DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY 
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 
ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 

Docket No: 3277-18 
JUL 29 2019 

Dear 

This is in reference to your application for correction of your naval record pursuant to the provisions of Title I 0, 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 24 June 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. In addition, the Board considered the enclosed 19 October 2018 advisory opinion (AO) furnished by a qualified Navy mental health professional dated, which was previously provided to you, , your 20 November 2018 rebuttal, and the updated 29 November 2018 AO, which is also enclosed. 

You enlisted in the Navy and began a period of active duty on 22 March 1994. On 4 April 1994, a Recruit Evaluation Unit diagnosed you with passive-aggressive personality disorder, which existed prior to your entry onto active duty. It was recommended that you receive an uncharacterized entry-level separation (ELS) due to fraudulent enlistment. You were notified of administrative discharge action by reason of convenience of the goverrunent due to a personality disorder. After being afforded your procedural rights, you elected not to consult with counsel and elected only to obtain copies of the documents that would be forwarded to the separation authority supporting the basis for the proposed separation. On 6 April 1994, your commanding officer authorized your separation from the Navy for the convenience of the goverrunent due to a personality disorder. You received your uncharacterized ELS on 11 April 1994.
 
You request an upgrade of your characterization of service on the basis, in part, that you suffered from unrecognized post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the time of your military service. 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 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" memorandum of 25 August 2017.
 
A qualified Navy mental health professional reviewed your request and provided the Board with an AO regarding your assertion that you suffered from PTSD during your service. The AO noted that there is very little information available for review, that there is no diagnosis of PTSD in the provided post-service records, that the factors that led to your ELS are unclear, as your in-service medical records were not available for review, that your discharge paperwork notes "personality disorder," but the clinical information that led to that diagnosis is not available, and that there is no evidence that you experienced a traumatic event during your brief period of service. The AO thus concluded that your ELS cannot be attributed to PTSD, and your claim of PTSD cannot be attributed to military service. 

On 20 November 2018, you responded to the AO, providing additional clinical evidence consisting of excerpted 2018 treatment records from a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), which indicate that you are receiving anxiety management strategies, including deep breathing, guided imagery, mindfulness, and meditation to address PTSD from your Navy experiences.
 
On 29 November 2018, an updated AO from the same qualified Navy mental health professional noted that the traumatic events experienced by you in-service as described by your mother's statement and your clinician's note do not indicate that you were exposed to actual or threatened death during your brief service, although you did experience exposure to traumatic events prior to entering the Navy, including child physical abuse from your father, and being threatened at gunpoint and shot at by a neighborhood bully. The AO also noted that your post-service clinical records do not indicate whether the symptoms of PTSD are directly related your Navy experiences or to childhood trauma. Nevertheless, the records indicate that you do have a diagnosis of PTSD that your civilian clinician has determined to be attributed to military service. The AO noted, too, that, while the LCSW did provide medical records indicating that you are experiencing symptoms of PTSD, there is insufficient evidence that your ELS is attributable to PTSD. The AO determined that, while your in-service records were still not available for review, your mother's statement supports the apparent in-service clinical opinion that you had long-standing emotional and characterological difficulties, which made you unsuitable for military service. 

The Board carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, such as your brief period of service, your desire to upgrade your discharge, and your diagnoses of personality disorder and subsequent diagnoses of memory loss, severe PTSD, and major depression. The Board also considered your assertion that there was no willful misconduct in your actions or behavior, which were merely symptoms of your underlying conditions. The Board, however, concluded that these factors and assertions were not sufficient to warrant recharacterization of your discharge given your condition that existed prior to your active-duty service. The Board noted that there is no evidence to support your mother's contentions that the Navy fraudulently enlisted you, or that your acknowledgement of your pending separation action and waiver of your right to submit a statement regarding the action were coerced. The Board also noted that you were 
notified of your separation within 180 days of the beginning of your period of active service. Applicable Navy regulations required an uncharacterized ELS if the processing of a Sailor's separation begins within 180 days a Sailor's entry on active duty, unless a characterization of honorable was clearly warranted by the presence of unusual circumstances involving personal conduct and performance of naval duty and was approved on a case-by-case basis by the Secretary of the Navy. The Board determined that a characterization of honorable was not clearly warranted and thus concluded that there is no probable material error or injustice warranting corrective action.
 
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, 

Enclosure