IN THE CASE OF:  	Mr. 

      BOARD DATE:  	31 January 2014

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20130010874
___________________________________________________________________________

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 a change to the narrative reason for his separation.  

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was never convicted of any crimes while in the service, nor did he have a loss of rank due to wrong doings.  He was discharged out of the Army on his own terms.  Based on frequent questions asked of him during interviews, he would like to get the narrative reason for separation changed because his character of service was honorable.   

DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:		6 June 2013
b. Discharge received:			Honorable
c. Date of Discharge:			29 December 2012
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE:		Non-Retention on Active Duty, AR 635-200, Chapter     
                                                      4, JGH, RE-3 
e. Unit of assignment:			C Co, 9th Eng Bn, 172 Inf Bde, APO, AE 
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:  	30 December 2008, 4 years 
g. Current Enlistment Service:  	3 years, 11 months, 30 days
h. Total Service:			7 years, 6 months, 0 days
i. Time Lost:				None
j. Previous Discharges:		RA (050630-081229), HD
k. Highest Grade Achieved:		E-5
l. Military Occupational Specialty:	12B20, Combat Engineer
m. GT Score:				NIF
n. Education:				NIF
o. Overseas Service:			SWA, Germany
p. Combat Service:			Iraq (060806-071021) (081204-091115); Afghanistan						(110723-120610)
q. Decorations/Awards:		ARCOM-3, AAM, MUC-2, AGCM-2, NDSM, ACM-w/ 
r.                                                       2CS, GWOTSM, ICM/wCS, NPDR, ASR, OSR, CAB. 
                                                      PUC, NATOMDL
s. Administrative Separation Board: 	No
t. Performance Ratings:		Yes
u. Counseling Statements:		None
v. Prior Board Review:			No

SUMMARY OF SERVICE:		

The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 30 June 2005 for a period of 4 years.  He was 18 years old at the time of entry and was a high school graduate.  The applicant reenlisted 30 December 2008 for 4 years and continued to serve.  He was promoted to the grade of 
SGT/E-5, and served three combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.  He received several awards and commendations during his time in service.  



SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES:

1.  The applicant’s record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to the discharge from the Army.  The record contains a properly constituted DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), which was authenticated by the applicant’s signature.  He was discharged as a SGT/E-5.  

2.  The DD Form 214 indicates the applicant was discharged under the provisions of AR 635-200, Chapter 4, for non-retention on active duty with a characterization of service of honorable conditions.  The DD Form 214 shows a Separation Program Designator (SPD) code of JGH and a reentry (RE) code of 3.  

3.  The applicant was separated under orders 279-0002, IMC-Europe, Schweinfurt, GE, dated 5 October 2012 with an effective date of 29 December 2012.   

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

EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD:

1.  Three Noncommissioned Officer Evaluation Reports (NCOERs) covering rating periods from 1 March 2010 to 24 October 2012.

2.  The NCOER covering the rating period 1 March 2010 to 28 February 2011, reflected an overall successful rating; however, the report reflected a “NO” rating in the Army Value of “Integrity” and a “Needs Improvement (Some)” rating in the “Leadership” area of the evaluation with supporting bullet comments. 

EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT:

The applicant provided an online application dated 14 June 2013; a DD Form 214; discharge orders dated 5 October 2012; and a copy of his most recent NCOER with the ending period 
24 October 2012.

POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

None were provided with the application.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY:

1.  Army Regulation 635-200 sets forth the basic authority for separation of enlisted personnel.  Chapter 4 of that regulation provides, in pertinent part, for the separation of individuals upon completion of required service (i.e., expiration term of service).  
2.  The characterization of service for Soldiers separated under the provisions of Chapter 4, AR 635-200 will be honorable unless the Soldier is in entry-level status.  

3.  Army Regulation 635-200 paragraph 19-12 (Involuntary Discharges) states except as otherwise provided in this section, Soldiers who choose not to appeal the QMP selection for denial of continued service, or whose appeal is denied, will be involuntarily discharged. Soldiers who elect to appeal but fail, without compelling justification, to submit the appeal within the time prescribed by paragraph 19–11b, will also be involuntarily discharged. 

DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The applicant’s request for a change to the narrative reason for separation 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 a change to the narrative reason for separation.  

2.  The applicant’s record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to the discharge from the Army.  However, the applicant’s record does contain a properly constituted DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), which was authenticated by the applicant's signature.  This document identifies the reason and characterization of the discharge and the presumption of government regularity shall prevail in the discharge process.  

3.  The DD Form 214 indicates the applicant was discharged under the provisions of AR 635-200, Chapter 4, for non-retention on active duty, with a characterization of service of honorable.  Barring evidence to the contrary, it appears that all requirements of law and regulation were met and the rights of the applicant were fully protected throughout the separation process.  

4.  The applicant contends he was never convicted of any crimes while in the service and he was discharged on his own terms and the narrative reason for separation reflected on the DD Form 214 causes issues when seeking employment.  However, the Board does not grant relief for the purpose of gaining employment or enhancing employment opportunities.

5.  Army Regulation 635-5-1 (Separation Program Designator (SPD) Codes) provides the specific authorities (regulatory or directive), reasons for separating Soldiers from active duty, and the SPD codes to be entered on the DD Form 214.  It identifies the SPD code of "JGH" as the appropriate code to assign enlisted Soldiers who are discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 4, for non-retention on active duty.  The regulation further stipulates that no deviation is authorized.  

6.  Therefore, based on the available evidence and the government presumption of regularity, 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:  Records Review     Date:  31 January 2014     Location:  Washington, DC

Did the Applicant Testify?  NA 

Counsel:  None

Witnesses/Observers:  NA 

Board Vote:
Character Change:  NA	No Change:  NA
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:	NA
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)		AR20130010874



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ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



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