IN THE CASE OF:  	Mr. 

      BOARD DATE:  	31 January 2014

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20130010088
___________________________________________________________________________

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 characterization from general, under honorable conditions to honorable.  

2.  The applicant states, in effect, he was discharged for a pattern of misconduct for being absent from duty on three occasions and misuse of a medical prescription.  He has PTSD from combat.  He feels that he should have gotten help instead of a discharge. 
 
DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:		21 May 2013
b. Discharge Received:		General, Under Honorable Conditions 
c. Date of Discharge:			18 March 2011
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE:		Misconduct (Serious Offense), AR 635-200, Chapter
      14-12c, JKQ, RE-3
e. Unit of assignment:			C Co, 3-509 Inf Bn, JB Elmendorf-Richardson, AK 
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:	13 March 2007, 5 years
g. Current Enlistment Service:	4 years, 6 days 
h. Total Service:			6 years, 9 months, 5 days
i. Lost time:				None 	
j. Previous Discharges:		RA/041228-070312/HD
k. Highest Grade Achieved:		E-5	
l. Military Occupational Specialty:	11B1P, Infantryman 
m. GT Score:				111
n. Education:				HS Graduate
o. Overseas Service:			SWA, AK
p. Combat Service:			Iraq, Afghanistan (060927-071110), 090226-100206)
q. Decorations/Awards:		ARCOM-2, AGCM, NDSM, ACM-CS, ICM-CS,  						GWOTSM, NCOPDR, ASR, NATOMDL, OSR-2, CIB
r. Administrative Separation Board: 	No
s. Performance Ratings:		Yes
t. Counseling Statements:		Yes	
u. Prior Board Review:			No
SUMMARY OF SERVICE:		
	
The applicant's service record shows he enlisted in the Regular Army on 28 December 2004, he was 18 years old and a high school graduate.  He attended basic and advanced individual training at Fort Benning, GA and was trained in and awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B10, Infantryman.  He deployed and served in Iraq, and Afghanistan.  His record documents that he was awarded an ARCOM-2, AGCM, NDSM, ACM-CS, ICM-CS, GWOTSM, NCOPDR, ASR, NATOMDL, OSR-2, and a CIB.  He was serving at JB Elmendorf-Richardson, AK at the time of his discharge.

SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES:

1.  On 23 December 2010, 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, by reason of misconduct, for the commission of serious offense; specifically for wrongfully distributing his prescription medication, (Aderall) to other Soldiers.  

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 24 January 2011, the applicant consulted with legal counsel, was advised of the impact of the discharge action, its effect, and the rights available to him.  The applicant acknowledged that he had over six years of qualifying service, and as a result, he was entitled to have his case considered by an administrative separation board.  The applicant waived consideration of his case before a board, contingent upon him receiving a General, Under Honorable Conditions discharge, which is what he was recommended for.  The intermediate commander reviewed the proposed action and recommended approval of a general, under honorable conditions discharge.  

4.  On 1 February 2011, the separation authority waived further rehabilitation, accepted the conditional waiver, and directed the applicant’s discharge with a characterization of service of general, under honorable conditions under the provisions of AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12c, for the commission of a serious offense.

5.  The applicant was separated from the Army on 18 March 2011, under Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 14-12c (Misconduct, Serious Offense) 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.  Article 15, dated 12 January 2011, for FTR on three occasions (101101, 101207, 1011209), and wrongful distribution of some amount of Adderall (101007).  The punishment consisted of reduction to E-4; forfeiture of $1,099.00 pay for two months; extra duty for 45 days; and restriction for 45 days (FG).    

2.  Three negative counseling statements dated between 1 November 2010 to 9 December 2010 for being FTR.

3.  A Sworn Statement, dated 7 October 2010, reflecting the circumstances surrounding the applicant’s admittance to distributing the drug Adderall to other Soldiers.   
4.  Two successful Noncommissioned Officer Evaluation Reports (NCOERs) with the ending periods 30 June 2009, and 30 June 2010.

EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT:

A DD Form 293, dated 17 May 2013; a DD Form 214; and several awards, commendations, and training certificates.   

POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

None were provided with the application.

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 the applicant’s record of service, his military records, the documents 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 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 misconduct, the applicant diminished the quality his service below that meriting a fully honorable discharge.  The applicant’s record of service was marred by an Article 15 for multiple violations 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 the applicant’s service mitigated the misconduct or poor duty performance. 

4.  The applicant contends that based on his pattern of misconduct and his diagnosis of PTSD, he should have gotten help instead of a discharge.  However, the service record contains no evidence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder diagnosis and the applicant did not submit any evidence to support the contention that the discharge was the result of any medical condition.  

5.  The evidence of record shows the command attempted to assist the applicant in performing and conducting himself to Army standards by providing counseling and by the imposition of non-judicial punishment.  The applicant failed to respond appropriately to these efforts.

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

7.  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:  31 January 2014     Location:  Washington, DC

Did the Applicant Testify?  NA 

Counsel:  None

Witnesses/Observers:  NA 

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:	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)		AR20130010088



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ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



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