IN THE CASE OF:  	Mr. 

      BOARD DATE:  	1 May 2013

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20130005477
___________________________________________________________________________

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 discharge from general, under other than honorable conditions discharge (sic) to honorable.  

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that from the day he became a U.S. Soldier, he dedicated his life to the Army.  He was truly the definition of a Soldier who represented the Army, maxed all of his PT tests, met all of the requirements, became a squad leader in Afghanistan, and was awarded a CAB.  It wasn’t until he started losing his buddies and his grandfather while in Afghanistan that his life started to decline.  Upon returning from Afghanistan, he was diagnosed with depression, severe anxiety, PTSD, a severe back injury and now he is being tested for a TBI.  The medicines he was taking did not help him cope with his issues, so he turned to marijuana.  He realizes that he made a bad decision and has learned from it.  He is now back home and needs an upgrade in order to get medical treatment and provide for his family.  

DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:		18 March 2013
b. Discharge Received:		Under Other Than Honorable Conditions
c. Date of Discharge:			11 May 2012
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE:		Misconduct (Serious Offense), AR 635-200
paragraph 14-12c, JKQ, RE-4        
e. Unit of assignment:			TF, C Company, 1-66th Armor, 1BCT APO, AE 09335 
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:	1 October 2010, 2 years 
g. Current Enlistment Service:	2 years, 11 months, 03 days
h. Total Service:			4 years, 00 months, 19 days
i. Time Lost:				None
j. Previous Discharges:		ARNG (080610-090609), HD                                     						RA (090610-100930), HD
k. Highest Grade Achieved:		E-3	
l. Military Occupational Specialty:	19K10, Armor Crewman
m. GT Score:				NIF
n. Education:				HS Graduate
o. Overseas Service:			SWA
p. Combat Service:			Afghanistan (100809-110621)
q. Decorations/Awards:		ARCOM, NDSM, ACM-w/CS-2, GWOTSM, ASR 						OSR, NATO MDL, CAB
r. Administrative Separation Board: 	No
s. Performance Ratings:		No
t. Counseling Statements:		Yes	
u. Prior Board Review:			No




SUMMARY OF SERVICE:		
	
The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 10 June 2009, for a period of 2 years.  He was 18 years old at the time of enlistment and had a high school diploma.  He was serving at Fort Carson, CO when his discharge was initiated.  He was awarded an ARCOM and a CAB.  

SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES

1.  The applicant’s record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to his discharge from the Army.  The record contains a properly constituted DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), which was not authenticated by the applicant’s signature.  

2.  The DD Form 214 indicates the applicant was discharged under the provisions of Chapter 14, AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12c, for misconduct (serious offense), with a characterization of service of under other than honorable conditions.  The DD Form 214 shows a Separation Program Designator (SPD) code of JKQ and a reentry (RE) code of 4.  

3.  The applicant’s available record does not contain any AWOL or lost time.    

EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD

There are no counseling statements or UCMJ actions in the available record.  The applicant was discharged as a PV1; the action that reduced his rank is not in the record either.

EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT 

The applicant provided a DD Form 293; a self-authored statement, medical documents, a Hero of the Battle Certificate; an Honorable Discharge Certificate from the Army National Guard; and a DD Form 214.

POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

None were provided with the application.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY  

1. Army Regulation 635-200 sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel.  Chapter 14 establishes policy and prescribes procedures for separating members for misconduct.  Specific categories include minor disciplinary infractions, a pattern of misconduct, and commission of a serious offense, to include abuse of illegal drugs, convictions by civil authorities and desertion or being absent without leave.  Action will be taken to separate a member for misconduct when it is clearly established that rehabilitation is impractical or unlikely to succeed.  Army policy states that an under other than honorable conditions discharge is normally considered appropriate; however, a general, under honorable conditions or an honorable discharge may be granted.   
2.  Army Regulation 635-200, paragraph 3-7a, provides that an honorable discharge is a separation with honor and entitles the recipient to benefits provided by law.  The honorable characterization is appropriate when the quality of the member’s service generally has met the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty for Army personnel, or is otherwise so meritorious that any other characterization would be clearly inappropriate.  Whenever there is doubt, it is to be resolved in favor of the individual.

3.  Army Regulation 635-200, paragraph 3-7b, provides that a general discharge is a separation from the Army under honorable conditions.  When authorized, it is issued to a Soldier whose military record is satisfactory but not sufficiently meritorious to warrant an honorable discharge.  A characterization of under honorable conditions may be issued only when the reason for the Soldier’s separation specifically allows such characterization.

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, 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 his discharge from the Army.  However, the applicant’s record does contain a properly constituted DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), which was not authenticated by the applicant's signature.  This document identifies the reason and characterization of the discharge and the presumption of government regularity prevails in the discharge process.  

3.  The DD Form 214 indicates the applicant was discharged under the provisions of Chapter 14, AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12c by reason of misconduct (serious offense), with a characterization of service of under other than honorable conditions.  Barring evidence to the contrary, it appears that all requirements of law and regulation were met and the rights of the applicant were fully protected throughout the separation process.  

4.  The applicant contends circumstances beyond his control contributed to his misconduct.  Specifically, he claims PTSD, medical, the loss his fellow Soldiers, and family issues at home caused his depression and resulted in his discharge.  However, it is not possible to determine if these contentions have merit because the facts and circumstances leading to the discharge are unknown.  The burden of proof remains with the applicant to provide the appropriate documents or other evidence (i.e. discharge packet) sufficient to explain the facts, circumstances, and reasons underlying the separation action, for the Board's consideration.  If the applicant desires a personal appearance hearing, it will be his responsibility to meet this burden of proof since the evidence is not available in the official record.

5.  The applicant expressed his desire to have better job opportunities and be able to get medical treatment.  However, the Board does not grant relief for the purpose of gaining employment or enhancing employment opportunities.  Further, eligibility for veteran's benefits to include educational benefits under the Post-9/11 or Montgomery GI Bill does not fall within the purview of the Army Discharge Review Board.  Accordingly, the applicant should contact a local office of the Department of Veterans Affairs for further assistance.

6.  Therefore, based on the available evidence and the government presumption of regularity, 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: Records Review	  	Date:  1 May 2013		Location: Washington, DC

Did the Applicant Testify?  NA 

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 RE Code to:		N/A
Grade Restoration to:		N/A
Change Authority for Separation:	N/A
Other:					N/A











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)		AR20130005477

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ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



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