IN THE CASE OF:  	

      BOARD DATE:  	25 October 2013

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20130007699
___________________________________________________________________________

Board Determination and Directed Action

After carefully examining the applicant's record of service during the period of enlistment under review, [hearing his testimony] 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 general, under honorable conditions to honorable discharge.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, she was unjustly discharged for acts she did not commit.  She did not use drugs nor admit to using drugs.  She was and is a good Soldier and is taking responsibility for her role in the incident, but the mention of “Spice” is unequivocally false.  No drug/blood tests were taken to prove she use drugs.  She was denied by CID to have an investigation of the charges.  Her situation was confused with other investigations of her unit and blame and accused as being part of those events.  Others who admitted to those acts received honorable discharges.  She was not given the opportunity to properly gather evidence to rebut the discharge proceedings due to the short period of time between her notification and her discharge.  She desires to re-enter the military if her upgrade petition is successful.
 
DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:		23 April 2013
b. Discharge Received:		General, Under Honorable Conditions 
c. Date of Discharge:			19 December 2011
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code:	Misconduct (Serious Offense), AR 635-200 
   Chapter 14-12C/JKQ/3
e. Unit of assignment:			CO H 1 BN 222 AVN REGT TC
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:	4 October 2010/6 years (Active), 2 years (Reserve)
g. Current Enlistment Service:	1 year, 1 month, 16 days
h. Total Service:			1 year, 3 months, 16 days 
i. Time Lost:				None
j. Previous Discharges:		USAR (20100714-20101015), NA
k. Highest Grade Achieved:		E-3
l. Military Occupational Specialty:	15Y10, AH-64D ARM/EL/AC SYS
m. GT Score:				114
n. Education:				HS Graduate
o. Overseas Service:			No
p. Combat Service:			No
q. Decorations/Awards:		NDSM, GWOTSM,ASR
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 Army Reserve on 14 July 2010 for a period of 8 years.  She was 22 years old at the time of entry and a high school graduate.  She entered Active duty in the Army on 4 October 2010 for 6 years.  She served in Arizona and completed 1 year, 1 month, and 16 days of active duty service.  She completed a total of 1 year, 3 months and 16 days of military service.
 
SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES:

1.  On 8 December 2011, the commander notified the applicant of initiation of separation action under Army Regulation 635-200, 14-12c.  Specifically for:

     a.  Failed to be at her appointed place of duty.
     b.  Making false statements.
     c.  Using Spice on several occasion. 

2.  Based on the above misconduct, the commander recommended a general, under honorable conditions discharge.

3.  On 9 December 2011, the applicant consulted with legal counsel, was advised of the impact of the discharge action and did not submit a statement in her own behalf.  The unit commander subsequently recommended separation from the Army and waiver of further rehabilitative efforts.  The intermediate commander reviewed the proposed action and recommended approval with a general, under honorable conditions discharge.  

4.  On 14 December 2011, the separation authority and directed the applicant’s discharge with a characterization of service of general, under honorable conditions.  

5.  The applicant was separated on 19 December 2011, under Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 14-12c, with a general, under honorable, conditions discharge, an SPD code of JKQ, and an RE code of 3.               

6.  The applicant’s record does not contain any evidence of unauthorized absences or time lost.  

EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD:

      
1.  One negative counseling statement, dated 28 November 2011, for drug usage and personal conduct on 18 November 2011.

     a.  Failed to be at her place of duty.

     b.  Made false statements, lied about being absent; claimed she had pneumonia; claimed she was abducted; lied about her whereabouts; claimed she had been assaulted; and, being forced to smoke Spice.

     c.  Smoking Spice.
      
2.  A Williamsburg Police Department Report ,dated18 November 2011, that indicates the applicant was the subject of an investigation for being absent from her place of duty.  Upon further investigation of the hotel where the applicant was located, the police removed one small bag of “Demon’ Ritual Spicy Botanical Potpourri ‘Spice’” and one large bag of “Demon’ Ritual Spicy Botanical Potpourri ‘Spice.’” 

EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT:

The applicant provided a DD 293, dated 11 March 2013. 

POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

None stated.

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 her discharge was carefully considered.  However, after examining the applicant’s record of service, her military records and the issues submitted with the application, there are insufficient mitigating factors to merit an upgrade of the applicant's discharge.  

2.  The record confirms that the applicant’s discharge was appropriate because the quality of her service was not consistent with the Army's standards for acceptable personal conduct and performance of duty by military personnel.  It brought discredit on the Army, and was prejudicial to good order and discipline.  By the misconduct, the applicant diminished the quality her service below that meriting a general or a fully honorable discharge.

3.  The applicant provided no independent corroborating evidence demonstrating that either the command's action was erroneous or that the applicant’s service mitigated the misconduct or poor duty performance.  

4.  The applicant contends there is no evidence to show she used drugs and did not admit to it.  She also contends the upgrade would allow her to reenter military service.  While the applicant’s commander notified her, in part, her separation was due to smoking “Spice,” her discharge was for misconduct (Serious Offense) and not drug use.  The applicant desires to rejoin the Military Service.  However, Soldiers being processed for separation are assigned reentry codes based on their service records or the reason for discharge.  Based on Army Regulation 635-5-1 and the SPD Code/RE Code Cross Reference Table the applicant was appropriately assigned an RE code of 3.  There are no basis upon which to grant a change to the reason or to the RE code.  An RE Code of 3 indicates the applicant requires a waiver prior to being allowed to reenlist.  If reenlistment is desired, the applicant should contact a local recruiter to determine eligibility to reenlist.  Recruiters can best advise a former service member as to the needs of the Army at the time, and are required to process waivers of reentry eligibility (RE) codes if appropriate. 

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

6.  Therefore, the reason for discharge and the characterization of service being both proper and equitable, 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:  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:		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)		AR20130007699



Page 2 of 6 pages


ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



1