Docket No: 0486-20 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. 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 28 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, applicable statutes, regulations, and policies, and the 12 April 2020 advisory opinion (AO) from a Navy mental health provider, which was previously provided to you. You enlisted in the Navy on 30 September 1998. On 1 September 1999, you were convicted by summary court-martial for an unauthorized absence from 31 July 1999 to 10 August 1999, disrespect toward a senior chief petty officer, wrongfully using marijuana, wrongfully stealing a video cassette player, assaulting an airman, and obstructing an investigation. You were adjudged a reduction in rank, forfeiture, and confinement. On 21 September 1999, the convening authority approved the findings and ordered the sentence executed. Your record is incomplete in that it does not contain the documents pertaining to your subsequent 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 commission of a serious offense. You were discharged with an OTH characterization of service on 3 November 1999. Your request for an upgrade to your characterization of service was reviewed in consideration of your contention you suffered from undiagnosed mental health conditions during 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 Board’s review, a Navy mental health professional reviewed your request and provided the Board with an AO on 12 April 2020. The AO noted you submitted evidence that you are in treatment for a mental health condition but determined there is insufficient evidence that you were suffering from mental health symptoms during military service. Based on the available evidence, the AO determined there was insufficient evidence to attribute your mental health condition to your military service or to attribute your misconduct to your mental health condition. The AO was provided to you on 21 April 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 suffered from undiagnosed mental conditions at the time of your discharge. Specifically, having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder and receiving treatment since January 2018, you now understand your “past failures in life” weren’t because you were a “bad person or not a compassionate person or because I just didn’t care.” Instead, you now understand the things you were mentally dealing with and desire to get “proper care, treatment, therapy, and the proper guidance and comfort in life.” The Board also considered the advocacy letters submitted on your behalf which describe your “great rapport with people of all ages and disabilities” and your “positive influence in the community.” TheBoard, 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.