DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 805-19 Ref: Signature Date 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. A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 12 May 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, as well as applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. In addition, the Board considered the 19 September 2019 advisory opinion (AO) furnished by a Navy mental health professional, which was previously provided to you. You enlisted in the Marine Corps and began a period of active duty on 23 June 1997. On 29 July 1998, you received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) for drinking alcohol while under the legal drinking age and indecently exposing yourself by urinating on the exterior bulkhead of a community bank. On 30 October 1998, you were counseled concerning your underage drinking. On 15 April 2001, you were counseled concerning your lack of judgement in your wrongful use of marijuana. On 19 April 2001, you received NJP for wrongfully using marijuana. Your original service record was incomplete and did not contain any documentation pertaining to your administrative discharge from the Marine Corps. According to your Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD 214), you were separated from the Marine Corps on 11 June 2001, for misconduct due to drug abuse with an other than honorable characterization of service. The Board noted that you provided no evidence to support your contentions. Absent such evidence, the Board relied upon the presumption of regularity and presumed that the officials acted in accordance with governing law/policy and in good faith. You request an upgrade of your characterization of service on the basis that you suffered from a mental health condition during 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.” A Navy mental health professional further reviewed your request for correction to your record and provided the Board with an AO regarding your assertion that you were suffering from a mental health condition. Your medical records note a suicide attempt approximately two years after the conclusion of your service and mental health diagnoses from 2014, more than 12 years after discharge. The AO determined that there is insufficient evidence to attribute these diagnoses to military service, and it seems difficult to attribute underage drinking and marijuana use that you engaged in pre-service to a mental health condition incurred in-service. The AO concluded that there is insufficient evidence to attribute your misconduct to a mental health condition incurred during military service. 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 your assertions that during boot camp, you witnessed a recruit commit suicide on the rifle range, and that image has been seared into your mind and memory for life, and you never realized how traumatic it was until years later. You also assert that the deaths of your mother, grandmother, and father, caused you stress and pain and made you feel lost. The Board concluded these factors and assertions were not sufficient to warrant upgrading the characterization of your discharge given your misconduct, which resulted in two NJPs, one of which was for wrongful drug use. Further, the Board concurred with the AO that there is insufficient evidence to attribute your misconduct to a mental health condition incurred during military 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.