IN THE CASE OF:  	Mr. 

      BOARD DATE:  	11 April 2014

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20130010974
___________________________________________________________________________

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, that he was unjustly discharged.  He contends the Army National Guard did not use proper procedure when discharging him.  He is asking for an honorable discharge because of his disabilities.  He contends he served 10 years honorably, he had surgeries from service connected injuries and while trying to heal his disability was determined to be 70%.  He does not believe he should have been discharged.  He desires for his discharge to be upgrade to honorable or allowed to appear before a medical board.  

DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:		15 May 2013
b. Discharge Received:		General, Under Honorable Conditions
c. Date of Discharge:			15 May 2010
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code:	Failure to Report for Annual Inactive National Guard 							Muster per NGR 614-1, NGR 600-200, Chapter 6, 							paragraph 6-36l, RE-1
e. Unit of assignment:			Det 3, D Co, 2d Bn, 104th AVN Rear, Williamstown, 						WV
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:	18 August 2005, 6 years
g. Current Enlistment Service:	4 years, 8 months, 28 days
h. Total Service:			18 years, 7 months, 10 days
i. Time Lost:				None
j. Previous Discharges:		USN-910318-930319/HD											USNR-930320-950424/NA											RA-950425-970428/HD											RA-970429-020428/HD											  (Break-in-Service)												ARNG-021117-030125/NA											OAD-030126-030802/HD											ARNG-030803-031020/NA											ARNG-031021-040714/NA											IARNG-040715-040920/NA										ARNG-040921-041122/NA											IARNG-041123-050712/NA							 			ARNG- 050713-050817/NA										ARNG-050818-070531/NA											IARNG-070601-100412/NA										    (Concurrent Service)
k. Highest Grade Achieved:		E-5
l. Military Occupational Specialty:	13F20, Fire Support Specialist
m. GT Score:				110
n. Education:				HS Graduate
o. Overseas Service:			None
p. Combat Service:			None
q. Decorations/Awards:		ARCOM-2, AAM, JMUA, AGCM-2, NDSM,         							AFRM-w/M Device, NPDR, ASR, OSR,                  							Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
r. Administrative Separation Board: 	No
s. Performance Ratings:		Yes
t. Counseling Statements:		None
u. Prior Board Review:			No
SUMMARY OF SERVICE:

The evidence of record shows that the applicant served in the United States Navy (USN) and the Regular Army (RA) from 19 March 1991 until 28 April 2002, at which time he was honorably discharged.  The applicant enlisted in the Army National Guard (ARNG) on            17 November 2002, for a period of 3 years.  He was 32 years old at the time of entry and a high school graduate.  He reenlisted in the ARNG on 18 August 2005, for a period of 6 years.  His record indicates he achieved the rank of SGT/E-5 and earned several awards to include two ARCOMs, the AAM, two AGCMs, the AFRM-w/M Device, and the JMUA.  He completed 18 years, 7 months, and 10 days of total military service.

SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES:

1.  The applicant’s service record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to his discharge from the Army National Guard of the State of West Virginia.

2.  The record shows that on 8 June 2010, Joint Forces Headquarters, State of West Virginia, Office of the Adjutant General, Charleston, WV, Orders Number 159-625 discharged the applicant from the Army National Guard, effective date 15 May 2010, with a general, under honorable conditions discharge.  He was assigned to the USAR Control Group (Reinforcement), 1 Reserve Way, St. Louis, Mo, 63132-5299.

3.  The record contains a properly constituted NGB Form 22 (Report of Separation and Record of Service).  It indicates the applicant was discharged under the provisions of paragraph 6-36l, NGR 600-200, by reason of failure to report for annual inactive National Guard muster per NGR 614-1, with a characterization of service of general, under honorable conditions, and a reenlistment eligibility (RE) code of 3.

4.  On 20 June 2011, The Adjutant General, Army National Guard of the State of Texas, reviewed the applicant’s request for a change in his discharge and denied his request.
EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD:

1.  Discharge Orders 159-625, dated 8 June 2010.

2.  The applicant's available record does not contain any recorded actions under the UCMJ or counseling statements.

3.  One NCOER covering the period of 19 April 2006 to 31 October 2006.  The applicant was rated overall as "Fully Capable."

EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT:

The applicant provided a DD Form 149, a copy of the documents that were submitted to his Senator.

POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

None were provide with the application.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY:

1.  National Guard Regulation (NGR) 600-200 and Army Regulation 135-78 govern procedures covering enlisted personnel management of the Army National Guard.  Chapter 6 of NGR 600-200 covers, in pertinent part, reasons for discharge and separation of enlisted personnel from the State Army Reserve National Guard.  Paragraph 6-36l of that regulation provides in pertinent part that individuals can be separated for failure to report for annual inactive National Guard muster.

2.  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.  

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 applicant’s record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to his discharge from the State of West Virginia Army National.  However, the record does contain a properly constituted NGB Form 22 (Report of Separation and Record of Service).  This document identifies the reason and characterization of the service.  The NGB Form 22 shows the applicant was discharged under the provisions of Chapter 6, paragraph     6-36l, NGR 600-200, by reason of failure to report for annual inactive National Guard muster with a characterization of service of general, under honorable conditions.
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 provided documentation from the ARNG, State of West Virginia, indicating his request for a discharge upgrade was denied.

5.  The applicant contends he was unjustly discharged and that he served honorably for        10 years.  However, the documentation submitted by the applicant from the ARNG, State of West Virginia, Adjutant General, dated 5 March 2013, indicates the applicant was discharged from the West Virginia Army Nation Guard for failure to report to a required annual Inactive National Guard (ING) muster.  There was no documentation showing he made contact with his unit that he may be excused from the annual muster.  When the applicant did not report, he was recorded as absent without leave (AWOL).  His separation was in accordance with National Guard Regulation (NGR) 600-200, paragraph 6-36l.  The regulation stated, failure to report for annual ING muster was a reason for separation from the Sate Army National Guard.

6.  The applicant's contentions were carefully considered.  However, a determination as to the merit of these contentions cannot be made because the facts and circumstances leading to the discharge are unknown.  The burden of proof remains with the applicant to provide the appropriate documents such as the discharge packet or other evidence sufficient to explain the facts, circumstances, and reasons underlying the separation action, for the Board's consideration.  If the applicant desires a personal appearance hearing, it will still be his responsibility to meet the burden of proof since the discharge packet is not available in the official record. 

7.  Therefore, based on the available evidence and the presumption of government regularity, it appears the reason for discharge and the characterization of service are both proper and equitable, thus recommend the Board deny relief.

















SUMMARY OF ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD HEARING:

Type of Hearing:  Records Review       Date:  11 April 2014       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)		AR20130010974



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ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



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