PART II - APPLICATION DATA

      (Note: Part I deleted under the Privacy Act on Reading Room copy)

1.  Character of Discharge:  Under Other Than Honorable Conditions

2.  Date of discharge (or REFRAD):  960409

3.  Authority for separation:

      a.  Regulation:  Chapter 14, AR 635-200

      b.  Reason:  Misconduct

4.  Prior review(s):  NONE



                         PART III - SERVICE HISTORY

                 SECTION A - Period of Service Under Review

1.    Service data:                              2.  Awards and
    decorations:
                                           NDSM
    a.  Period entered for:  4 Years               ASR
    b.  Entry date:  940722
    c.  Age:  17 Years   DOB:  760818
    d.  Educational level:  HS Grad
    e.  Aptitude area score:
          GT:  105                               3.  Highest grade
achieved:
    f.  Length of Service:                         E2
          1 Year  7 Months  24 Days

                                               4.  Performance evaluations:

                                                   NONE

                         PART III - SERVICE HISTORY
           SECTION A - Period of Service Under Review - Continued

5.  Periods of unauthorized absence:

    Status       Inclusive dates
      AWOL         950425-950517

      Mil conf

      Civil conf

      Other


6.  Nonjudicial punishment:

      Date  Offense(s)
      951116     Wrongfully used marijuana (950808)(Field Grade)
      950602     AWOL (950425-950517)(Field Grade)


7.  Court-Martial data:  NONE

      a.  SCM:
            Date   Offense(s)


      b.  SPCM:
            Date   Offense(s)


      c.  GCM:
            Date   Offense(s)


8.    Remarks:  NONE


                       SECTION B - Prior Service Data
                                    NONE

Other discharge(s):

      Service    From  To    Type Discharge





                         PART IV - PREHEARING REVIEW

                       SECTION A-ANALYST’S ASSESSMENT
l.  Facts and Circumstances:

      a.  Evidence of record shows that on 9 February 1996, the unit
commander notified the applicant of initiation of separation action under
the provisions of Chapter l4, AR 635-200, by reason of
misconduct—commission of a serious offense, with an under other than
honorable conditions discharge.  The reasons for the proposed action were
for his wrongful use of marijuana (8 August 1995) and AWOL (25 April – 17
May 1995).  He was advised of his rights.  The applicant consulted with
legal counsel, was advised of the impact of the discharge action, and
indicated he submitted a statement in his own behalf, which is not in the
available records.  He was also entitled to have his case heard by an
administrative separation board, which he voluntarily waived contingent
upon receiving a characterization of service or description of service no
less favorable than a general, under honorable conditions.  On 22 March
1996, under legal counsel, the applicant voluntarily withdrew his
conditional waiver and agreed to waive his right to an administrative
board.  The unit commander subsequently recommended separation from the
service and waiver of further rehabilitative efforts.  The intermediate
commanders reviewed the proposed discharge action and recommended approval
of the separation action with an under other than honorable conditions
discharge.  On 25 March 1996, the proper legal authority reviewed the
proposed discharge action and found it to be legally sufficient.  On 26
March 1996, the separation authority waived further rehabilitative efforts
and directed that the applicant be discharged with a characterization of
service of under other than honorable conditions.

      b.  On 9 April 1996, the applicant was discharged.  At the time of
discharge, the applicant had completed 1 year, 7 months, and 24 days of
active military service and accrued 22 days of lost time in the period
under review.

2.  Legal/Regulatory Basis for Separation Action:  Army Regulation 635-200
sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel.
Chapter l4 establishes policy and prescribes procedures for separating
members for misconduct.  Specific categories include minor disciplinary
infractions, a pattern of misconduct, commission of a serious offense, to
include abuse of illegal drugs, convictions by civil authorities and
desertion or absence 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.  Army policy states that an under other
than honorable conditions discharge is normally considered appropriate, but
a general discharge under honorable conditions or an honorable discharge
may be granted.


                      SECTION B-APPLICANT’S SUBMISSIONS


1.  Issue(s) of propriety and/or equity submitted by applicant or counsel.
    As stated on applicant’s DD Form 293.

2.  Exhibit(s) submitted:

      A-1:  DD Form 293, undated , with no enclosures.
      A-2:  Counsel Issues:  NONE
      B-l:  Other Documents: NONE


                   PART IV - PREHEARING REVIEW (CONTINUED)

              SECTION C - Medical and/or Legal Advisory Opinion


Referred to ( ) Medical Advisor      ( ) Legal Advisor



      a.  Medical prehearing comments (if applicable):


      b.  Legal prehearing comments (if applicable):











                         PART V - SUMMARY OF HEARING

                      SECTION A-Attendees and exhibits

1.  Review/hearing information:


      a. Type requested:
         ( X ) Records review             (   ) Hearing

      b. Type Held:
         ( X )Records review              (   ) Hearing
                                          (   ) Tender Offer

      c. Review/hearing location and date:  Washington, DC on 1 December
2004.

      d. Appearance by:
         Applicant                 (   ) Yes   ( X ) No
         Counsel                   (   ) Yes   ( X ) No

      e.  Applicant testified:     (   ) Yes   ( X ) No

      f.  Counsel presentation:    (   ) Yes   ( X ) No

      g.  Witness(es) testified:   (   ) Yes   ( X ) No

2.  Exhibit(s) submitted at hearing:
                        PART VI - ISSUES AND FINDINGS

1.  a.  Applicant's issue(s) of propriety and/or equity:

