DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 8418-17 From: Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records To: Secretary of the Navy Subj: REVIEW OF NAVAL RECORD OF Ref: (a) 10 U.S.C. § 1552 (b) SECDEF memo of 3 Sep 14 (c) PDUSD memo of 24 Feb 16 (d) PDUSD memo of 25 Aug 17 Encl: (1) DD Form 149 with attachments (2) Subject’s naval record (excerpts) (3) Post-service PTSD diagnosis statements of 8 Jun 17 and 21 Mar 17 (4) Advisory Opinion of 24 Nov 17 1. Pursuant to reference (a), Petitioner, a former enlisted member of the Marine Corps, filed enclosure (1) with the Board of Correction of Naval Records (Board) requesting that his General (Under Honorable Conditions) characterization of service be changed in in light of current guidelines as reflected in references (b) through (d). 2. The Board, consisting of, reviewed Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice on 9 January 2019 and, pursuant to its regulations, unanimously determined that the corrective action indicated below should be taken on the available evidence of record. Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of the enclosures, naval records, and applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. In addition, the Board considered the 24 November 2017 advisory opinion (AO), enclosure (4). 3. The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record pertaining to Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice finds as follows: a. Before applying to this Board, Petitioner exhausted all administrative remedies available under existing law and regulations within the Department of the Navy. b. Although enclosure (1) was not filed in a timely manner, it is in the interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations and review the application on its merits. c. The Petitioner enlisted in the Marine Corps and began a period of active duty on 31 August 2009. Petitioner was deployed to Afghanistan and participated in Operation Enduring Freedom from December 2010 to July 2011. Petitioner reported he has frequent nightmares regarding his deployment experiences as well as flashbacks, recurrent intrusive thoughts of his combat related experiences, and avoidance of discussion, thoughts, and cues of those experiences. He has ongoing difficulties with hypervigilance and hyperstartle responses, as well as anger and irritability. Petitioner was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder, alcohol dependence (in full sustained remission), chronic pain, and a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI). He served for a year and eight months without disciplinary incident until receiving nonjudicial punishment (NJP) on 17 April 2011, and 13 September 2011. His offenses included leaving his post without being properly relieved, failure to obey a lawful regulation, and drunken or reckless operation of a vehicle. He remained on active duty until 20 March 2015, when he was discharged with a general (under honorable conditions) characterization of service based on his disciplinary record, and proficiency and conduct mark averages. d. On 26 September 2017, Petitioner requested consideration of his case alleging he suffered from PTSD and TBI during his time of service which might have mitigated the misconduct that resulted in his general (under honorable conditions) characterization of service. Petitioner was provided the AO furnished by a Navy mental health professional, enclosure (4). The AO determined that there is sufficient evidence to support Petitioner’s contention that he had PTSD at the time of the service which contributed to his misconduct. CONCLUSION: Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record, and especially in light of enclosures (3) and (4), the Board concludes that Petitioner's request warrants favorable action. Additionally, the Board reviewed his application under the guidance provided in references (b) and (c). Specifically, the Board considered whether his application was the type that was intended to be covered by this policy. In this regard, the Board initially notes Petitioner’s misconduct and does not condone his actions. However, the Board’s decision is based on Petitioner’s evidence as reflected in his in-service medical record, post-service medical/mental history documentation from his Veterans Administration (VA) record, and the AO. Relief in the form of his characterization of service should be changed to honorable. Further, the Board concluded that the PTSD and TBI were causative factors in Petitioner’s misconduct. This evidence led the Board to reasonably conclude that the PTSD and TBI existed at the time of Petitioner’s discharge, and subsequently resulted in his general (under honorable conditions) discharge. After carefully considering all the evidence, the Board decided that Petitioner’s diagnosed PTSD and TBI should mitigate the misconduct he committed while on active duty since this condition outweighed the severity of the misconduct. The Board concludes that no useful purpose is served by continuing to characterize the Petitioner’s service as “General (Under Honorable Conditions),” and recharacterization to an “Honorable” characterization of service is now more appropriate. Accordingly, the Board finds the existence of an injustice warranting the following corrective action. RECOMMENDATION: That Petitioner’s Marine Corps record be corrected to show that on 20 March 2015, Petitioner’s characterization of service was “Honorable,” the narrative reason for separation was “secretarial authority,” the SPD code assigned was “JFF.” That Petitioner shall be issued a new DD Form 214 which reflects the Honorable discharge. That a copy of this Report of Proceedings should be filed in Petitioner’s naval record. That, upon request, the Department of Veterans Affairs be informed that Petitioner’s application was received by the Board on 26 September 2017. 4. It is certified that a quorum was present at the Board’s review and deliberations, and that the foregoing is a true and complete record of the Board’s proceedings in the above entitled matter. 5. Pursuant to the delegation of authority set out in Section 6(e) of the revised Procedures of the Board for correction of Naval Records (32 Code of Federal Regulation, Section 723.6(e)) and having assured compliance with its provisions, it is hereby announced that the foregoing corrective action, taken under the authority of reference (a), has been approved by the Board on behalf of the Secretary of the Navy. Executive Director