IN THE CASE OF:  	Ms. 

      BOARD DATE:  	23 August 2013

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20130005169
___________________________________________________________________________

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 her under other than honorable conditions discharge to honorable.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, she did not receive any responses when she called the unit.  The unit was deactivated and she did not have a point of contact (POC) to answer her questions.  The last communication (counseling) she had with her unit was notification of being transferred to the IRR until she got her family care plan (FCP) documentation.  When she completed her FCP, no one was available at the unit to let her know the next plan of action.
 
DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:			11 March 2013
b. Discharge Received:			Under Other Than Honorable Conditions
c. Date of Discharge:				28 November 2006
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code:		Unsatisfactory Participant, AR 135-178, 								Chapter 13, RE NIF, SPD NA
e. Unit of assignment:				HHD, 468th QM Bn, 10031 E. Northwest Hwy, 							Dallas, TX 75238, (TPU) 90th RSC		
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:		23 July 2002, 6 years
g. Current Enlistment Service:		4 years, 4 months, 5 days
h. Total Service:				12 years, 3 months, 5 days
i. Time Lost:					None
j. Previous Discharges:			USAR-(940823-950118)/NA									IADT-(950118-950524)/UNC									USAR-(950525-960905)/NA									USARCG-(960906-961029)/NA									USAR-(961030-020722)/NA
k. Highest Grade Achieved:			E-5
l. Military Occupational Specialty:		75H10, Personnel Management Specialist
m. GT Score:					88
n. Education:					HS Graduate
o. Overseas Service:				NIF
p. Combat Service:				NIF
q. Decorations/Awards:			NIF
r. Administrative Separation Board: 		No
s. Performance Ratings:			Yes
t. Counseling Statements:			No
u. Prior Board Review:				No

SUMMARY OF SERVICE:		
	
The applicant served in the Army Reserve and reenlisted on 23 July 2002.  She was 28 years old at the time of reenlistment and a high school graduate.  She served for a total of 12 years, 
3 months, and 5 days of active and inactive service and attained the rank of SGT/E-5.  Her record does not contain any significant awards or acts of valor.

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 28 November 2006, DA HQS, 90th Regional Readiness Command, North Little Rock, AR, Orders number 06-332-00005, discharged the applicant from the Army Reserve, effective 28 November 2006, 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 paragraph 13-1, AR 135-178, by reason of unsatisfactory participation, 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 a detailed self-authored statement with her account of the events that led to her discharge from the USAR; FCP documents, 13 pages, and discharge orders.

POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

None were provided with the application.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY:

1.  Army Regulation 135-178 governs procedures covering enlisted personnel management of the Army Reserve.  Chapter 13 provides in pertinent part, that individuals can be separated for being an unsatisfactory participant.  Army Regulation 135-91 states that a member is an unsatisfactory participant when nine or more unexcused absences from scheduled drills acrue during a 1 year period and attempts to have the Soldier respond or comply with orders or correspondence have resulted in— the Soldier’s refusal to comply with orders or correspondence; or a notice sent by certified mail was refused, unclaimed, or otherwise undeliverable; or verification that the Soldier has failed to notify the command of a change of address and reasonable attempts to contact the Soldier have failed.  Discharge action may be taken when the Soldier cannot be located or is absent in the hands of civil authorities in accordance with the provisions of AR 135-91, paragraph 2-18, and Chapter 3, section IV, of AR 135–178.   

2.  Army policy states that an under other than honorable conditions discharge is normally considered appropriate; however, a general discharge under honorable conditions or an honorable discharge may be granted.  

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 her discharge was carefully considered.  However, after examining the applicant’s record of service, her 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 Reserves.  However, the record shows that on 28 November 2006, DA HQS, 90th Regional Readiness Command, North Little Rock, AR, discharged the applicant from the Army Reserve, effective 28 November 2006, 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 the unit failing to return her phone calls and not having a POC 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:  23 August 2013	Location: Washington, DC

Did the Applicant Testify?  No

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:	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)		AR20130005169



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ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



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