IN THE CASE OF:  	Mr. 

      BOARD DATE:  	13 December 2013

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20130008956
___________________________________________________________________________

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 honorable conditions to honorable.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, the reason behind his actions that led to his discharge were made under extenuating circumstances.  He states after redeploying from a 15 month deployment to Iraq, and as the youngest Soldier, to deploy to Iraq at age 17, he had several accomplishments and was recognized for his hard work and promptly promoted.  He went home on leave for two weeks only to discover his father was sick and homeless.  He tried to get his father enrolled in DEERs, but his condition was severe.  He was unable to extend his leave to take care of his father, and it was at that point he made the decision to stay to resolve the situation.  He periodically called the unit to keep them informed about his situation.  When he resolved the situation with his father, he returned to his unit and accepted the punishment like a true Soldier.  Upon his return to his unit, he was given the decision to take a discharge due to family hardship, which could have taken up to nine months, or be chaptered out and go home faster.  Because of his father’s illness he chose to be chaptered out and was subsequently demoted to E-1 and discharged.  He proudly served his country and has continued to improve his life since his discharge.  He has nearly completed his bachelor’s degree while working full time.  He has earned the respect and admiration of the people around him and has been selected for an internship with a major corporation.  While he wishes he could have changed the circumstances, he still takes responsibility.  His father is still alive because of his decision and may not have been had he made a different decision. 
 
DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:		8 May 2013
b. Discharge Received:		General, Under Honorable Conditions
c. Date of Discharge:			9 January 2009
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code:	Misconduct (AWOL), AR 635-200, paragraph 								14-12c(1), JKD, RE-3
e. Unit of assignment:			A Battery, 1st Bn, 37th FA, Ft. Lewis, WA
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:	12 October 2005/ 4 years, 18 weeks
g. Current Enlistment Service:	3 years, 26 days
h. Total Service:			3 years, 26 days
i. Time Lost:				62 days (080709-080910)
j. Previous Discharges:		USAR (051004-051011), NA
k. Highest Grade Achieved:		E-4
l. Military Occupational Specialty:	13B10, Cannon Crewmember
m. GT Score:				110
n. Education:				HS Graduate
o. Overseas Service:			SWA
p. Combat Service:			Iraq (060625-070918)
q. Decorations/Awards:		ARCOM, NDSM, GWOTSM, ASR, OSR, CAB, 
   ICM-w/BS
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 12 October 2005 for a period of 4 years and    18 weeks, after serving in the delayed entry program for 8 days.  He was 17 years old at the time of entry and a high school graduate.  He served in Iraq and earned an ARCOM.  He completed 3 years, 26 days of active duty service.  At the time his discharge proceeding were initiated, he was serving at Fort Lewis, WA.  

SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES:

1.  On 18 November 2008, the unit commander notified the applicant of his intent to process him for separation under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, paragraph 14-12c(1), by reason of misconduct; specifically for: 

     - Being AWOL (between 080709-080911).

2.  Based on the above misconduct, the unit commander recommended a general, under honorable conditions discharge and informed the applicant of his rights.

3.  On 19 November 2008, the applicant consulted with legal counsel, was advised of the impact of the discharge action, and did not submit a statement in his 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 of a general, under honorable conditions discharge.  

4.  On 12 December 2008, the separation authority approved and directed the applicant’s discharge with a characterization of service of general, under honorable conditions.  

5.  The applicant was separated on 9 January 2009, under Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 14-12c (1), with a general, under honorable conditions discharge, an SPD code of JKD, and an RE code of 3.                 

6.  The applicant's record shows he was absent without leave (AWOL) during the period 080709-080910.  The circumstances regarding his return to military control were not in his record.





EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD:

Article 15, dated 16 October 2008, AWOL (080709-080911).  The punishment consisted of reduction to the grade of E-1, forfeiture of $673 per month for two months (suspended),         45 days of extra duty and restriction (suspended) (FG). 

EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT:

The applicant provided a DD 214, DD 293, five letters of support, and his university transcripts.

POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

The applicant did not state any post service activity, however, the documents provided shows he has obtained a job and is working towards a Bachelor’s Degree at Kent State University.

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 his 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 discharge was appropriate because the quality of his 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 serious misconduct, the applicant diminished the quality of his service below that meriting an honorable discharge.  His service was marred by an Article 15 for a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

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

4.  The applicant requests an upgrade of his characterization to honorable based on the letters of support provided with his application.  The third party statements provided with the application speak highly of the applicant’s performance.  They all recognize his good conduct after leaving the Army; however, the persons providing the character reference statements were not in a position to fully understand or appreciate the expectations of the applicant’s chain of command.  As such, none of these statements provide any evidence sufficiently compelling to overcome the presumption of government regularity.  Of note, the applicant’s father contends the reason for his son’s actions was to help him after he found himself ill and homeless.  He contends his son saved his life.

5.  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:  13 December 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 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)		AR20130008956



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ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



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