DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 8840-17 This letter 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 11 March 2019. 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 5 February 2019 advisory opinion (AO), which was previously sent to you on 8 February 2019. You enlisted in the Navy and began a period of active duty on 30 July 1997. On 26 January 1998, you received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) for larceny. On 16 July 1998, you received a second NJP for failing to obey a lawful order. On 14 November 1998, you received a third NJP for failing to repay a just debt. Then the found you guilty of driving under the influence and shoplifting. You were subsequently notified of administrative separation procedures against you. Subsequently, your commanding officer (CO) recommended that you be administratively separated with an other than honorable characterization of service for committing a serious offiense. On 20 August 1999, you were separated from the Navy on the basis of a pattern of misconduct and received an other than honorable characterization of service. In your petition to the Board, you request an upgrade to your discharge characterization from other than honorable to general. You contended that you suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and that the issues that led to your PTSD also impacted your performance in the Navy. You stated that, during the course of a Navy deployment, you encountered numerous tragic events, including witnessing several friends get caught in the exhaust of an F-14 and an F­18, one friend get blown from the ship into the gulf, and seeing two or three sexual assaults occur. You also described the return of an F-14 fighter jet from a mission with live explosives still attached. You indicated that you are not the same person since that deployment, and that you started to use alcohol to cope. You noted that you did not realize you were suffering from PTSD until some other veterans told you that you should go to the Department of Veterans Affairs for help. Your 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. As part of the review process, a licensed clinical psychologist reviewed your assertions and the available records, and provided the Board an AO on 5 February 2019. The AO noted that you did not submit medical records or post-service treatment recorders indicating your receipt of a diagnosis of PTSD. The AO also opined that the type of misconduct that you engaged in was unlikely to be related to PTSD. The AO concluded that, based on the available evidence, there is insufficient information to attribute your misconduct to PTSD or a mental health condition. The AO was sent to you and you were given 30 days to respond. When you did not respond, your case was submitted to the Board for consideration. The Board took into consideration the findings of the AO, your contentions of PTSD, your personal statement regarding the trauma you witnessed during deployment, and reviewed the nature of the misconduct reflected in your service record. The Board concurred with the AO and found that, based on the lack of post-service medical information, there is insufficient evidence to determine that you suffered from PTSD at the time of your military service and that your misconduct was mitigated by your mental health condition. The Board also noted that your misconduct included a civilian conviction for shoplifting and an NJP for failing to repay a just debt. The Board found that, notwithstanding your issues with alcohol, the type of misconduct reflected in your record is not typical of behavior associated with, and mitigated by, PTSD. You also stated that you were told that you would be given a general discharge under honorable conditions, but the Board found no evidence to support that allegation. The administrative separation documents contained in your record stated that your CO was recommending an other than honorable discharge and, given the presumption of regularity, the Board presumes that you were provided these documents at the time of the administrative proceedings unless you can provide significant evidence to the contrary. The Board reviewed your discharge proceedings and determined that you were discharged from the Navy without error or injustice, and that your other than honorable discharge is supported by the misconduct you committed while on active duty. 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 submission of new matters. 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, Executive Director 6/24/2019