IN THE CASE OF:  	Mr. 

      BOARD DATE:  	 8 May 2013

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20120020436
___________________________________________________________________________

Board Determination and Directed Action

After carefully examining the applicant's record of service during the period of enlistment under review and considering the Discussion and Recommendation which follows, the Board determined that the discharge was both proper and equitable and voted to deny relief.





      
      Presiding Officer
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Department of the Army Discharge Review Board in this case.

THE APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND STATEMENT:

1.  The applicant requests an upgrade of his discharge from general under honorable conditions to honorable.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he made an error in judgment and needs help to get employment.

DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:		1 November 2012
b. Discharge received:			General, Under Honorable Conditions
c. Date of Discharge:			30 January 2012
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE:		Misconduct (Serious Offense), AR 635-200, Chapter 						14-12c, JKQ, RE-3
e. Unit of assignment:			B Battery, 3d Bn, 43d ADA Bde, Fort Bliss, TX
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:	2 December 2008, 4 years and 15 weeks 		
g. Current Enlistment Service:	3 years, 0 months, 6 days
h. Total Service:			7 years, 5 months, 9 days
i. Time Lost:				54 days
j. Previous Discharges:		USMC (040629-080728), HD									USMCR (080729-081201), NIF
k. Highest Grade Achieved:		E-4
l.  Military Occupational Specialty:	92F10, Petroleum Supply Specialist
m. GT Score:				NIF
n. Education:				HS Graduate
o. Overseas Service:			SWA
p. Combat Service:			Kuwait (100822-110210), Iraq (dates NIF)
q. Decorations/Awards:		AAM, USMC GCM, NDSM, ICM-2, GWOTEM, 							GWOTSM, ASR, OSR
r. Administrative Separation Board: 	NIF
s. Performance Ratings:		None
t. Counseling Statements:		None
u. Prior Board Review:			No
SUMMARY OF SERVICE:		
	
After serving in the US Marine Corps the applicant enlisted in the US Army on 2 December 2008, for a period of 4 years and 15 weeks.  He was 22 years old at the time of entry and was a high school graduate.  His record indicates he served in Iraq and earned several awards including an AAM.  The applicant was serving at Fort Bliss, TX when his discharge proceedings were initiated.

SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES

1.  The applicant’s record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to the discharge from the Army.  The record contains a properly constituted DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), which was not authenticated by the applicant’s signature.  He was discharged as a PVT/E-1.

2.  The DD Form 214 indicates the applicant was discharged under the provisions of Chapter 14, AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12c, for misconduct (serious offense), with a characterization of service of general, under honorable conditions.  The DD Form 214 shows a Separation Program Designator (SPD) code of JKQ and a reentry (RE) code of 3.  

3.  The applicant’s record contains two periods of lost time.  The first one for 34 days (111003-111105) and the second period for 20 days (111109-111128) for a total of 54 days of total lost time. The mode of the applicant’s return to active duty is unknown.

4.  The applicant was separated under Orders 025-0081, HQS, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, TX, with an effective date of 30 January 2012.

EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD

There are no counseling statements or UCMJ actions in the record.  However, the applicant was discharged as a PVT/E-1; the action that reduced him in rank is not available in his record.

EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT 

None provided with the application.

POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

None provided with the application.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY  

1. Army Regulation 635-200 sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel.  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.  Army policy states that an under other than honorable conditions discharge is normally considered appropriate; however, a general, under honorable conditions or an honorable discharge may be granted.   

2.  Army Regulation 635-200, 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.  Whenever there is doubt, it is to be resolved in favor of the individual.

3.  Army Regulation 635-200, 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.  A characterization of under honorable conditions may be issued only when the reason for the Soldier’s separation specifically allows such characterization.

DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION:

1. The applicant’s request for an upgrade of the characterization of his discharge was carefully considered.  However, after examining the applicant’s record of service, his military records, and the issue submitted with the application, there are insufficient mitigating factors to merit an upgrade of the applicant's discharge.  

2.  The applicant’s record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to his discharge from the Army.  However, the applicant’s record does contain a properly constituted DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), which was not authenticated by the applicant's signature.  This document identifies the reason and characterization of the discharge and the presumption of government regularity prevails in the discharge process of this case.

3.  The DD Form 214 indicates the applicant was discharged under the provisions of Chapter 14, AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12c by reason of misconduct (serious offense), with a characterization of service of general, under honorable conditions.  Barring evidence to the contrary, it appears that all requirements of law and regulation were met and the rights of the applicant were fully protected throughout the separation process.  

4.  The applicant's contention about his error in judgment was carefully considered.  However, it is not possible to determine if his contentions has merit because the facts and circumstances leading to the discharge are unknown.  The burden of proof remains with the applicant to provide the appropriate documents or other evidence (i.e. discharge packet) sufficient to explain the facts, circumstances, and reasons underlying the separation action, for the Board's consideration.  If the applicant desires a personal appearance hearing, it will be his responsibility to meet this burden of proof since the evidence is not available in the official record.

5.  Further, the applicant requests an upgrade of his discharge in order to help him obtain employment.  However, the Board does not grant relief for the purpose of gaining employment or enhancing employment opportunities.


6.  Therefore, based on the available evidence and the government presumption of regularity, it appears the reason for discharge and the characterization of service were both proper and equitable, thus recommend the Board deny relief. 

SUMMARY OF ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD HEARING:

Type of Hearing:  Records Review        Date:  8 May 2013             Location: Washington, DC

Did the Applicant Testify?  No

Counsel:  None

Witnesses/Observers: NA

Board Vote:
Character Change:  0	No Change:  5
Reason Change:	0	No Change:  5
(Board member names available upon request)

Board Action Directed:
Issue a new DD Form 214:		No
Change Characterization to:	No Change
Change Reason to:			No Change
Change RE Code to:		NA
Grade Restoration to:		NA
Change Authority for Separation:	NA
Other:					NA






























Legend:
AMHRR - Army Military Human Resource Record	FG - Field Grade	IADT – Initial Active Duty Training	 	RE - Reentry
AWOL - Absent Without Leave	GD - General Discharge	NA - Not applicable	SCM- Summary Court Martial
BCD - Bad Conduct Discharge	HS - High School	NIF - Not in File	SPCM - Special Court Martial
CG - Company Grade Article 15	HD - Honorable Discharge	OAD - Ordered to Active Duty	UNC - Uncharacterized Discharge  
CID - Criminal investigation Department	MP – Military Police	OMPF - Official Military Personnel File	UOTH - Under Other Than                           			               Honorable
ADRB Case Report and Directive (cont)		AR 20120020436		

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ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



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