IN THE CASE OF:  	Mr. 

      BOARD DATE:  	25 June 2014

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20130014384
___________________________________________________________________________

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 under other than honorable to honorable or general, under honorable conditions and a change to the narrative reason for discharge.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was discharged as a result of false allegations of child abuse, harassment, prejudice and antagonism.  He contends he served his country with honor and pride and believes his discharge was based on false allegations as a means to break him.

DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:		5 August 2013
b. Discharge Received:		Under Other Than Honorable Conditions
c. Date of Discharge:			19 August 2011
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code:	In Lieu of Trial by Court-Martial, AR 635-200, 								Chapter 10, KFS, RE-4
e. Unit of assignment:			D Co, 47th CS, Fort Bliss, TX
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:	15 October 2009, 3 years and 15 weeks
g. Current Enlistment Service:	1 year, 10 months, 5 days
h. Total Service:			2 years, 4 months, 19 days
i. Time Lost:				None 
j. Previous Discharges:		USAR-071107-080103/NA											ADT-080104-080614/UNC											USAR-080615-091014/HD
k. Highest Grade Achieved:		E-4
l. Military Occupational Specialty:	92F10, Petroleum Supply Specialist/44C10, Financial 							MGMT Specialist
m. GT Score:				NIF
n. Education:				HS Graduate
o. Overseas Service:			None
p. Combat Service:			None
q. Decorations/Awards:		AAM, GWOTSM, ASR
r. Administrative Separation Board: 	No
s. Performance Ratings:		None
t. Counseling Statements:		None
u. Prior Board Review:			No





SUMMARY OF SERVICE:

The applicant enlisted in the United States Army Reserve (USAR) on 7 November 2007, for a period of eight years.  After serving 1 year, 11 months, and 8 days in the USAR, the applicant was discharged pending enlistment in the Regular Army (RA).  The applicant enlisted in the RA on 15 October 2009, for a period of 3 years and 15 weeks.  He was 23 years old at the time of enlistment and a high school graduate.  His record indicates he achieved the rank of SPC/E-4, and earned several awards to include an AAM.  He completed a total of 2 years,       4 months, and 19 days of military service.

SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES:

1.  The applicant’s available record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to the discharge from the Army.  However, the record contains a properly constituted DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), which was not authenticated by the applicant’s signature.  

2.  The DD Form 214 indicates that on 19 August 2011, the applicant was discharged under the provisions of Chapter 10, AR 635-200, in lieu of trial by court-martial with a characterization of service of under other than honorable conditions.  Further, the DD Form 214 shows a Separation Code of KFS i.e., in lieu of trial by court-martial with reentry eligibility (RE) code of 4.

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

EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD:

The applicant’s available record does not contain any recorded actions under the UCMJ or counseling statements.  However, the record indicates he achieved the rank of SPC/E-4 and he was separated as a PV1/E-1 and the action that caused his reduction is not contained in the service record.

EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT:

The applicant provided a DD Form 293, self-authored letter, character reference letters, copy of court action, dated 23 October 2012, documents submitted to congressman, sworn statements/corroborating witnesses, audio recording, certificates of training (3), extract pages from AR 27-10 and AR 600-8-10, military protective order, doctor's remarks/prescriptions, copies of awards and decoration certificates, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Finance, basics of accounting, certificates of appreciation, diploma for completion of Petroleum Supply Specialist Course 821-92F10, Financial Management Course, and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, global assessment tool, the pre-oconus travel file, certificate of affiliation, copy of his discharge order from the USAR, copy of his DD Form 214 for a prior period of service, and a copy of his DD Form 214 for the period of service under review.
POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

None provided with the application.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY:

1.  Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations) sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel.  Chapter 10 provides that a member who has committed an offense or offenses for which the authorized punishment includes a punitive discharge may submit a request for discharge for the good of the service in lieu of trial by court-martial.  The request may be submitted at any time after charges have been preferred and must include the individual's admission of guilt.  Although an honorable or general discharge is authorized, a discharge UOTHC is normally considered appropriate.

2.  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.

3.  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.  

4.  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 "KFS" as the appropriate code to assign enlisted Soldiers who are discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, chapter 10, in lieu of trial by court-martial.

5.  The SPD Code/RE Code Cross Reference Table shows that a Soldier assigned an SPD Code of "KFS" will be assigned an RE Code of 4.

ANALYST’S DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The applicant’s request for an upgrade of the characterization of his discharge and a change to the narrative reason for discharge was carefully considered.  However, after examining the applicant’s 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 record contains a properly constituted DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), which was not authenticated by the applicant's signature.  This document identifies the reason and characterization of the discharge.  Barring evidence to the contrary, it appears all requirements of law and regulation were met and the rights of the applicant were fully protected throughout the separation process.

3.  The applicant also requests a change to his narrative reason for discharge.  However, 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 "KFS" as the appropriate code to assign enlisted Soldiers who are discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 10, in lieu of trial by court martial.  The regulation further stipulates that no deviation is authorized.  

4.  The applicant's contentions were carefully considered.  However, there is insufficient evidence available in the official record to make a determination upon the applicant's quality of service.  Moreover, there is a presumption of regularity in the conduct of governmental affairs.  This presumption is applied in all Army discharge reviews unless there is substantial credible evidence to rebut the presumption.  There is no evidence in the record, nor has the applicant produced any evidence, to support a change to the characterization of service granted.  The applicant’s statements alone do not overcome the presumption of government regularity in this case and the application contains no documentation or further evidence in support of this request for an upgrade of the discharge.

5.  If the applicant desires a personal appearance, it is his responsibility to meet the burden of proof since the evidence is not available in the official record.  The applicant will need 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.

6.  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:  25 June 2014        Location: Washington, DC

Did the Applicant Testify?  No

Counsel:  None

Witnesses/Observers:  No

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)		AR20130014384



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ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



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