DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
                         Army Discharge Review Board
                           1901 South Bell Street
                          Arlington, VA  22202-4508
                               21 October 2005


Office of the President



      After careful review of your application, military records and all
other available evidence, the Army Discharge Review Board determined that
you were properly and equitably discharged.  Accordingly, your request for
a change in the character and/or reason of your discharge is denied.

      You may reapply to the Army Discharge Review Board for a personal
appearance hearing and/or you may apply to the Army Board for Correction of
Military Records.  Enclosed are the necessary applications for requesting a
review from both boards.  If you choose to apply to the Army Board for
Correction of Military Records you must do so within three years from the
date of this letter.

      Be advised that the Army Discharge Review Board operates on a 15-year
statute of limitations from the date of discharge; therefore, you must
reapply within this time frame for a hearing.

      If you believe that the decision in your case is unclear, not
responsive to the issues raised, or does not otherwise agree with the
decisional document requirements of DoD Directive 1332.28, you may submit a
complaint in accordance with Enclosure 5 of that Directive.  The complaint
procedure does not permit you to challenge the merits of the decision, but
is designed solely to ensure that the decisional document meets applicable
requirements for clarity and responsiveness.  You may obtain a copy of DoD
Directive 1332.28 by writing to:  Army Review Board Agency, Attention:
(Reading Room), The Pentagon, Washington, DC 20310-1809.

                                  Sincerely,




                                  Robert L. House
                                  Colonel, U.S. Army
                                  President

Enclosure


                           MILITARY REVIEW BOARDS

                           Case Report & Directive


                        PART I - IDENTIFICATION DATA

NAME:




COUNSEL:    ADDRESS:

      PHONE:




ALTERNATE PERSON(S) TO BE NOTIFIED:     ADDRESS:

RELATIONSHIP:                     PHONE:



TYPE REPORT:

   ( X ) Original
   (   ) Addendum




                                   REMARKS
                            Case Management Data

(   )  Response to other correspondence required upon completion of case.

(   )  DD Form 149 in file.  Send case to ABCMR.


















OSA FORM 172 (REVISED) 22 May 98     Cover Sheet
                         PART II - APPLICATION DATA

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

1.  Character of Discharge:  General, Under Honorable Conditions

2.  Date of discharge (or REFRAD):  031009

3.  Authority for separation:

      a.  Regulation:  Chapter 8-26k, NGR 600-200

      b.  Reason:  Unsatisfactory Participation

4.  Prior review(s):  NONE



                         PART III - SERVICE HISTORY

                 SECTION A - Period of Service Under Review

1.    Service data:                              2.  Awards and
    decorations:
                                           AAM
    a.  Period entered for:  8 Years               ASR
    b.  Entry date:  980113
    c.  Age:  17 Years   DOB:  801108


    d.  Educational level:  HS Grad


    e.  Aptitude area score:
          GT:  97                                3.  Highest grade
achieved:
    f.  Length of Service:                         E4
          5 Year(s)  8 Month(s)  27 Day(s)


                                               4.  Performance evaluations:

                                                   NONE

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

5.  Periods of unauthorized absence:  NONE

    Status       Inclusive dates
      AWOL

      Mil conf

      Civil conf

      Other


6.  Nonjudicial punishment:  NONE

      Date  Offense(s)



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 the applicant enlisted in the
Mississippi Army National Guard and as a Reserve of the Army for a period
of 8 years.  On 1 May 2003, the applicant was administratively reduced in
grade from specialist/E-4 to private first class/E-3 due to inefficiency
(AWOL from training assemblies).  On 14 August 2003, the applicant was
notified that he had accrued 24 unexcused absences from unit training
assemblies within a 1-year period.  On 25 August 2003, he was
administratively reduced to private/E-1.  On 20 September 2003, the unit
commander requested that the applicant be processed for separation from the
MSARNG due to AWOL.  The intermediate commanders recommended approval of
the applicant’s separation.  The record contains a properly constituted DD
Form 22 (Report of Separation and Record of Service).  His NGB Form 22
indicates that he was discharged under the provisions of Chapter 8-26k, NGR
600-200 by reason of unsatisfactory participation with a general, under
honorable conditions discharge.

      b.  On 9 October 2003, the applicant was discharged.  At the time of
discharge, the applicant had completed 5 years, 8 months, and 27 days of
military service in the period under review.

2.  Legal/Regulatory Basis for Separation Action:  National Guard
Regulation (NGR) 600-200 and Army Regulation 135-91 govern procedures
covering enlisted personnel management of the Army National Guard.  Chapter
8 of NGR 600-200 covers, in pertinent part, reasons for discharge and
separation of enlisted personnel from the State Army Reserve National
Guard.  Paragraph 8-26k of that regulation provides in pertinent part that
individuals can be separated for being an unsatisfactory participant.  Army
Regulation 135-91 states that a member is an unsatisfactory participant
when nine or more unexcused absences from scheduled drills occur during a1
year period.




                      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, dated 050235, with six (6) enclosure(s).
      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, D.C. on 19 October
2005.

      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.

        (1)  The issue is rejected.  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 found that the applicant was
properly discharged from the Mississippi Army National Guard due to his
unsatisfactory participation with a characterization of service of general,
under honorable conditions.  The Board noted the applicant’s contentions;
however, did not find said contentions sufficiently mitigating to warrant
an upgrade of the discharge under review.  The Board determined that the
applicant had many legitimate avenues through which to obtain assistance or
relief, without accumulating the unexcused absences, which led to the
separation action under review.  By his unsatisfactory participation, the
applicant diminished the quality of his service below that meriting a fully
honorable discharge.  The applicant provided no independent corroborating
evidence demonstrating that either the command's action was erroneous or
that the applicant’s service mitigated his poor duty performance.  The
Board, being convinced that the reason for discharge and the
characterization of service were both proper and equitable, voted to deny
relief.

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                      .

      ( X ) Equitable.
      (   ) Inequitable as to characterization.  Change characterization to
           _______________________________.
      (   ) 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       0         5

        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

                          
Ms. McKim-Spilker

Case Reviewing Official

                     PART VIII - DIRECTIVE/CERTIFICATION
                            SECTION A - DIRECTIVE

                                    NONE

                          SECTION B - CERTIFICATION

Approval Authority:


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

Official:



ESMERALDA G. PROCTOR
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:  20050003234                   INDEX NUMBERS:  A9405
Date of Review:  051019                                   A9231
Character of Service:  GD                                 A0100
Date of Discharge:  031009                                A
Authority:  NGR 600-200 C8                                A
Reason:  A8400                                            A
Results of Board Action/                                  A
Vote/Affirmation:  NC 5-0 A                               A


















                           PART IX - VOTING RECORD

    Name                                   Reason          Characterization
                                           CHANGE   NC     HON  UHC   NC
UNCHAR

    1.      Mbr          X                 X       

    2. COL SILVER, EARL M.   Mbr          X                 X       

    3.      Mbr          X                 X       

    4.      Mbr          X                 X       

    5.      PO           X                 X