IN THE CASE OF:  	Ms.

      BOARD DATE:  	19 March 2014

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20130007752
___________________________________________________________________________

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 general, under honorable conditions discharge to honorable.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that she deserves to receive an honorable discharge because she was unable to perform her duties due to injuries that occurred while serving on active duty.  Upon her arrival at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, she was involved in an auto accident.  During that time period, she was unable to travel to Texas for drills, so she performed her duties at the Army Reserve Unit in Rockford, IL.  She performed her duties with Sergeant First Class (SFC) F, Army Reserve career counselor, at 1130 Arthur Ave, Rockford, IL.  Each time she performed duties outside of her assigned location, she submitted a DA Form 1380-1-R to her commander in Texas for approval.  Her commander refused her request and did not correspond with the proper documentation providing her with a decision.  She has been receiving ongoing treatment for her disabilities at the Rockford, IL, VAOPC and the Madison, WI, VAMC.  She has also received care from private care providers.  Private medical records are enclosed to provide evidence of her treatment and rehabilitation.

DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:			19 April 2013
b. Discharge Received:			General Under Honorable Conditions
c. Date of Discharge:				22 March 2013
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code:		AR 135-178, Chapter NIF
e. Unit of assignment:				14th BN 95th REGT (OD) Grand Prairie, TX 							78751 80th TRNG CMD(TASS)	
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:		USAR 1 October 2009, 6 years
g. Current Enlistment Service:		3 years, 5 months, 21 days, NIF
h. Total Service:				25 years, 1 month, 24 days
i. Time Lost:					None
j. Previous Discharges:			USAR (750708-750915), NA									RA (750916-790615), HD										(Break in Service)											USAR (851101-860815), HD									USAR (860816-920815), HD									(Break in Service)											USAR (981019-090430), NIF									RA (090401-090930),HD				
k. Highest Grade Achieved:			E-6
l. Military Occupational Specialty:		63B30, Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic
m. GT Score:					112
n. Education:					HS Graduate
o. Overseas Service:				NIF
p. Combat Service:				NIF
q. Decorations/Awards:			ARCOM-2, AAM, AGCM, NDSM, 									NPDR-2, ASR, AFRM-w/M DEV, WACSM
r. Administrative Separation Board: 		No
s. Performance Ratings:			Yes
t. Counseling Statements:			No
u. Prior Board Review:				No

SUMMARY OF SERVICE:		
	
On 8 July 1975, the applicant joined the Regular Army for four years and received an honorable discharge.  She was 22 years old at the time and a high school graduate.  She had a break in service and joined the USAR in 1985, served until 1992, had another break in service until 1998, rejoined the USAR and was discharged in 2013.  Her record shows she was awarded two ARCOMs and two AAMs.  She served a total of 25 years, 1 month and 24 days of active and USAR service.  

SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES:

1.  The available evidence shows the applicant’s record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to her discharge from the United States Army Reserve.  

2.  The record indicates that on 15 March 2013, Department of the Army, Headquarters, 63rd Regional Support Command, Mountain View, CA, Orders 13-074-00016, discharged the applicant from the United States Army Reserve, effective 22 March 2013, with a general, under honorable conditions discharge.

3.  The applicant’s record contains no evidence of unauthorized absences or time lost.

EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD:

Two successful NCOERs covering the period 1 July 2010 through 30 June 2012.

EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT:

The applicant provided a DD Form 293, DD Form 214, discharge orders, transfer orders, personal data print-out, chronological statement of retirement points, a voluminous medical records, numerous DA Form 1380s, some email correspondence and three CD-R disks containing additional medical records. 

POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

None were provided 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 US 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 and the issues submitted with the application, there are insufficient mitigating factors to merit an upgrade of the applicant's discharge.  The available record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to her discharge from the Army Reserve.  

2.  The applicant’s available record contains a properly constituted Order which was authenticated by the appropriate military authority.  This document identifies the characterization of the discharge and the presumption of government regularity prevails in the discharge process.  

3.  Barring evidence to the contrary, it appears all requirements of law and regulation were met and the rights of the applicant were fully protected throughout the separation process.  

4.  The applicant provided no independent corroborating evidence demonstrating that either the command's action was erroneous or that her service mitigated the type of discharge she received from the U.S. Army Reserve.   

5.  The applicant contends she deserves to receive an honorable discharge because she was unable to perform her duties due to injuries that occurred while serving on active duty.  She was involved in an auto accident and was unable to travel to Texas for drills, so she performed her duties at the Army Reserve Unit in Rockford, IL.  Each time she performed duties outside of her assigned location, she submitted DA Form 1380-1-R to her commander in Texas for approval; however, the commander refused her request and did not correspond with the proper documentation providing her with a decision.  The applicant provided numerous medical documentation and DA Form 1380s etc; however, there is insufficient evidence available in the official record to make a determination upon the applicant's quality of service and the complete facts and circumstances surrounding her discharge.  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.  

6.  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.

7.  Therefore, based on the available evidence, 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:  Record Review       Date:  19 March 2014       Location:  Washington, DC

Did the Applicant Testify:  NA

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:	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)		AR20130007752



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ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



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