IN THE CASE OF:  	Mr. 

      BOARD DATE:  	10 April 2013

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20120022911
___________________________________________________________________________

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 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 under other than honorable conditions to honorable.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that block 12c does not reflect his inactive delayed entry service and block 12d does not reflect his active service.  He served his first enlistment honorably and has records of first enlistment and his reenlistment. 

DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:		7 December 2012
b. Discharge Received:		Under Other Than Honorable Conditions
c. Date of Discharge:			13 July 2012
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code:	Misconduct (Drug Abuse), AR 635-200, 14-12c(2), 
      JKK, RE-4
e. Unit of assignment:			Hqs and Hqs Btry, 1-10th  FA Bn, Fort Benning, GA
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:	1 October 2010, 3 years 
g. Current Enlistment Service:	1 year, 9 months, 13 days
h. Total Service:			3 years, 0 months, 0 days
i. Time Lost:				None
j. Previous Discharges:		RA (090714-101001)/HD
k. Highest Grade Achieved:		E-4
l. Military Occupational Specialty:	92Y10 Unit Supply Spec
m. GT Score:				Not in file
n. Education:				HS Graduate
o. Overseas Service:			Korea
p. Combat Service:			None
q. Decorations/Awards:		NDSM, GWOTSM, KDSM, ASR
r. Administrative Separation Board: 	No
s. Performance Ratings:		None
t. Counseling Statements:		None
u. Prior Board Review:			No

SUMMARY OF SERVICE:		
	
The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 14 July 2009, for a period of 2 years, 19 weeks.  He was 19 years old at the time of entry and was a high school graduate.  On 1 October 2010, he reenlisted for a period of 3 years; he was 20 years old at the time.  He was trained in and was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 92Y, Unit Supply Specialist.  His record documents no acts of valor or significant achievement.  He was serving at Fort Benning, GA when his discharge was initiated.  He did not have any personally earned awards in his service record and did not have any combat service. 

 

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(2), for misconduct (drug abuse), with a characterization of service of under other than honorable conditions.  The DD Form 214 shows a Separation Program Designator (SPD) code of JKK and a reentry (RE) code of 4.  

3.  There is no record of any UCMJ action, although the applicant was discharged as a   PVT/E-1.  The action that reduced him in rank is not in his record.

4.  The applicant was separated under Orders 191-2233, DA, HQS, U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence, Fort Benning, GA, with an effective date of on 13 July 2012.  

5.  The applicant’s record does not show any record of unauthorized absences or lost time.

EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD:

There are no counseling statements or UCMJ actions in the record.  However, he 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:

The applicant provided an online application, dated 3 December 2012; a DD Form 214, dated 13 July 2012; a DD Form 149, dated 3 December 2012; and enlistment and reenlistment contracts, dated 14 July 2009 and 1 October 2010.

POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

The applicant did not provide any.

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 available military records, the documents and the issues 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.  The record contains a properly constituted DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), which was 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.  

3.  The DD Form 214 also indicates the applicant was discharged under the provisions of Chapter 14, AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12c(2) by reason of misconduct (drug abuse), with a characterization of service of under other than honorable conditions.  Barring evidence to the contrary, the presumption of government regularity prevails as it appears that all the requirements of law and regulation were met and the rights of the applicant were fully protected throughout the separation process.  

4.  The applicant provided no independent corroborating evidence demonstrating that either the command's action was erroneous or that the applicant’s service mitigated the misconduct or poor duty performance.

5.  The applicant did not properly annotate the enclosed application requesting a possible discharge upgrade.  However, the Army Discharge Review Board considered the applicant for a possible upgrade as instructed in pertinent part by Department of Defense Instruction 1332.28 which stipulates that a request for review from an applicant without an honorable discharge shall be treated as a request for a change to an honorable discharge unless the applicant requests a specific change to another character of discharge.

6.  The applicant contends blocks 12c, d on his DD Form 214 are incorrect and he served his first enlistment honorably and has records of first enlistment and his reenlistment.  However, the applicant’s requested change to the DD Form 214 does not fall within the purview of this Board.  The applicant may apply to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR), using the enclosed DD Form 149 regarding this matter.  A DD Form 149 may also be obtained from a Veterans' Service Organization. 

7.  If the applicant desires a personal appearance hearing, it will be his responsibility to meet the burden of proof and provide the appropriate documents (i.e., the discharge packet) or other evidence sufficient to explain the facts, circumstances, and reasons underlying the separation action, for the Board’s consideration because they are not available in the official record.

8.  Therefore, based on the available evidence and the presumption of government 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:  10 April 2013          Location: Washington, DC

Did the Applicant Testify?  NA 

Counsel: NA

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 Authority for Separation:	N/A
Change RE Code to:	N/A
Grade Restoration to:	N/A
Other:	None





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	UOTHC - Under Other Than                           			               Honorable Conditions


ADRB Case Report and Directive (cont)		AR20120022911



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ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



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