s) and testimony presented by the applicant at the personal appearance hearing. a. The applicant submitted the following additional documents: N/A b. The applicant presented the following additional contentions: N/A c. Counsel / Witnesses / Observers: N/A 10. 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? No. The Board's Medical Advisor reviewed DoD and VA medical records and found no mitigating BH diagnoses on the applicant. The applicant provided no documents or testimony of a condition or experience, that, when applying liberal consideration, could have excused or mitigated a discharge. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? N/A (3) Does the condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? N/A (4) Does the condition or experience outweigh the discharge? N/A b. Response to Contentions: (1) The applicant's conditional resignation was accepted by the Commanding General, but was denied by the Secretary of the Army. The contention was considered by the Board during the proceedings, while not improper the resignation in lieu of show have then been converted into elimination proceeding which would have included a show cause board. (2) The applicant was given bad advice and never given the opportunity to defend the discharge. The record does not contain any indication or evidence of arbitrary or capricious actions by the command and all requirements of law and regulation were met and the rights of the applicant were fully protected throughout the separation process. (3) The applicant served honorably and was awarded the BSM for service in Afghanistan. The majority of the Board determined that this contention was valid and considered it as part of the reason to upgrade the characterization of service to Honorable. c. The majority of the Board determined that the characterization of service was inequitable based on the applicant's length and quality of service, to include combat service, time since the discharge, and post service accomplishments. d. Rationale for Decision: (1) The Board voted to change the applicant's characterization of service to Honorable because of the applicant's length and quality of service, to include combat service, time since the discharge, and post service accomplishments. Thus the prior characterization is no longer appropriate. (2) The Board voted not to change the applicant's reason for discharge or accompanying SPD code as 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. 11. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New DD-214 / Separation Order: Yes b. Change Characterization to: Honorable 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 AR20210014656 1