          ( X )  Same as those listed on DD Form 293 and Part IV, Section A
              of this case report and directive.
          (   )  Revised issue(s) furnished in writing by applicant as
              follows:
          ( X )  Additional issue(s) identified during review/hearing as
              follows:

        Board Issue:  (2)  The characterization of service is too harsh.

      b.  Request:  ( X ) Recharacterization     (   ) Change of Reason

2.  Finding(s), conclusion(s), and reason(s) for the Board's decision(s) on
issues of propriety and/or equity:

      a.  Propriety:   The applicant has not submitted an issue of
                   propriety and the ADRB has not otherwise relied upon an
                   issue of propriety to change the discharge.

      b.  Equity:      The parenthetical number(s) below correspond(s) to
                   the issue number(s) on the DD Form 293, or in Part VI,
                   Paragraph 1, above.

        (2)  The issue is accepted.  The Board carefully examined the
applicant’s record of service during the period of enlistment under review.
 There was a full consideration of all faithful and honorable service as
well as the infractions of discipline, the extent thereof, and the
seriousness of the offenses.  The Board does not condone the applicant’s
misconduct; however, determined that the characterization of service is now
inequitable.  The Board found that the applicant’s misconduct was partially
mitigated by the nature of the offenses and the applicant’s post-service
accomplishments.  Accordingly, the Board voted to grant partial relief in
the form of an upgrade of characterization of service to general, under
honorable conditions.  The Board determined that the reason for discharge
was proper and equitable and voted not to change it.

        (1)  The issue is rejected.  By his misconduct and poor duty
performance, the applicant diminished the quality of his service below that
meriting a fully honorable discharge.  Further, based on the reason for
separation (i.e., abuse of illegal drugs), the applicant was assigned a
reentry eligibility (RE) code of “4.”  An RE-4 indicates that the applicant
was separated with a disqualification that cannot be waived and that he is
no longer eligible to reenlist.  See response to issue (2) above.

3.  Response(s) to item(s) not addressed as decisional issue(s):  NONE

                           PART VII - BOARD ACTION
                   SECTION A - Conclusions/Decisions/Vote

1.    Board conclusion(s):

      The discharge was:

      ( X ) Proper.
      (   ) Improper as to characterization.  Change characterization to
                                               .
      (   ) Improper as to reason.  Change reason to
                                   under                      .

      (   ) Equitable.
      ( X ) Inequitable as to characterization.  Change characterization to
           General, Under Honorable Conditions.
      (   ) Inequitable as to reason.  Change reason to
                                 
            under                                 .
      (   ) Both proper and equitable, but characterization/reason for
           separation cited was an administrative/clerical error and should
           be changed to                      under
                                   .

2.  Voting record:      Change   No Change
                  Reason       0         5
    Characterization       5         0

        The names and votes of the members of the Board are recorded in
Part IX of this document and can be obtained by writing to the address
below.  The request must contain the CASE NO. located in the upper right
corner of this document.

                  Department of the Army Review Boards Agency
                  ATTN:  Promulgation Team
                  1901 South Bell Street, 2nd Floor
                  Arlington, VA  22202-4508



3.  Minority views:  NONE
                           PART VII - BOARD ACTION
                 SECTION B - Verification and Authentication

Case report reviewed and verified

                          
MR. RIVERA
Case Reviewing Official

                     PART VIII - DIRECTIVE/CERTIFICATION
                            SECTION A - DIRECTIVE

TO: ARBA Support Division-St Louis      Date:  3 December 2004

     The Army Discharge Review Board, established under the provisions of
Section 30, Public Law 346, 78th Congress, 22 June 1944 and codified as
Title 10, United States Code, Section 1553, in the case of the applicant
named in Part I directs that the ARBA Support Division-St Louis issue a new
DD Form 2l4 to the applicant which reflects the following directed
change(s):

           ( X ) Change characterization of discharge to General, Under
                 Honorable Conditions.
           ( X ) Other (see remarks below).

Remarks:  This action does not entail a restoration of grade.

                          SECTION B - CERTIFICATION

Approval Authority:


ROBERT L. HOUSE
Colonel, U.S. Army
President, Army Discharge
   Review Board

Official:




MARY E. SHAW
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army
Chief, Secretary Recorder

EXHIBITS:
A - Application for review of discharge                  C - Other
B - Material submitted by applicant

INDEX RECORD:

AR Number:  2004106724                    INDEX NUMBERS:  A9406
Date of Review:  041201                                   A9236
Character of Service:  UD                                 A9222
Date of Discharge:  960409                                A0113
Authority:  AR 635-200 C14
Reason:  A6770
Results of Board Action/
Vote/Affirmation:  GD 5-0 A





                           PART IX - VOTING RECORD

    Name                                   Reason          Characterization
                                           CHANGE   NC     HON  UHC   NC
UNCHAR

    1.      Mbr          X            X            

    2.      Mbr          X            X            

    3.      Mbr          X            X            

    4.      Mbr          X            X            

    5.      PO           X            X