Docket No:  6654-20 

Ref: Signature Date 
   
Dear Petitioner: 
 
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 19 July 2021.  The names and votes of the panel members 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 the 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, to include the Kurta Memo, the 3 September 2014 guidance from the Secretary of Defense regarding discharge upgrade requests by Veterans claiming post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Hagel Memo), and the 25 July 2018 guidance from the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness regarding equity, injustice, or clemency determinations (Wilkie Memo).  In addition, the Board considered the advisory opinion (AO) furnished by a qualified mental health professional dated 16 May 2021, which was previously provided to you. 
  
You began a period of active duty in the Marine Corps on 2 November 1987.  On 16 October 1996, you submitted a request for separation in lieu of trial by court-martial for two specifications of unauthorized absence (UA), and disobedience of a commissioned officer.  At that time, you had been in a UA status on two occasions totaling eight years and six months.  You surrendered to military authorities on 12 September 1996.  On 8 November 1996, a staff judge advocate reviewed your case and recommended that your request be approved. Additionally, you were evaluated by a medical officer and diagnosed, as being Polysubstance dependent on Cocaine, Cannabis, and Alcohol.  You refused treatment in conjunction with your separation from the Marine Corps.  On 22 November 1996, you were discharged from the Marine Corps with an other than honorable characterization of service.   
 
A qualified mental health professional reviewed your request for correction to your record and provided the Board with an AO regarding your assertion that you were suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder during your service.  The AO noted that based on the available evidence, you received a post-discharge diagnosis of PTSD.  However, the preponderance of available objective evidence failed to establish you were diagnosed with a mental health condition, suffered from a mental health condition at the time of your military service, or your in-service misconduct could be mitigated by a mental health condition. 
 
The Board carefully considered all potentially mitigating factors to determine whether the interests of justice warrant relief in your case in accordance with the Wilkie Memo.  These included, but were not limited to your assertions that you were suffering from symptoms of PTSD at the time of your service, and did not know you suffered from PTSD until you were granted service connection by the Veterans Administration.  Based upon this review, the Board concluded these potentially mitigating factors were insufficient to warrant relief.  Specifically, the Board determined that your misconduct, as evidenced by lengthy period UA outweighed these mitigating factors.  Additionally, the Board concurred with the AO that based on the available evidence, the preponderance of available objective evidence failed to establish you were diagnosed with a mental health condition, suffered from a mental health condition at the time of your military service, or your in-service misconduct could be mitigated by a mental health condition.  Accordingly, given the totality of the circumstances, the Board determined that your request does not merit relief.  
 
You are entitled to have the Board reconsider its decision upon 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, 

7/23/21 

Executive Director