IN THE CASE OF:  	Mr. 

      BOARD DATE:  	9 May 2014

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20130012069
___________________________________________________________________________

Board Determination and Directed Action

After carefully examining the applicant's record of service during the period of enlistment under review, and considering the examiner’s 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 his discharge should be changed because he was reduced in grade, harassed, and treated unfairly and when he brought this to the chain of command, it was not really addressed.  He was given a FG Article 15 for owing money to a jewelry company.  After he initiated an IG complaint, the mistreatment became worse in the company.  He has five children and a wife and his life is falling apart.  He feels his chain of command was unfair and impartial when handling his discharge.  He had planned to retire at 20 or more years but was robbed of this opportunity because he blew the whistle on his unit and stood up for what he felt was right. 
 
DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:		26 June 2013
b. Discharge received:			General, Under Honorable Conditions
c. Date of Discharge:			6 February 2013
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE:		Pattern of Misconduct, AR 635-200, Chapter 14-12b, 						JKA, RE-3
e. Unit of assignment:			A Btry, 1-14 HIMARS Bn, Fort Sill OK
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:	3 September 2007, 6 years 		
g. Current Enlistment Service:	5 years, 5 months, 4 days
h. Total Service:			8 years, 10 months, 2 days
i. Time Lost:				None
j. Previous Discharges:		ARNG (011129-020827) HD									ADT/ARNG (020828-021212) HD									ARNG/(021213-040504) HD									RA/(040505-050712)HD										RA/(050713-070902) HD	
k. Highest Grade Achieved:		E-5
l.  Military Occupational Specialty:	13M10, MLRS/HIMARS Crewmember 
m. GT Score:				93
n. Education:				GED 
o. Overseas Service:			Germany, Korea, SWA
p. Combat Service:			Iraq, Afghanistan 
q. Decorations/Awards:		ARCOM-2, AAM-4, MUC, NDSM, ACM-2-CS, 							ICM-CS, GWOTSM, KDSM, AGCM-3, ASR, OSR-2, 						AFRM-W-M, NATOMDL, CAB
r. Administrative Separation Board: 	No
s. Performance Ratings:		Yes
t. Counseling Statements:		None
u. Prior Board Review:			No

SUMMARY OF SERVICE:		
	
The applicant enlisted in the Army National Guard on 29 November 2001 for a period of eight years.  He was 20 years old at the time of entry and had a GED.  He enlisted in the Regular Army on 5 April 2004 for three years, and later reenlisted on two occasions (050713, and 070903).  He achieved the grade of E-5 and served in Germany, Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan.  He earned several awards including the ARCOM-2, AAM-4, ACM-2-CS, ICM-CS, AGCM-3 and the CAB.  He completed 8 years, 10 months, and 2 days of active duty 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 SPC/E-4.  

2.  The DD Form 214 indicates the applicant was discharged under the provisions of Chapter 14, AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12b, for a pattern of misconduct, with a characterization of service of general, under honorable conditions.  The DD Form 214 shows a Separation Program Designator (SPD) code of JKA and a reentry (RE) code of 3.  

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

4.  The applicant was separated under Orders 025-1308, dated 25 January 2013, HQS, USAG, Fort Sill, OK, with an effective date of 6 February 2013.  

EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD:

Three NCOERs with the ending periods; 110228, 120229, 120716.  The most recent NCOER reflected a Relief for Cause evaluation for the rating period.  

EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT:

The applicant provided an online application, dated 22 June 2013; and a DD Form 214.

POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

None 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.

ANALYST’S 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 issues and documents 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 Army.  However, the applicant’s record contains 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 Chapter 14, AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12b by reason of pattern of misconduct, with a characterization of service of general, under honorable conditions.  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's contentions were carefully considered.  However, it is not possible to determine if these contentions have merit because the facts and circumstances leading to the discharge are unknown.  The burden of proof remains with the applicant to provide the appropriate documents or other evidence (i.e. discharge packet) 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 be his responsibility to meet this burden of proof since the evidence is not available in the official record.

5.  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:  9 May 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)		AR20130012069



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ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



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