IN THE CASE OF:  	Ms. 

      BOARD DATE:  	15 July 2013

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20130001838
___________________________________________________________________________

Board Determination and Directed Action

1.  After carefully examining the applicant’s available record of service during the period of enlistment under review, and considering the Discussion and Recommendation which follows, the Board determined the discharge was improper.  

2.  The evidence of record shows the applicant was retained in the USAR beyond her expiration term of service (ETS) date.  Under the provisions of AR 135-178, retention beyond a Soldier’s ETS to process an administrative separation pursuant to this regulation is not authorized unless the Soldier is pending court-martial charges.  The available evidence of record shows the applicant was not pending court-martial charges and therefore was not eligible to be retained for the purpose of administrative discharge. 

3.  Accordingly, the Board voted to grant full relief in the form of an upgrade of the characterization of service to honorable, a change to the narrative reason for separation to Secretarial Authority, and a change of the Reentry Eligibility (RE) code to 1.  






      
      
      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 her general, under honorable conditions discharge to honorable.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, her unit accepted a longer, invalid re-enlistment contract instead of the actual, valid enlistment.  The discharge her unit processed came after the date of the actual date of the discharge.  She had relocated over 1000 miles to be with her sick mother.  She was prevented from drilling by the 1SG.  She was provided a hearing; however, the outcome was tainted by her captain (CPT) conversing with the lieutenant colonel (LTC).
 
DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:			4 December 2012
b. Discharge Received:			General, Under Honorable Conditions
c. Date of Discharge:				30 November 2012
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code:		AR 135-178, Chapter NIF
e. Unit of assignment:				302nd IO, Fort Totten, NY  	
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:		13 February 2006, 6 years
g. Current Enlistment Service:		6 years, 09 months, 17 days
h. Total Service:				13 years, 04 months, 11 days
i. Time Lost:					None
j. Previous Discharges:			USAR (970224-000131), NIF									Break in Service											USAR (010114-040901), GD									Break in Service					
k. Highest Grade Achieved:			E-4
l. Military Occupational Specialty:		44B10, Metal Worker
m. GT Score:					112
n. Education:					College 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:		
	
The applicant served in the USAR from 1997 to 2000, had a break in service, rejoined the USAR in 2001 until 2004, and had another break in service until 2006.  The applicant obtained the rank of E-4.  On 13 February 2006, the applicant rejoined in the Army Reserve for a period of 6 years.  She was 26 years old at the time and was a college graduate.  She served a total of 13 years, 4 months and 11 days in the USAR.  Her record is void of 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 her discharge from the United States Army Reserve.  

2.  The record indicates that on 30 November 2012, Department of the Army, Headquarters, 99th Regional Support Command, Fort Dix, NJ, Orders 12-326-00071, discharged the applicant from the United States Army Reserve, effective 30 November 2012, 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 available record is void of any evidence of unauthorized absences or time lost for the period under review.  

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 an online application with her account of the events that led to her discharge from the USAR.

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 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.  After a careful review of all the applicant’s available military records and the issue and documents submitted with the application, the evidence of record shows the applicant was retained in the USAR beyond her expiration term of service (ETS) date.  Under the provisions of AR 135-178, retention beyond a Soldier’s ETS to process an administrative separation pursuant to this regulation is not authorized unless the Soldier is pending court-martial charges.  The available evidence of record shows that the applicant was not pending court-martial charges and therefore was not eligible to be retained for the purpose of administrative discharge. 

2.  In view of the foregoing, it was determined that the discharge was and is improper.  Accordingly, it is recommended to the board that relief be granted in the form of an upgrade of the characterization of service to fully honorable and a change to the narrative reason for separation to Secretarial Authority.  This action does not entail a change to the reentry eligibility (RE) code; however, the Board can consider it. 





















SUMMARY OF ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD HEARING:

Type of Hearing:  Record Review             Date:  15 July 2013          Location: Washington, DC

Did the Applicant Testify?  No

Counsel:  yes [ redacted ]

Witnesses/Observers: NA 

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

Board Action Directed:
Issue a new Discharge Order:  	Yes
Change Characterization to:  	Honorable
Change Reason to:  		Secretarial Authority 
Change Authority to:  		AR 135-178, Chapter 14-1
Change RE Code to:  		1
Grade Restoration to:  		NA

TO: ARBA Promulgation Team. Arlington, VA                             Date: 17 July 2013                

     The Army Discharge Review Board, under the provisions of Title 10, United States Code, Section 1553, in the case of the applicant named in page 1, directs the ARBA Promulgation Team, Arlington, VA to issue a new discharge order to the applicant which reflects the following directed changes:

           ( X  )	Change characterization of discharge to Honorable
           ( X  )	Change Reason to Secretarial Authority
           ( X  )	Change Authority to AR 135-178, Chapter 14-1
           ( X  )	Change RE Code to:  RE-1






+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)		AR20130001838



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ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



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