IN THE CASE OF:  	Mr.

      BOARD DATE:  	12 June 2013

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20130001347
___________________________________________________________________________

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 his general, under honorable conditions discharge be upgraded to honorable.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he became ill from the anthrax vaccines at the mobilization station and consequently could not deploy with his unit.  It was determined by a medical professional that he could not receive the remainder of the vaccines to go overseas and could never receive the anthrax vaccine again.  He was released from active duty and told he was being placed in the inactive ready reserve (IRR).  When he returned home he was activated again about six months later and attached to another unit that was deploying.  However, the unit commander decided to cancel his orders due to his situation and he was once again told he was being placed in the IRR.  He was never given any further instructions.  When he ordered his records he discovered he had been given a general, under honorable conditions discharge from the USAR and is associated with missing drill weekends.  The letters he was sent were mailed to an old address and the forwarding process through the post office had expired.  It is for these reasons that he is asking for an upgrade.  He served honorable and had outstanding conduct.
 
DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:		18 January 2013			
b. Discharge Received:		General, Under Honorable Conditions
c. Date of Discharge:			6 December 2005	
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code:	AR 135-178, NIF/NIF	
e. Unit of assignment:			211th TC CO, TRANS CARGO TRF, Long Beach, CA	
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:	15 May 2003, 8 years (concurrent service)
g. Current Enlistment Service:	2 years, 6 months, 21 days
h. Total Service:			4 years, 8 months, 12 days
i. Time Lost:				None
j. Previous Discharges:		USAR 010324-030120, NA
						RA      030121-030514, HD
k. Highest Grade Achieved:		E-3
l. Military Occupational Specialty:	88M10, Motor Transport Operator
m. GT Score:				NIF
n. Education:				HS Graduate
o. Overseas Service:			None
p. Combat Service:			None
q. Decorations/Awards:		NDSM, AFRM-M, ASR
r. Administrative Separation Board: 	No
s. Performance Ratings:		None
t. Counseling Statements:		No
u. Prior Board Review:			No
SUMMARY OF SERVICE:		
	
The applicant enlisted in the Army Reserve on 24 March 2001 for a period of 8 years.  He was      17 years old at the time of entry and a high school graduate.  He completed a total of 4 years, 8 months, and 12 days of military service.

SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES:

1.  The applicant’s service record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to his discharge from the Army Reserve.  

2.  The available evidence in the record indicates that on 6 December 2005, DA HQS, 63d Regional Readiness Command, Los Alamitos, CA, Orders number 05-340-00062, discharged the applicant from the Army Reserve, effective 6 December 2005, with a general, under honorable conditions discharge.  

3.  The record contains a properly constituted order which indicates the applicant was discharged under the provisions of AR 135-178, with a characterization of service of General, under honorable conditions.   

4.  The applicant’s service record does not contain any evidence of unauthorized absences or time lost.  

EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD:

There are no counseling statements or UCMJ actions in the available record.

EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT:

The applicant provided a DD Form 293, a memorandum, dated 7 May 2003; orders 05-34-00062, and a DD Form 214.

POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

None were provided by the applicant.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY:

1.  Army Regulation 135-178 sets forth the policies, standards, and procedures to ensure the readiness and competency of the U.S. Army while providing for the orderly administrative separation of Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) enlisted Soldiers for a variety of reasons. The separation policies throughout the different Chapters in this regulation promote the readiness of the Army by providing an orderly means to judge the suitability of persons to serve on the basis of their conduct and their ability to meet required standards of duty performance and discipline.  Specific categories include minor disciplinary infractions, a pattern of misconduct, and commission of a serious offense, to include abuse of illegal drugs, and convictions by civil authorities.  

2.  The characterization is based upon the quality of the Soldier’s service, including the reason for separation and determined in accordance with standards of acceptable personal conduct and performance of duty as found in the UCMJ, Army Regulations, and the time-honored customs and traditions of the Army.  The reasons for separation, including the specific circumstances that form the basis for the discharge are considered on the issue of characterization. 

3.   Possible characterizations of service include an honorable, general, under honorable conditions, under other than honorable conditions, or uncharacterized if the Soldier is in entry-level status.  However, the permissible range of characterization varies based on the reason for separation.  

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 issues and documents 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 the former Soldier’s discharge from the Army Reserve.  However, the record shows that on 6 December 2005, DA HQS, 63d Regional Readiness Command, Los Alamitos, CA, Orders number 05-340-00062, discharged the applicant from the Army Reserve, effective 6 December 2005, with a general, under honorable conditions discharge.  

3.  Barring evidence to the contrary, the presumption of government regularity shall prevail, 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's contentions about being medically released to the IRR were carefully considered.  However, there is insufficient evidence available in the official record to make a determination upon the applicant's quality of service.  There is no evidence in the record, nor has the applicant produced any evidence, to support a change to the characterization of service granted.  The applicant’s statements alone do not overcome the presumption of government regularity and the application contains no documentation or further evidence in support of this request for an upgrade of the discharge.  

5.  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.

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

SUMMARY OF ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD HEARING:

Type of Hearing: Records Review		  Date:  12 June 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 Authority for Separation:	NA
Change RE Code to:		NA
Grade Restoration to:		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	UOTHC - Under Other Than                           			               Honorable Conditions


ADRB Case Report and Directive (cont)		AR20130001347



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ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



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