IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  4 December 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140005025 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests an upgrade of his bad conduct discharge (BCD) to an honorable discharge.  He also requests correction of his DD Forms 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge/Report of Separation from Active Duty) for the periods ending on 13 June 1967 and 8 March 1974 to show his month of birth as June instead of January/October, respectively.

2.  He states his discharge should be upgraded to honorable because he was just returning from Vietnam and was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  He adds he was confused and did not receive any treatment for PTSD.  He concludes that he made some wrong choices, but he served his country proudly.

3.  He provides his State of New Mexico Certificate of Birth.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file.  In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.

2.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 23 June 1965.  His enlistment document and all documents containing a date of birth in his military personnel records show his month of birth as June.  On 13 June 1967, he was honorably discharged for immediate reenlistment which was accomplished the following day.

3.  Item 9 (Date of Birth) of his DD Form 214 for the period ending 13 June 1967 shows his month of birth as January.

4.  His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he served two tours in Vietnam:  17 December 1965 to 16 December 1966 and 27 August 1967 to 
9 October 1968.  Additionally, this form shows his month of birth as June.

5.  His disciplinary history includes his acceptance of nonjudicial punishment under the provisions of Article 15, Uniform Code of Military Justice, on:

* 20 June 1968 for traveling in excess of the maximum posted speed limit on 8 June 1968
* 29 December 1971 for being absent without leave (AWOL) from
26 November to 14 December 1971
* 22 May 1972 for being AWOL from 20 May to 22 May 1972
* 27 April 1973 for being AWOL from 12 February to 17 April 1973

6.  On 8 August 1972, he was convicted by a general court-martial of making a false statement on 27 November 1971 and making a false claim against the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services in the amount of $472.65 on 24 January 1972.  The convening authority approved a sentence of a BCD, confinement at hard labor for 3 months, a forfeiture of $144.00 pay per month for 3 months, and reduction to the grade of E-1.  The U.S. Army Court of Military Review affirmed the findings and sentence on 28 August 1973.  

7.  The applicant's record does not contain a separation physical or a mental evaluation.  His record is also void of any evidence that shows he was diagnosed with PTSD while he was in the military.

8.  Item 4 (Date of Birth) of his DD Form 214 for the period ending 8 March 1974 shows his month of birth as October.  It also shows he was discharged with a BCD characterized as under other than honorable conditions under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations – Enlisted Personnel), chapter 11.  He had completed 5 years, 3 months, and 16 days of total active service with 1,245 days listed as lost time.

9.  He provided his State of New Mexico Certificate of Birth that lists his month of birth as June.

10.  Army Regulation 635-200 sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel.

	a.  Chapter 11, in effect at the time, established policy and procedures for separating members with a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge.  Paragraph 11-2 provided that a BCD would be given pursuant only to an approved sentence of a general or special court-martial and that the appellate review must be completed and affirmed sentence ordered duly executed.

	b.  Paragraph 3-7a provides that an honorable discharge is a separation with honor and entitles the recipient to benefits provided by law.  The honorable characterization is appropriate when the quality of the member'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.

	c.  Paragraph 3-7b provides that a general discharge is a separation from the Army under honorable conditions.  When authorized, it is issued to a Soldier whose military record is satisfactory but not sufficiently meritorious to warrant an honorable discharge.

11.  Court-martial convictions stand as adjudged or as modified by appeal through the judicial process.  In accordance with Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552, the authority under which this Board acts, the ABCMR is not empowered to set aside a conviction.  Rather, it is only empowered to change the severity of the sentence imposed in the court-martial process and then only if clemency is determined to be appropriate.  Clemency is an act of mercy or instance of leniency to moderate the severity of the punishment imposed.

12.  PTSD can occur after someone goes through a traumatic event like combat, assault, or disaster.  The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and it provides standard criteria and common language for the classification of mental disorders.  In 1980, the APA added PTSD to the third edition of its DSM-III nosologic classification scheme.  Although controversial when first introduced, the PTSD diagnosis has filled an important gap in psychiatric theory and practice.
From an historical perspective, the significant change ushered in by the PTSD concept was the stipulation that the etiological agent was outside the individual (i.e., a traumatic event) rather than an inherent individual weakness (i.e., a traumatic neurosis).  The key to understanding the scientific basis and clinical expression of PTSD is the concept of "trauma." 

13.  PTSD is unique among psychiatric diagnoses because of the great importance placed upon the etiological agent, the traumatic stressor.  In fact, one cannot make a PTSD diagnosis unless the patient has actually met the "stressor criterion," which means that he or she has been exposed to an event that is considered traumatic.  Clinical experience with the PTSD diagnosis has shown, however, that there are individual differences regarding the capacity to cope with catastrophic stress.  Therefore, while most people exposed to traumatic events do not develop PTSD, others go on to develop the full-blown syndrome.  Such observations have prompted the recognition that trauma, like pain, is not an external phenomenon that can be completely objectified.  Like pain, the traumatic experience is filtered through cognitive and emotional processes before it can be appraised as an extreme threat.  Because of individual differences in this appraisal process, different people appear to have different trauma thresholds, some more protected from and some more vulnerable to developing clinical symptoms after exposure to extremely stressful situations.

