IN THE CASE OF:  	

      BOARD DATE:  	7 October 2013

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20130001829
___________________________________________________________________________

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 general, under honorable conditions.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he joined the Army Reserve in November 2008 and he honestly did not have any guidance as to what to do and what would be expected of him. After signing his contract, he was introduced to his unit and was told that he should start attending drills before basic training.  He never completed BCT, but asked his unit multiple times to be returned to training so that he could complete BCT and AIT. He never got a response, so he went on to join ROTC.  While in school and doing ROTC, he was able to get guidance from a few officers in USAREC.  He never really got a chance to complete what he started and joined the military for. He wants to be able to get a chance to complete BCT and AIT and help defend this nation when possible.  He would be honored to serve in the US Army.  He asks for the discharge to be changed to a GD so that he can do the right thing.  

DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:			23 January 2013
b. Discharge Received:			Under Other Than Honorable Conditions
c. Date of Discharge:				24 August 2012
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code:		AR 135-178, Chapter NIF
e. Unit of assignment:				7238th Medical Support Unit, Fort Hamilton, NY	
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:		26 November 2008, 8 years
g. Current Enlistment Service:		3 years, 8 months, 28 days
h. Total Service:				3 years, 8 months, 28 days
i. Time Lost:					None
j. Previous Discharges:			None
k. Highest Grade Achieved:			E-4
l. Military Occupational Specialty:		68X10, Behavioral Health Specialist
m. GT Score:					NIF
n. Education:					HS Graduate
o. Overseas Service:				None
p. Combat Service:				None
q. Decorations/Awards:			NIF
r. Administrative Separation Board: 		No
s. Performance Ratings:			None
t. Counseling Statements:			No
u. Prior Board Review:				No
SUMMARY OF SERVICE:		
	
On 26 November 2008, the applicant joined the Army Reserve for a period of 8 years.  He was 19 years old at the time and was a high school graduate.  He served a total of 3 years, 8 months and 28 days in the US Army Reserve.  His record does not contain any significant awards or acts of valor.

SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES:

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

2.  The record indicates that on 17 August 2012, Department of the Army, Headquarters, 99th Regional Support Command, Fort Dix, NJ, Orders 12-2300073, discharged the applicant from the United States Army Reserve, effective 24 August 2012, with an under other than honorable conditions discharge.

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

EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD:

Discharge order.

EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT:

The applicant provided an online application without any additional supporting documentation.

POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

None provided with the application.

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 and the issues submitted with the application, there are insufficient mitigating factors to merit an upgrade of the applicant's discharge.  The available record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to his discharge from the Army Reserve.  

2.  The applicant’s available record contains a properly constituted discharge order which was authenticated by the appropriate military authority.  This document identifies the characterization of the discharge and the presumption of government regularity prevails in the discharge process.  

3.  Barring evidence to the contrary, it appears all 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 his service mitigated the type of discharge he received from the U.S. Army Reserve.   

5.  The applicant contends that he was unable to complete basic training and asked his unit for the opportunity to do so but he never received a response and would like to rejoin the Army and complete what he started.  However, at the time of discharge, the applicant received an under other than honorable conditions characterization of service.  Army Regulation 601-280 stipulates that an under other than honorable conditions discharge constitutes a non-waivable disqualification, thus the applicant is no longer eligible for reenlistment.   Moreover, the record does not contain any indication or evidence of arbitrary or capricious actions by the command, thus the presumption of government regularity prevails in the discharge process.

6.  It is the applicant’s 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.  

7.  The applicant requested a change to the narrative reason for his discharge; however, the specific reason for his discharge is unknown because the discharge packet is not contained in his personnel record.

8.  Therefore, based on the available evidence, 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:  Record Review  	Date:  7 October 2013	Location: Washington, DC

Did the Applicant Testify?   No

Counsel:  None

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 Discharge Order:		No
Change Characterization to:		No Change
Change Reason to:				No Change
Change RE Code to:			No Change	
Grade Restoration to:			NA
Change Authority for Separation:		No Change
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 Conditions
ADRB Case Report and Directive (cont)		AR20130001829

Page 5 of 5 pages


ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



1