1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 10 May 2021 b. Date Received: 21 June 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, he is now 29 years old and now realize he was mad at the world because his body failed him. He said he caught his hernia while actively serving. He thought he was young and in shape and never knew he would be in the Army laying in a hospital bed with swollen testicles and an emergency hernia surgery. He didn't think he would be able to protect and be that strong Soldier her was. It was all mental, and he thought about killing himself because the surgery made him feel less than a man. He says he battles from PTSD and depression. He always wanted to be a Soldier but was young and dumb and thinking of an escape. He realizes it was no reason to do the things he did. He says he is sorry and is now a better person. He takes his medicine and takes his physical and mental health seriously. In a records review conducted on 9 February 2022, and by a 4 - 1 vote, the Board determined that the characterization of service was inequitable based on the applicant's circumstances surrounding the discharge (Adjustment Disorder, Cannabis Abuse, and consideration for a Personality Disorder diagnoses). Accordingly, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade to the characterization of service to Honorable and 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, Chapter 14-12c / JKQ / RE-3 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) b. Date of Discharge: 18 March 2011 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date of Notification of Intent to Separate: 22 February 2011 (2) Basis for Separation: The applicant was informed of the following reasons: He had a total disregard for military rules and regulations as evidenced by stealing two Sony Portable Playstation's, a value of about $199.99 each, the property of two Advance Initial Training Soldiers. (3) Recommended Characterization: General (Under Honorable Conditions) (4) Legal Consultation Date: 24 February 2011 (5) Administrative Separation Board: NA (6) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 15 March 2011 / General (Under Honorable Conditions) 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Enlistment: 10 March 2010 / 4 years b. Age at Enlistment / Education / GT Score: 18 / HS Graduate / 88 c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: E-3 / 92A10, Automated Logistical Specialist / 8 months, 19 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: None e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: None f. Awards and Decorations: NDSM, ASR g. Performance Ratings: NA Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: Military Police Report, dated 7 January 2011, reflects the applicant was apprehended for: Housebreaking of a barracks (Article #130, UCMJ). Military Police Report, dated 7 January 2011, reflects the applicant was apprehended for: Larceny of Private Property - $100 & over (Article #121, UCMJ) Military Police Report, dated 7 January 2011, reflects the applicant was apprehended for: Larceny of Private Funds - Less Than $100 (Article #121, UCMJ) Military Police Report, dated 7 January 2011, reflects the applicant was apprehended for: Conspiracy to Commit Larceny (Article #81, UCMJ) Military Police Report, dated 7 January 2011, reflects the applicant was apprehended for: Accessory to Larceny of Private Property Before the Fact - $100 and Over (Article #121, UCMJ) FG Article 15, dated 28 January 2011, for stealing a Sony PlayStation Portable, of a value of about 199.99, the property of PFC C.G. and PVT2 A. M. on 9 December 2009. The punishment consisted of a reduction to E-1; forfeiture of $733 pay per month for two months; and, extra duty and restriction to the limits of company area, dining/medical facility, and place of worship for 45 days. Three Developmental Counseling Forms, for various acts of misconduct. h. Lost Time / Mode of Return: None i. Diagnosed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health: None 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293; one third-party letter; self-authored statement. 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), 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 14-12c prescribes 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. (7) 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 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 "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). 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 requests an upgrade to honorable. The applicant's record of service, the issues and documents submitted with the application were carefully reviewed. The applicant contends youth and immaturity affected the applicant's behavior at the time of the discharge. The AMHRR shows the applicant met entrance qualification standards to include age. The applicant contends he battles with PTSD and depression. The applicant's AMHRR contains no documentation of PTSD diagnosis. The applicant did not submit any evidence to support the contention the discharge resulted from any medical condition. The record is void of documentation that shows the applicant underwent a mental status evaluation (MSE). ARBA sent a letter to the applicant at the address in the application on 9 November 2021 requesting documentation to support a PTSD diagnosis but received no response from the applicant. 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. Post- service, the applicant is service connected for MDD with additional diagnoses of Adjustment Disorder, Cannabis Abuse, and consideration for a Personality Disorder. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? Yes. The Board arrived at this finding based upon the applicant asserting PTSD and depressions while in- service. (3) Does the condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? No. The Board arrived at this finding based upon diagnosis with Major Depressive Disorder, Adjustment Disorder, Cannabis Abuse, and consideration for a Personality Disorder. The applicant reported making a conscious choice to steal the items; this was not a compulsive act associated with any of these disorders. There is insufficient evidence that the applicant's Major Depressive Disorder, Adjustment Disorder, Cannabis Abuse, and consideration for a Personality Disorder was associated with the larceny charges, which led to the separation. (4) Does the condition or experience outweigh the discharge? No. The Board concurred with the Medical Advisor's opinion that the applicant's misconduct is not outweighed by the various behavioral health conditions, including Major Depressive Disorder, for which the VA has service-connected the applicant. b. Response to Contention(s): (1) The applicant contends youth and immaturity affected the applicant's behavior at the time of the discharge. Due to the seriousness of the misconduct including conscious, deliberate decisions the applicant made when presented with challenges, youthful indiscretion does not excuse the misconduct. There is no evidence to indicate the applicant was any less mature than other Soldiers of the same age who successfully completed military service. The Board voted after considering the contention and finding no evidence of the Command acting in an arbitrary or capricious manner. In this case, the Board determined the characterization of service was inequitable and voted to grant relief. (2) The applicant contends battling with PTSD and depression. The Board considered this contention and the applicant's assertion of PTSD and depression, however the Board determined that there is not sufficient evidence of said diagnoses in official or medical records, and the applicant did not provide supporting documentation by a qualified medical professional to provide merit to the claim. Ultimately, the Board reviewed the applicant's DOD and VA health records, and determined the applicant was diagnosed with Adjustment Disorder, Cannabis Abuse, and consideration for a Personality Disorder diagnoses. The applicant's assertion alone did not outweigh the basis of separation. However, the Board voted the characterization of service was inequitable and voted to grant relief. c. Notwithstanding the Board's determination that the applicant's BH diagnoses do not outweigh the misconduct; the Board nevertheless determined that the characterization of service was inequitable. The Board felt the command's punishment was too harsh, and accordingly, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade to the characterization of service to Honorable and 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 character of service was too harsh for the misconduct. Thus the prior characterization is no longer appropriate. (2) The Board voted to change the applicant's narrative reason for separation to Misconduct (Minor Infractions), with a corresponding separation code of 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: 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, 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 AR20210015427 2