14.  The DSM fifth revision (DSM-5) was released in May 2013.  This revision includes changes to the diagnostic criteria for PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder.  The PTSD diagnostic criteria were revised to take into account things that have been learned from scientific research and clinical experience.  The revised diagnostic criteria for PTSD include a history of exposure to a traumatic event that meets specific stipulations and symptoms from each of four symptom clusters:  intrusion, avoidance, negative alterations in cognitions and mood, and alterations in arousal and reactivity.  The sixth criterion concerns duration of symptoms; the seventh assesses functioning; and the eighth criterion clarifies symptoms as not attributable to a substance or co-occurring medical condition.

	a.  Criterion A, stressor:  The person was exposed to: death, threatened death, actual or threatened serious injury, or actual or threatened sexual violence, as follows: (one required) 

		(1)  Direct exposure. 

		(2)  Witnessing, in person.

		(3)  Indirectly, by learning that a close relative or close friend was exposed to trauma.  If the event involved actual or threatened death, it must have been violent or accidental.

		(4)  Repeated or extreme indirect exposure to aversive details of the event(s), usually in the course of professional duties (e.g., first responders, collecting body parts; professionals repeatedly exposed to details of child abuse). This does not include indirect non-professional exposure through electronic media, television, movies, or pictures.

	b.  Criterion B, intrusion symptoms:  The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced in the following way(s): (one required) 

		(1)  Recurrent, involuntary, and intrusive memories. 

		(2)  Traumatic nightmares. 

		(3)  Dissociative reactions (e.g., flashbacks) which may occur on a continuum from brief episodes to complete loss of consciousness. 

		(4)  Intense or prolonged distress after exposure to traumatic reminders. 

		(5)  Marked physiologic reactivity after exposure to trauma-related stimuli. 

	c.  Criterion C, avoidance:  Persistent effortful avoidance of distressing trauma-related stimuli after the event: (one required)

		(1)  Trauma-related thoughts or feelings.

		(2)  Trauma-related external reminders (e.g., people, places, conversations, activities, objects, or situations).

	d.  Criterion D, negative alterations in cognitions and mood:  Negative alterations in cognitions and mood that began or worsened after the traumatic event: (two required)

		(1)  Inability to recall key features of the traumatic event (usually dissociative amnesia; not due to head injury, alcohol, or drugs).

		(2)  Persistent (and often distorted) negative beliefs and expectations about oneself or the world (e.g., "I am bad," "The world is completely dangerous").

		(3)  Persistent distorted blame of self or others for causing the traumatic event or for resulting consequences.

		(4)  Persistent negative trauma-related emotions (e.g., fear, horror, anger, guilt, or shame).

		(5)  Markedly diminished interest in (pre-traumatic) significant activities.
Feeling alienated from others (e.g., detachment or estrangement).

		(6)  Constricted affect: persistent inability to experience positive emotions. 

	e.  Criterion E, alterations in arousal and reactivity:  Trauma-related alterations in arousal and reactivity that began or worsened after the traumatic event: (two required)

		(1)  Irritable or aggressive behavior

		(2)  Self-destructive or reckless behavior

		(3)  Hypervigilance

		(4)  Exaggerated startle response

		(5)  Problems in concentration

		(6)  Sleep disturbance

	f.  Criterion F, duration:  Persistence of symptoms (in Criteria B, C, D, and E) for more than one month. 

	g.  Criterion G, functional significance:  Significant symptom-related distress or functional impairment (e.g., social, occupational).

	h.  Criterion H, exclusion:  Disturbance is not due to medication, substance use, or other illness. 

15.  As a result of the extensive research conducted by the medical community and the relatively recent issuance of revised criteria regarding the causes, diagnosis and treatment of PTSD the Department of Defense (DoD) acknowledges that some Soldiers who were administratively discharged under other than honorable conditions may have had an undiagnosed condition of PTSD at the time of their discharge.  It is also acknowledged that in some cases this undiagnosed condition of PTSD may have been a mitigating factor in the Soldier's misconduct which served as a catalyst for their discharge.  Research has also shown that misconduct stemming from PTSD is typically based upon a spur of the moment decision resulting from temporary lapse in judgment; therefore, PTSD is not a likely cause for either premeditated misconduct or misconduct that continues for an extended period of time.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  It appears that June was used as the applicant's month of birth throughout his military service.  His enlistment document, DA Form 20, and his birth certificate confirm his month of birth as June.  Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his 
DD Forms 214 to show his correct month of birth.

2.  The applicant argues, in effect, that his discharge should be upgraded because his indiscipline was based on PTSD. 

3.  There is no evidence and he did not provide any to show that he was diagnosed with PTSD, or that he raised his mental conditions as a possible defense at the time.  He provides no evidence now to show he has been diagnosed with a service-connected PTSD or other mental condition.  The evidence of record further shows he was convicted by a general court-martial which was warranted by the gravity of the offenses charged at the time.  The conviction and discharge were effected in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and the discharge appropriately characterizes the misconduct for which he was convicted.

4.  He was given a BCD pursuant to an approved sentence of a general court-martial.  The appellate review was completed and sentence affirmed.  All requirements of law and regulation were met and his rights were fully protected.

5.  Any redress by this Board of the finality of a court-martial conviction is prohibited by law.  The Board is only empowered to change a discharge if clemency is determined to be appropriate to moderate the severity of the sentence imposed.  Therefore, given his offense and absent any mitigating factors, the type of discharge directed and the reasons were appropriate.  As a result, clemency is not warranted in this case.







BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

____X____  ____X____  ____X____  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all 
Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by amending his DD Forms 214 for the periods ending on 13 June 1967 and 
8 March 1974 to show his month of birth as June as it appears on his New Mexico Certificate of Birth.

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented was insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to a discharge upgrade. 



      _______ _   __X_____   ___
       	   CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.



ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140005025





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140005025



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