Dear ,  
 
This letter is in reference to your reconsideration request.  You previously petitioned the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) and were advised that your application had been denied.  Your case was reconsidered in accordance with Board procedures that conform to Lipsman v. Sec’y of the Army, 335 F. Supp. 2d 48 (D.D.C. 2004).  After careful and conscientious consideration of relevant portions of your naval record and your application, the 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 1 October 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 and applicable statutes, regulations and policies.   
 
The Board carefully considered your arguments that you deserve a discharge upgrade.  You assert that you were being processed for a disability discharge prior to your period of unauthorized absence and, therefore, your Bad Conduct Discharge, was procedurally and substantively defective.  Unfortunately, the Board disagreed with your rationale for relief.   
 
In reviewing your record, the Board found no evidence that you were being discharged for disability reasons.  After being diagnosed with an Anti-social Personality Disorder on 9 April 1997, you were deemed fit for full duty despite limitations on deployments and handling of weapons and ammunition.  As a result of your history of misconduct that resulted in three non-judicial punishments, you were processed for administrative separation for pattern of misconduct that was approved and pending execution when you went into an unauthorized absence status.  Based on your continued misconduct, you were subsequently convicted by a Special Court-Martial on 12 December 1997 and awarded a Bad Conduct Discharge.  A punitive discharge that was later effected on 23 August 1999 after the completion of your appellate review.  Therefore, the Board concluded that your punitive discharge from the Marine Corps was supported by the evidence and appropriate in light of your court-martial conviction.  In reaching their conclusion, the Board applied liberal consideration to the facts of your case based on your personality disorder diagnosis.  Similar to the previous decision, the Board again concluded there was no nexus between your misconduct related to your gambling problem and your mental health condition.  Additionally, the Board noted that you did not raise your mental health as mitigation evidence in your court-martial case, further convincing the Board that your mental health condition was not related to your misconduct.  Finally, the Board found that the severity of your misconduct, which included writing bad checks, failing to pay debts, unauthorized absences, and missing movement, far outweighed the mitigation evidence offered by your mental health condition.  Several of your offenses qualified for punitive discharged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice including the offense for which you were convicted at a court-martial.  In the Board’s opinion, these offenses were too serious to overlook despite applying liberal consideration to the case.  Accordingly, the Board found insufficient evidence of error or injustice to warrant a change to your record.   
 
It is regretted that the circumstances of your reconsideration petition 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 the absence of new matters for reconsideration, the decision of the Board is final, and your only recourse would be to seek relief, at no cost to the Board, from a court of appropriate jurisdiction. 
 
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,