IN THE CASE OF:  	Mr. 

      BOARD DATE:  	15 May 2013

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20130001665
___________________________________________________________________________

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 under other than honorable conditions discharge to honorable.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, his discharge should be changed because his loosing unit and various others within the Army failed to communicate with him.  He moved somewhat abruptly due to financial and family issues.  He had previously been instructed to fill out an RST form and to submit it to his old unit; however, he did not know how to fill the form out.  He had asked for instructions on how to fill the form out and was not given any help.  Once he had relocated he contacted a career counselor.  With the help of the career counselor he selected a unit.  Unfortunately, he was provided outdated contact information for the new unit.  When he tried to re-contact the career counselor the counselor did not respond by phone or email.   

He then attempted working with recruiters locally to find another career counselor, or find a local unit to transfer into, or help him with an RST form.  The NCO's were not at all willing to help him.   After approximately 8 months of not receiving any help, he was notified he was being discharged. When he attempted to contact JAG, he received no response and no call back.  One of the attachments to the document notifying him of his discharge was very unprofessional and falsified.  A career counselor he had never spoken to wrote up a DA Form 4856 stating that he had talked to the applicant and he had moved to Arizona to join the Arizona National Guard. The career counselor also stated that he had talked to the applicant’s mother, which when asked, she had no knowledge of the supposed conversation. 

After roughly 10 months after moving, he was able to contact a career counselor that was willing to help.  He directed the applicant to a local unit that he could transfer into and allowed him to speak with the unit about transferring. Unfortunately, the NCO helping him from the unit immediately started annual training for two weeks. When he got back and was able to help the applicant get transferred into that unit, the NCO notified him that he had been discharged the previous week.  He was not notified by the unit.  He has most of the documents to support his claim; others were emailed from AKO, which is now unavailable to him.
 
DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:		14 January 2013		
b. Discharge Received:		Under Other Than Honorable Conditions
c. Date of Discharge:			3 November 2011	
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code:	NIF, AR135-178, NIF, NIF	
e. Unit of assignment:			671st EN CO (-), (WTBAA1), Portland, OR		
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:	17 April 2009, 8 years
g. Current Enlistment Service:	2 years, 6 months, 16 days
h. Total Service:			2 years, 6 months, 16 days
i. Time Lost:				None
j. Previous Discharges:		None
k. Highest Grade Achieved:		E-3
l. Military Occupational Specialty:	NIF
m. GT Score:				NIF
n. Education:				HS Graduate
o. Overseas Service:			None
p. Combat Service:			None
q. Decorations/Awards:		None
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 17 April 2009 for a period of 6 years.  He was      18 years old at the time of entry, a high school graduate, and completed 2 years, 6 months, and 16 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 27 October 2011, DA HQS, 88th Regional Support Command, Fort McCoy, WI, Orders number 11-300-00148, discharged the applicant from the Army Reserve, effective 3 November 2011, with an under other than 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 under other than 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 record.

EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT:

 The applicant provided an on-line application, various email, a counseling statement that is unsigned by the applicant dated, 6 April 2011; Request for Reserve Component Assignment or Attachment dated, 3 March 2011; and 2 copies of discharge orders number 11-300-00148. 


POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

The applicant provided none.

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 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.  However, the record shows that on 27 October 2011, DA HQS, 88th Regional Support Command, Fort McCoy, WI, Orders number 11-300-00148, discharged the applicant from the Army Reserve, effective 3 November 2011, with an under other than 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 his loosing unit and various others within the Army failed to communicate with him 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:  15 May 2013          Location: Washington, DC

Did the Applicant Testify?  No 

Counsel: None

Witnesses/Observers: NA 

Board Vote:
Character Change:  1	No Change:  4
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)		AR20130001665



Page 5 of 5 pages


ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



1