IN THE CASE OF:  	Mr. 

      BOARD DATE:  	15 May 2013

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20130006940
___________________________________________________________________________

Board Determination and Directed Action


1.  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 to be both proper and equitable and voted to deny relief.  

2.  However, notwithstanding the propriety of the applicant’s discharge, the Board found that the applicant’s DD Form 214, block 24, contains the erroneous character of service of general, under honorable conditions.  

3.  In view of the error, the Board directed an administrative correction to block 24, character of service to read "uncharacterized,” as approved by the separation authority.  


      
      
      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 general, under honorable conditions discharge to honorable. 

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was not informed by the separation authority or preceding commanders that he would be receiving a General, Under Honorable Conditions discharge prior to his separation.  Consequently he did not have the opportunity to seek legal or administrative assistance in contesting the General under Honorable Conditions discharge.  He further believes that the characterization of service should be Honorable, as opposed to General, Under Honorable or Uncharacterized, because he was not in entry-level status due to serving more than 180 days, and being awarded a Primary and Duty MOS of 11B10 after finishing basic training.

3.  The reason for receiving a discharge officially characterized as General, Under Honorable Conditions, was never disclosed to him and he was under the impression that he would be receiving an Uncharacterized Discharge. 

4.  Reasons for a discharge characterization of General, Under Honorable Conditions are generally preceded by some form of non-judicial punishment.  He has no record or experience of any judicial or non-judicial punishment in his military service, to include any Article 15 or Court-Martial proceedings. 

5.  He believes he should have his characterization of service changed to fully Honorable because of the aforementioned reasons, as well as post service conduct.  He was admitted to several top schools after his discharge. 

DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:		20 September 2012		
b. Discharge Received:		General, Under Honorable Conditions
c. Date of Discharge:			3 June 2010	
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code:	Condition, Not A Disability, AR 635-200, 5-17, JFV, 							RE-3	
e. Unit of assignment:			A Company, 2d Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 						198th Infantry Brigade, Fort Benning, GA		
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:	16 November 2009, 3 years, 18 weeks
g. Current Enlistment Service:	0 years, 6 months, 18 days
h. Total Service:			0 years, 6 months, 18 days
i. Time Lost:				None
j. Previous Discharges:		None
k. Highest Grade Achieved:		E-2
l. Military Occupational Specialty:	None
m. GT Score:				117
n. Education:				HS Graduate
o. Overseas Service:			None	
p. Combat Service:			None
q. Decorations/Awards:		NDSM
r. Administrative Separation Board: 	No
s. Performance Ratings:		None
t. Counseling Statements:		No
u. Prior Board Review:			No
SUMMARY OF SERVICE:		
	
The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 16 November 2009, for a period of 3 years, and 18 weeks.  He was 18 years old at the time of entry, a high school graduate, and completed    0 years, 6 months, and 18 days of active duty service.

SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES:

1.  The evidence of record shows that on 14 May 2010, the unit commander notified the applicant of initiation of separation action under the provisions of Chapter 5, paragraph 5-17, AR 635-200, by reason of physical condition, not a disability, for being diagnosed by competent medical authority with an adjustment disorder with disturbance of conduct; personality disorder NOS, narcissistic traits.

2.  The commander recommended an entry-level, uncharacterized discharge and advised the applicant of his rights.  

3.  On 14 May 2010, the applicant consulted with legal counsel, was advised of the impact of the discharge action, and indicated he would not submit a statement on his own behalf.        

4.  On 25 May 2010, the applicant consulted with legal counsel for a second time and submitted a statement on his own behalf.  The unit commander subsequently recommended separation from the Service.  The intermediate commander reviewed the proposed discharge action and recommended approval of the separation action with an entry-level discharge.  

5.  On 2 June 2010, the separation authority directed the applicant’s discharge with an entry-level, uncharacterized discharge.

6.  The applicant was discharged from the Army on 3 June 2010 with a characterization of service of general, under honorable conditions.

7.  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 an on-line application, a DD Form 293 with a self-authored statement, unofficial copy of an Army/American Council of Education Registry Transcript, a photo welcoming new students to a university, separation authority’s memorandum, acceptance notice from The University of Southern California, ERB, and a DD Form DD 214. 

POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

The applicant states he has been admitted to several prestigious colleges and universities. 

REGULATORY AUTHORITY:

1.  Army Regulation (AR) 635-200 provides the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel.  Paragraph 5-17 specifically provides that a Soldier may be separated for other physical or mental conditions not amounting to a disability, which interferes with assignment to or performance of duty and requires that the diagnosis be so severe that the Soldier’s ability to function in the military environment is significantly impaired.  

2.  AR 635-200, paragraph 5-1, states that a Soldier being separated under this paragraph will be awarded a characterization of service of honorable, under honorable conditions, or an uncharacterized description of service if in entry-level status.  

3.  A general, under honorable conditions discharge is normally inappropriate for individuals separated under the provisions of Chapter 5-17 unless properly notified of the specific factors in the service that warrant such characterization.

DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The applicant’s request for an upgrade of the characterization of his discharge was carefully considered.

2.  After a careful review of all the applicant’s military records for the period of enlistment under review and the issue, and documents submitted with the application, the characterization of service is improper.  

3.  Army Regulation 635-200 provides, except in cases of serious misconduct, that a Soldier’s service will be uncharacterized when the separation is initiated while the Soldier is in entry level status.  AR 635-200 defines entry level status for active duty Soldiers as the period of the first 180 days of continuous active duty.  The evidence of record shows the unit commander notified the applicant of initiation of discharge proceedings prior to the applicant completing 180 days of continuous active duty, thus he was still in entry level status.   

4.  The applicant contends that since leaving the Army he has been admitted to several prestigious colleges and universities.  The applicant’s post-service accomplishments have been noted as outlined on the application and in the documents with the application.  However, in review of the applicant’s entire service record and the reasons for the discharge, it appears that these accomplishments did not overcome the reason for discharge and characterization of service granted.  

5.  The Army Discharge Review Board is authorized to consider post-service factors in the    re-characterization of a discharge.  However, there is no law or regulation which provides an unfavorable discharge may be upgraded based solely on the passage of time or good conduct in civilian life subsequent to leaving the service.  Outstanding post-service conduct, to the extent such matters provide a basis for a more thorough understanding of the applicant’s performance and conduct during the period of service under review, is considered during Board proceedings.  The Board reviews each discharge on a case-by-case basis to determine if post-service accomplishments help demonstrate previous in-service misconduct was an aberration and not indicative of the member’s overall character.

6.  The records show the proper discharge and separation procedures were followed in this case.  

7.  Notwithstanding the propriety of the applicant's discharge, the record shows that someone in the discharge process erroneously entered on the applicant's DD Form 214, block 24, character of service as general, under honorable conditions.  In view of the foregoing, it is recommended that an administrative change be made to block 24, character of service to "uncharacterized," as approved by the separation authority.  Except for the foregoing modification to the applicant's characterization of service, the discharge was both proper and equitable, recommend the Board deny relief.  


















SUMMARY OF ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD HEARING:

Type of Hearing: Records Review		  Date:  15 May 2013      Location: Washington, DC

Did the Applicant Testify?  No 

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:		Yes
Change Characterization to:	Uncharcterized
Change Reason to:			No Change
Change Authority for Separation:	No Change
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)		AR20130006940



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ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



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