Docket No:  673-20 
    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.  
 
The Board determined that your personal appearance, with or without counsel, would not materially add to their understanding of the issues involved.  Therefore, the Board determined that a personal appearance was not necessary and considered your case based on the evidence of record. 

A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 5 April 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 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 9 February 2021, which was previously provided to you. 

You enlisted in the Navy and began a period of active duty on 12 March 1992.  The record states that although you tested negative on a urinalysis, you were counseled with regard to admitting to drug use, and warned that further misconduct could result in administrative discharge action.  On 13 March 1993, you received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) for two specifications of being absent from your appointed place of duty, and disobedience.  On 17 June 1993, you were convicted by summary court-martial (SCM) of four specifications of being absent from your appointed place of duty, two specifications of disobedience, dereliction of duty, and making a false official statement.  You were notified that administrative discharge action had been initiated for misconduct due to a pattern of misconduct.  On 30 June 1993, you case was forwarded to the separation authority with the recommendation that you be separated from the Navy due to misconduct.  On 28 July 1993, the separation authority directed that you be discharged from the Navy due to a pattern of misconduct.  On 9 August 1993, you were discharged from the Navy with an other than honorable characterization of service. On 11 January 2011, the Board reviewed your discharge, including your post-service accomplishments, and denied your request to upgrade your character of service.  At that time, you stated that you were a young, out of control person who did not know what he wanted in life except to have a good time and party, that things were going well until you heard that your mother was going blind from Graves Disease, and your father had been out of work for six months.  You stated that you requested leave, which was denied, and you honestly lost your mind and resorted to alcohol and drugs to keep from going completely crazy because you wanted to go home. 
 
Your current 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. 
 
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 a mental health condition during your service.  The AO noted that your post-discharge diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder may indicate the existence of prodromal mental health symptoms during your military service and be considered mitigating for some of your in-service misconduct; however, it does not mitigate your non-disclosure of a childhood hospitalization for suicidal ideation or prior suicide attempt. 
 
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 contentions that: (a) you were discharged due to a mental illness that was not recognized as an illness at the time, and you were treated as if you were a troublemaker; (b) you were not prepared for the onset of physical and psychological reactions you would experience shortly after receiving orders to the Gulf War; (c) you were not equipped to experience the long grueling hours in extremely dangerous situations, living on a high level of alert, and witnessing injuries; and (d)  carrying the burden of assisting in the deployment of strikes that not only killed and injured those who would do our country harm, but also innocent women and children used as shields, caused you to seek help from shipboard doctors at the onset of your symptoms that are now recognized as PTSD.  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 your NJP and SCM conviction outweighed these mitigating factors.  Additionally, the Board concurred with the AO that your post-discharge diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder may indicate the existence of prodromal mental health symptoms during your military service and be considered mitigating for some of your in-service misconduct; however, it does not mitigate your non-disclosure of a childhood hospitalization for suicidal ideation or prior suicide attempt.  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,