IN THE CASE OF:  	Ms. 

      BOARD DATE:  	20 June 2014

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20130014769
___________________________________________________________________________

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 her under other than honorable conditions discharge to honorable.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that prior to her transfer to the 405th CSH, she had 13 years of honorable service with the 325th CSH (Independence, MO).  Upon transferring to the 405th, she was told that she could not RST from her location in Maryland and was instructed to find (on her own) a closer unit to transfer into.  She attempted to transfer to a Civil Affairs unit and was accepted by their commander but 405th CSH personnel did not complete the required transfer paperwork.  She was then told she would have to be discharged.  When she requested a hardship/medical discharge (due to pregnancy, resulting complications and illness), it was also denied.  When she requested to transfer back to her former unit (325th CSH) who had told her they would approve the transfer and she could RST, it was also denied.  Her husband is an active duty Soldier, she has two infants and no child care available to travel four days a month to drill with the 405th CSH.  She was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder (Fibromyalgia) and depression after birth of her children and that made participation impossible.  Her attempts to RST, transfer and provide alternate options for her discharge were denied without reason/cause.  She received no discharge paperwork from the 405th CSH and had to request her service record from the National Archives.  She had 13 years of service with no issues that she would like to be honored, instead of her record reflecting one hellish year.  The conditions for an other than honorable discharge were not met; as there was no misconduct on her part whatsoever.  She no longer has AKO access; however, she had over a year worth of emails between various personnel and the commander of the 405th CSH in attempts to resolve this issue satisfactory and continue to serve.  She was not given notice of any hearings and was unable to attend in her own defense. 

DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:			12 August 2013
b. Discharge Received:			Under Other Than Honorable Conditions
c. Date of Discharge:				26 September 2011
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code:		AR 135-178, Chapter NIF
e. Unit of assignment:				405th CSH, West Hartford, CT	
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:		28 July 2008, NIF
g. Current Enlistment Service:		3 years, 1 month, 29 days
h. Total Service:				13 years, 6 months, 17 days
i. Time Lost:					None
j. Previous Discharges:			USN (940412-961125), GD									(Break in Service)											ARNG 001024-010624), GD									USARCG (010625-020804), NA									USAR (020805-070518), NA									OADT (070519-080727), HD									(Concurrent Service)
k. Highest Grade Achieved:			E-5
l. Military Occupational Specialty:		68W20, Health Care Specialist
m. GT Score:					112
n. Education:					HS Graduate
o. Overseas Service:				SWA
p. Combat Service:				Iraq (070826-080612)
q. Decorations/Awards:			ARCOM, AAM-3, AGCM, ARCAM-2, NDSM, 							ICM-w/CS, GWOTSM, AFRM-w/M-DEV, OSR
r. Administrative Separation Board: 		No
s. Performance Ratings:			Yes
t. Counseling Statements:			No
u. Prior Board Review:				No

SUMMARY OF SERVICE:		
	
On 12 April 1994 the applicant served in the USN for a little more than two and a half years and received a general under honorable conditions discharge.  She had a break in service until she joined the ARNG on 24 October 2000.  She was 26 years old and a high school graduate.  The applicant has continuous service of inactive and active duty in the ARNG and USAR.  The applicant record shows she was awarded an ARCOM, three AAMs, an AGCM, two ARCAMs, and served a combat tour in Iraq.

SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES:

1.  The available evidence shows the applicant’s record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to his discharge from the United States Army Reserve.  

2.  The record indicates that on 26 August 2011, Department of the Army, Headquarters, 99th Regional Support Command, Fort Dix, NJ, Orders 11-238-00020, discharged the applicant from the United States Army Reserve, effective 26 September 2011, with an under other than honorable conditions discharge.

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

EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD:

1.  Discharge order.

2.  A successful NCOER covering the period 1 March 2008 through 28 February 2009.

EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT:

The applicant provided a DD Form 293, two DD Forms 214, an NCO recommendation form, pre-separation counseling checklist, chronological statement of retirement points, and discharge orders.
POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

None provided with the application.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY:

1.  Army Regulation 135-178 sets forth the policies, standards, and procedures to ensure the readiness and competency of the U.S. Army while providing for the orderly administrative separation of Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) enlisted Soldiers for a variety of reasons. The separation policies throughout the different Chapters in this regulation promote the readiness of the Army by providing an orderly means to judge the suitability of persons to serve on the basis of their conduct and their ability to meet required standards of duty performance and discipline.  Specific categories include minor disciplinary infractions, a pattern of misconduct, and commission of a serious offense, to include abuse of illegal drugs, and convictions by civil authorities.  

2.  The characterization is based upon the quality of the Soldier’s service, including the reason for separation and determined in accordance with standards of acceptable personal conduct and performance of duty as found in the UCMJ, Army Regulations, and the time-honored customs and traditions of the Army.  The reasons for separation, including the specific circumstances that form the basis for the discharge are considered on the issue of characterization. 

3.   Possible characterizations of service include an honorable, general, under honorable conditions, under other than honorable conditions, or uncharacterized if the Soldier is in entry-level status.  However, the permissible range of characterization varies based on the reason for separation.

DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The applicant’s request for an upgrade of the characterization of her discharge was carefully considered.  However, after examining the applicant’s record of service and the issues submitted with the application, there are insufficient mitigating factors to merit an upgrade of the applicant's discharge.  The available record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to her discharge from the Army Reserve.  

2.  The applicant’s available record contains a properly constituted Order which was authenticated by the appropriate military authority.  This document identifies the characterization of the discharge and the presumption of government regularity prevails in the discharge process.  

3.  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.  

4.  The applicant provided no independent corroborating evidence demonstrating that either the command's action was erroneous or that her service mitigated the type of discharge she received from the U.S. Army Reserve.   

5.  The applicant contends she had 13 years of service with no issues, the conditions for an other than honorable discharge were not met, as there was no misconduct on her part whatsoever, she tried on numerous occasions with various personnel and the commander of the 405th CSH in attempts to resolve this issue satisfactory and continue to serve.  She was not given notice of any hearings and was unable to attend in her own defense.  All of the applicant’s contentions are noted; however, there is a presumption of regularity in the conduct of governmental affairs that shall be applied in any review unless there is substantial credible evidence to rebut the presumption.  The applicant bears the burden of overcoming this presumption through the presentation of substantial and credible evidence to support this issue.  There is no evidence in the record, nor has the applicant produced any evidence to support the contention that she was unjustly discharged.  The applicant’s statements alone do not overcome the government’s presumption of regularity and no additional corroborating and supporting documentation or further evidence has been provided with the request for an upgrade of the discharge.   

6.  If the applicant desires a personal appearance hearing, it will be her responsibility to meet the burden of proof and provide the appropriate documents (i.e., the discharge packet) or other evidence sufficient to explain the facts, circumstances, and reasons underlying the separation action, for the Board’s consideration because they are not available in the official record.

7.  Therefore, based on the available evidence, 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:  20 June 2014        Location: Washington, DC

Did the Applicant Testify?  No

Counsel:  None

Witnesses/Observers:  No

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 Discharge Order	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)		AR20130014769



Page 6 of 6 pages


ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



1