IN THE CASE OF:  	

      BOARD DATE:  	25 October 2013

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20130006925
___________________________________________________________________________

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 discharge from under other than honorable conditions to honorable.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, proper means were not used to discharge her or reduce her in rank.  Her unit never informed her she was being discharged; she was never counseled as to her discharge by anyone in her chain of command or by the unit Retention NCO as per United States Army Reserve Command (USARC) policy.  She never received any certified mail informing her about any reduction in rank or her subsequent discharge from the Reserve.  She requests the following actions be taken:  to have her rank of Specialist/E-4 reinstated with its original date of rank; to have the other than honorable conditions discharge removed from her record; and to be placed in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) until completion of her contractual obligation as per the enclosed DD Form 4 with no flagging actions or bar to reenlist on her records, so she may continue her military service in the future. 

DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a.  Application Receipt Date:		8 April 2013
b.  Discharge Received:			Under Other Than Honorable Conditions
c.  Date of Discharge:			12 October 2010				                    d.  Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code:	NIF/135-178						
e.  Unit of assignment:			B Company, 494th Brigade Support Battalion								Fort Lewis, WA 						         f.   Current Enlistment Date/Term:		13 November 2007, 8 years	
g.  Current Enlistment Service:		2 years, 11 months
h.  Total Service:				2 years, 11 months
i.   Time Lost:				NIF								 j.   Previous Discharges:                       	IADT-(080109-080613)/HD										(Concurrent Service)
k.  Highest Grade Achieved:		E-4
l.   Military Occupational Specialty:	52D10, Power Generation Equipment Repairer
m. GT Score:                       		NIF
n.  Education:                			14 years
o.  Overseas Service:   			None
p.  Combat Service:      			None
q.  Decorations/Awards:           		NDSM, ASR
r.   Administrative Separation Board:  	No
s.  Performance Ratings:              		No
t.  Counseling Statements:              	No
u.  Prior Board Review:			No

SUMMARY OF SERVICE:

The applicant enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve on 13 November 2007 for 8 years. She was 30 years old and had completed two years of college.  She was ordered to initial active duty training on 9 January 2008; she was trained in and awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 52D10, Power Generation Equipment Repairer.  She had no prior enlistments in the Reserves.  Her service record does not reflect any personally earned awards or combat 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 her discharge from the U.S. Army Reserve.  

2.  The available evidence in the record indicates on 5 October 2010, DA, HQS, 88th Regional Support Command, Fort McCoy, WI, Orders 10-278-00011, discharged the applicant from the U.S. Army Reserve, effective 12 October 2010, with an under other than honorable conditions discharge.  The applicant was reduced to the lowest enlisted rank.

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, time lost, negative counseling statements or any actions under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD:

1.  The record contains a Reduction/Discharge Orders 10-278-00011, dated 5 October 2010.

2.  The record also contains an Enlistment/Reenlistment Document, dated 13 November 2007.

EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT:

The applicant provided a DD Form 293, Letter, U.S. Senate, e-mail traffic (7 pages), bank statement (14 pages), and reduction/discharge orders 10-278-00011.

POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

The applicant did not provide any 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 her discharge was carefully considered.  However, after examining the applicant’s record of service, her available military records, the documents and issues 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 U.S. Army Reserves.  However, the record shows on 5 October 2010, DA, HQS, 88th Regional Support Command, Fort McCoy, WI, Orders 10-278-00011, discharged the applicant from the U.S. Army Reserve, effective           12 October 2010, 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 contends proper means were not used to discharge her or reduce her in rank.  
However, there is a presumption of regularity in the conduct of governmental affairs that shall be applied in any review unless there is substantial credible evidence to rebut the presumption.  The applicant bears the burden of overcoming this presumption through the presentation of substantial and credible evidence to support this contention.  There is no evidence in the record, nor has the applicant produced any evidence to support the contention that she was unjustly discharged.

5.  Further, the record contains a discharge order which reduced the applicant to PV1/E-1 and discharged her with an under other than honorable conditions discharge.  AR 600-8-19, when the separation authority determines that a Soldier is to be discharged from the Service under other than honorable conditions, the Soldier will be reduced to the lowest enlisted grade.  Further board action is not required for this reduction.
6.  The applicant further contends the unit never informed her she was being discharged; she was never counseled as to her discharge by anyone in her chain of command or by the unit Retention NCO as per United States Army Reserve Command (USARC) policy.  This contention was carefully considered; however, there is insufficient evidence available in the official record to make a determination as to whether or not this contention has merit.

7.  Also, the available record does not contain any indication or evidence of arbitrary or capricious actions by the command and all requirements of law and regulation were met and the rights of the applicant were fully protected throughout the separation process.   The character of the applicant’s discharge is commensurate with her overall service record.

8.  The applicant additionally contends she never received any certified mail informing her about any reduction in rank nor her subsequent discharge from the Reserve.  However, there is insufficient evidence available in the official record to make a determination as to whether or not this contention has merit.  Moreover, there is a presumption of regularity in the conduct of governmental affairs which is applied in all Army discharge reviews unless there is substantial credible evidence to rebut the presumption.  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.  

9.  Furthermore, the applicant requests the following actions be taken:  to have her rank of Specialist/E-4 reinstated with its original date of rank; to have the other than honorable conditions discharge removed from her record; and to 3be placed in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) until completion of her contractual obligation as per the enclosed DD Form 4 with no flagging actions or bar to reenlist on her records, so she may continue her military service in the future.  However, the actions requested by the applicant DD Form 214 do not fall within the purview of this Army Discharge Review Board.  The applicant may apply to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR), using the enclosed DD Form 149 regarding this matter.  A DD Form 149 may also be obtained from a Veterans' Service Organization. 

10.  If the applicant desires a personal appearance hearing, it will be her 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.

11.  Therefore, based on the available evidence and the presumption of government regularity, it appears that based on the discharge order, the characterization of service was both proper and equitable, thus recommend the Board deny relief. 



SUMMARY OF ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD HEARING:

Type of Hearing:    Records Review     Date:  25 October 2013      Location:  Washington, DC

Did the Applicant Testify:  No

Counsel:  None

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:		No Change
Change RE Code to:			No Change
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)		AR20130006925



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ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



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