RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            7 October 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:    AR2004101839


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Mr. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Walter T. Morrison            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Paul M. Smith                 |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Patrick H. McGann Jr.         |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, that her reentry (RE) code of RE-3
be upgraded to RE-1.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that she was discharged for borderline
personality disorder and she believes she was misdiagnosed.  She claims the
circumstances that brought her to the mental health clinic were barely
talked about, let alone taken into consideration.  She states that these
factors included her going through an annulment, which resulted in going
from two pay checks to one, which made it nearly impossible to pay the
bills and care for her four month old son.  As a result, she let a couple
she knew adopt her son, but while the paperwork was processing, her baby
sitter brought her son to an adoption agency that moved him out of the
county without notifying her and refused to return her son.  Further, the
baby sitter informed her chain of command that she intended to sell her
baby on the black market.

3.  The applicant further states that with the assistance of a legal
assistance officer, her son was returned and the adoption by her friends
proceeded.  Ultimately, her chain of command referred her to the mental
health clinic as a result of this incident.  She claims at the time she was
worried, scared, upset and relieved all at the same time.  She states she
had so much on her mind at the time that she was suffering from severe
stress.  However, stress is not a mental illness and it passes.  She states
she would now like her RE code changed because she wants to continue to
serve her country.

4.  The applicant provides a self-authored statement and three third-party
statement attesting to her good character in support of her application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant’s record shows she enlisted in the Regular Army and
entered active duty on 27 January 2000.  She was trained in and awarded
military occupational specialty (MOS) 63B (Light Wheel Vehicle Mechanic)
and the highest rank she attained while serving on active duty was
specialist (SPC).
2.  On 5 November 2002, while serving at Fort Hood, Texas, the applicant
underwent a mental health evaluation.  The examining psychologist diagnosed
the applicant with an adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed
mood, alcohol abuse and with a borderline personality disorder.  He finally
recommended that the applicant be administratively separated under the
provision of paragraph 5-13, Army Regulation 635-200, by reason of
personality disorder.

3.  On 6 November 2002, the unit commander counseled the applicant
regarding the findings and recommendations of the division psychologist and
on her separation under the provisions of paragraph 5-13, Army Regulation
635-200, by reason of personality disorder.  The unit commander’s plan was
to start separation processing immediately and to continue to support the
applicant.  The applicant agreed with the plan of action outlined by the
commander.

4.  On 8 January 2002, the applicant unit commander initiated separation
action on the applicant under the provisions of paragraph 5-13, Army
Regulation 635-200, by reason of personality disorder.  The unit commander
cited the fact that the applicant had been diagnosed with a borderline
personality disorder as the reason for taking the action.  He also
recommended that the applicant receive an honorable discharge.

5.  The applicant acknowledged receipt of the separation action and
completed an election of rights by waiving her right to consulting counsel
and electing no to submit a statement in her own behalf.

6.  On 16 January 2003, the separation authority approved the applicant’s
separation under the provisions of paragraph 5-13, Army Regulation 635-200
due to a personality disorder and directed that she receive an honorable
discharge.  On 27 January 2003, the applicant was discharged accordingly.

7.  The DD Form 214 issued to her upon his separation confirms that she
held the rank of specialist (SPC) and that she earned the National Defense
Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon during her tenure on active duty.

8.  Item 25 of the applicant’s DD Form 214 confirms that the authority for
her separation was paragraph 5-13, Army Regulation 635-200.  Item 28
confirms
that the reason for her discharge was personality disorder.  Item 26
(Separation Code) lists the Separation Program Designator (SPD) code JFX
and Item 27 (Reentry Code) lists the RE code of RE-3.

9.  The applicant authenticated her 31 January 2003 DD Form 214 with her
signature in Item 21 (Signature of Member Being Separated).  There is no
indication that she questioned the SPD or RE codes listed on the separation
document at that time.

10.  Army Regulation (AR) 635-5-1 (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.  The SPD
code of JFX is the appropriate code to assign soldiers separated under the
provisions of paragraph 5-13, Army Regulation 635-200, by reason of
personality disorder.  Additionally, Table 2-3 (SPD/RE Code Cross Reference
Table) establishes RE-3 as the proper reentry code to assign to soldiers
separated with a SPD code of JFX.

11.  AR 601-210 covers eligibility criteria, policies, and procedures for
enlistment and processing into the Regular Army (RA) and the United States
Army Reserve (USAR).  Chapter 3 of that regulation prescribes basic
eligibility for prior service applicants for enlistment.  That chapter
includes a list of armed forces RE codes, including RA RE codes.  RE-3
applies to persons completing their terms of service who are not considered
fully qualified for reentry or continuous service at the time of separation
but the disqualification is waivable.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s claim that her RE-3 code should be changed to an RE-1
code because she was misdiagnosed with a personality disorder and the
supporting character references she submitted were carefully considered.
However, these factors are not sufficiently mitigating to warrant the
requested relief.

2.  The evidence of record confirms the applicant was diagnosed with a
borderline personality disorder by competent medical authority.  The record
also shows that her unit commander counseled her in regard to his intent to
process her for separation due to the diagnosed personality disorder and
she agreed to this action plan.

3.  The evidence of record also confirms that the applicant’s discharge
processing was accomplished in accordance with the applicable regulation.
As a result, her RE-3 code was appropriately assigned based on the
authority and reason for her discharge.  Therefore, there is an
insufficient evidentiary basis for changing it at this time.
4.  The applicant is advised that although no change is being recommended
to her RE code, this does not mean that she is disqualified from
reenlistment.  The RE-3 code he was assigned applies to persons who are not
considered fully qualified for reentry or continuous service at the time of
separation, but the disqualification is waivable.  Therefore, if the
applicant still desires to reenlist, she should contact a local recruiter
to determine her eligibility.  Those individuals can best advise a former
service member as to the needs of the Army at the time, and are required to
process waivers of reentry eligibility (RE) codes.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

_WTM___  _PMS___  _PHM___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable
error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall
merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the
records of the individual concerned.




            _WALTER T. MORRISON_
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004101839                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2004/10/DD                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |2003/01/31                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 635-200, C5                          |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Personality Disorder                    |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.  4    |100.0300                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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