Docket No: 4646-19 
           Ref: Signature Date 

 
Dear : 
 
This 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 the evidence submitted was insufficient to establish the existence of probable material error or injustice.  Consequently, your application has been denied. 
 
Although your application was not filed in a timely manner, the Board found it in the interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations and consider your application on its merits.  A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 4 September 2020.  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, applicable statutes, regulations, and policies, and an advisory opinion (AO) from a qualified mental health provider dated 27 July 2020.   
 
You enlisted in the Navy on 4 March 1996, after admitting you experimented with marijuana on four separate occasions but had no intentions of using again.  Your record is incomplete in that it does not contain the documents pertaining to your misconduct or administrative discharge but, based on your Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214), it appears that after being afforded all of your procedural rights, the separation authority directed discharge with an other than honorable (OTH) characterization of service by reason of misconduct due to drug abuse.  You were discharged with an OTH characterization of service on 9 September 1996. 
   
Your request for an upgrade to your characterization of service was reviewed in consideration of your contention you suffered from a mental disorder during service.  Your request was fully and carefully considered by the Board in light of the Secretary of Defense’s memorandum, “Supplemental Guidance to Military Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records Considering Discharge Upgrade Requested by Veterans Claiming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder” of  3 September 2014 and the “Clarifying Guidance to Military Discharge Review Board 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” memorandum of 25 August 2017. 
 
As part of the Board’s review, a qualified mental health professional reviewed your request and provided the Board with an AO on 27 July 2020.  The AO noted you did not submit any information to support your contention that you experienced mental health symptoms or conditions during your military service.  The AO further noted your in-service records failed to reveal any evidence, and you did not submit any evidence of a post-discharge mental health condition as rendered by a mental health practitioner.  The AO determined there was insufficient evidence of a mental health condition attributable to your military service that may have mitigated your misconduct.  The AO was provided to you on 28 July 2020, 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.   
 
The Board carefully reviewed your application, weighed all potentially mitigating factors, and considered your contention that you were not provided “appropriate medical exams or treatments for my mental disorder nor was I granted an out-processing physical other than a dental exam.”  The Board noted that, in block 9 of the DD149, you listed that a statement had been submitted in support of your request, but the Board found that your statement was not included in your submission.  Further, the Board noted that a separation physical is required prior to discharge, and although the record is incomplete in that it does not contain a copy of your medical documentation, the Board presumed regularity and concluded you did not provide evidence to overcome the presumption that you received a separation physical prior to discharge.  The Board, applying liberal consideration and relying upon the AO, concurred that there was insufficient evidence to support a finding that a mental health condition contributed to or mitigated your misconduct.  The Board did not find evidence of an error or injustice, nor did you submit any evidence, that warrants changing your characterization of service.  
 
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,