DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 7147-18 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. 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 4 November 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, as well as applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. In addition, the Board considered the 21 May 2019 advisory opinion (AO) furnished by a Navy mental health professional, which was previously provided to you. You enlisted in the Navy and began a period of active duty on 23 September 1998. On 9 August 2001, you received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) for wrongful use of amphetamine. On 23 August 2001, you were notified of administrative discharge action for misconduct due to drug abuse. After being afforded your procedural rights, you waived your right to request that your case be heard before an administrative discharge board. On 5 September 2001, your case was forwarded to the separation authority with the recommendation that you be discharged with an other than honorable (OTH) characterization of service due to drug abuse. On 7 September 2001, the separation authority directed that you receive an OTH discharge due to drug abuse. On 5 October 2001, you were discharged with an OTH characterization of service. Your request was fully and carefully considered by the Board in light of the Secretary of Defense's 3 September 2014 memorandum, “Supplemental Guidance to Military Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records Considering Discharge Upgrade Requested by Veterans Claiming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,” the 25 August 2017 memorandum, “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,” and the 25 July 2018 memorandum, “Guidance to Military Discharge Review Boards and Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records Regarding Equity, Injustice, or Clemency Determinations.” A Navy mental health professional reviewed your request for correction to your record and provided the Board with an AO regarding your assertion you were suffering from a mental health condition during your service. The AO noted that in your discharge physical, you acknowledged drug use, specifically ‘crystal meth,’ but denied any other symptoms of a mental health condition. No additional records were available for review and you have submitted no mental health records. There is no clinical information to support your contention that you incurred PTSD during your military service. Post-service records describing your mental health symptoms and their specific link to your military misconduct are required to render an alternate opinion. Based on the available evidence, it was opined that there is insufficient evidence that you had a diagnosis of PTSD that should be attributed to your military service or that your misconduct should be attributed to PTSD. The Board carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, such as your record of service, and desire to upgrade your discharge. The Board also considered your assertions that you were sent to the Persian Gulf and self-medicated when you returned from the war. Additionally, the Board considered that, since your discharge, you have completely turned your life around, have a family, remained an upstanding citizen, still have PTSD from the war, and only ask for a chance to receive Department of Veterans Affairs care. The Board concluded these factors and assertions were not sufficient to warrant changing your characterization of service given your misconduct, which resulted in NJP for drug abuse. Further, the Board concurred with the AO’s statement that there is insufficient evidence that you had a diagnosis of PTSD that should be attributed to your military service, or that your misconduct should be attributed to PTSD. 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 the 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.