Docket No: 7808-18 Ref: Signature date Dear : This letter is in reference to your application for correction of your naval record pursuant to Title 10, United States Code, Section 1552. After careful and conscientious consideration of the entire record, the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) found that the evidence submitted was insufficient to establish the existence of probable material error or injustice. Consequently, your application has been denied. A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 16 December 2019. The names and votes of the members of the panel will be furnished upon request. Your allegations of error and injustice were reviewed in accordance with administrative regulations and procedures applicable to the proceedings of this Board. Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of your application, together with all material submitted in support thereof, relevant portions of your naval record, as well as applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. In addition, the Board considered the 16 May 2019 advisory opinion (AO) furnished by a Navy mental health professional. The AO was provided to you on 17 May 2019, and you were given 30 days in which to submit a response. When you did not provide a response, your case was submitted to the Board for consideration. You enlisted in the Navy and began a period of active duty on 14 June 1989. On 21 October 1993, you received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) for five days of unauthorized absence (UA). Additionally, you were counseled and warned, that further deficiencies in your performance or conduct, could result in administrative discharge action. On 8 April 1994, you began a second period of UA that ended on 3 October 1994, when you were apprehended by civil authorities. On 23 November 1994, you were convicted by special court-martial (SPCM) of 178 days of UA. You were sentenced to a period of confinement, a forfeitures of pay, a reduction in paygrade, and to be discharged from the naval service with a bad-conduct discharge (BCD). You received your BCD on 20 September 1995. You request an upgrade of your characterization of service on the basis that you suffered from unrecognized post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the time of your military service. Your request was fully and carefully considered by the Board in light of the Secretary of Defense’s 3 September 2014 memorandum, “Supplemental Guidance to Military Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records Considering Discharge Upgrade Requested by Veterans Claiming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,” the 25 August 2017 memorandum, “Clarifying Guidance to Military Discharge Review Boards and Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records Considering Requests by Veterans for Modification of their Discharge Due to Mental Health Conditions, Sexual Assault, or Sexual Harassment,” and the 25 July 2018 memorandum, “Guidance to Military Discharge Review Boards and Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records Regarding Equity, Injustice, or Clemency Determinations.” As part of the review process, a Navy mental health professional further reviewed your request and provided the Board with an AO regarding your assertion you were suffering from PTSD during your service. The AO noted that you submitted excerpted records from 2017 from the Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) noting an evaluation and diagnosis of PTSD and dropout of offered group treatment prior to starting. You also submitted a personal statement that you incurred PTSD following a shipboard explosion in which you saw several shipmates burned or killed. Following this incident, you learned that your mother was sick with cancer and you went UA. You submitted letters of support from your fiancé, pastor, and work supervisor attesting to your character and work ethic. No other records were provided. The AO determined that, unfortunately, you have submitted limited medical records in support of your statement that you incurred PTSD during service. A DVA clinician assigned you a diagnosis of PTSD upon evaluation, but you did not choose to avail yourself of treatment resources offered by the DVA. You state that your PTSD should be attributed to military service, but you also stated that your UA was related to your mother’s cancer diagnosis. There is some evidence to suggest that you incurred an in-service event, as you apparently served without incident from 1989 to 1993. Accordingly, the AO determined that, due to the conflicting information, additional records, such as post-service medical records or the complete DVA record describing the specific link between your PTSD symptoms and your misconduct, are required to render an opinion. The Board carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, such as your record of service, and your desire to upgrade your discharge. The Board also considered you assertions that your condition of PTSD was the “driving factor” of your actions. However, the Board concluded that these factors and assertion were insufficient to warrant recharacterization of your discharge, given your misconduct that resulted in NJP and a SPCM conviction. The Board also concurred with the AO’s statement that due to the conflicting information, additional records, such as post-service medical records or the complete DVA record describing the specific link between your PTSD symptoms and your misconduct, are required to render an opinion. It is regretted that the circumstances of your case are such that favorable action cannot be taken. You are entitled to have the Board reconsider its decision upon the submission of new matters, which will require you to complete and submit a new DD Form 149. New matters are those not previously presented to or considered by the Board. In this regard, it is important to keep in mind that a presumption of regularity attaches to all official records. Consequently, when applying for a correction of an official naval record, the burden is on the applicant to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice. Sincerely,