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

Docket No: 7264-18
Ref: Signature Date

Dear	:

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 that 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 23 September 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 4 April 2019 advisory opinion (AO) furnished by a Navy mental health professional, your rebuttal thereto, and the enclosed 4 June 2019 updated AO.

You enlisted in the Marine Corps and began a period of active duty on 5 March 1985. Your service records indicate that charges were preferred against you to a court-martial for a period of unauthorized absence (UA) from 29 June 1985 to 30 July 1985. The disposition of offense was not found in your official records. On 30 October 1985, you began another period of UA that lasted over six years, ending with your apprehension on 2 January 1992. During the period from 14 January to 5 February 1992, you were admitted to a Navy hospital. The medical officer’s notes indicate your chief complaint stated was “I’ve been weird since I was a kid.” The report states that you were apprehended by civil authorities during a violent altercation. The details of the altercation were unknown; however, it was reported that you injured two police officers, and when it was learned that that you in a deserter status from the Marine Corps for over six years, you were returned to the custody of military authorities. You were finally diagnosed with “bipolar disorder, manic, with mood congruent psychotic features.” On 28 January 1992, administrative discharge action was initiated to separate you from the Marine Corps due to commission of a serious offense (your six-year UA).  Your case was forwarded to the separation authority, and it was directed that you receive an other than honorable (OTH) characterization of service due to commission of a serious offense.  On 5 February 1992, you were so discharged.

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,” of 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.”

As part of the review process, a Navy mental health professional reviewed your request 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, in part, that in July 1985, you returned from a 30-day period of UA, and you were UA for over six years when you were apprehended by civilian authorities following a “violent altercation.” In February 1992, you were discharged following a 3-week inpatient hospitalization in which you were evaluated and received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, manic, with mood congruent psychotic features. Despite repeated medical advice to the contrary, you declined medication treatment for your disorder. During the evaluation, it was determined that you were hospitalized in a civilian hospital in February 1991 following “directing traffic in the nude,” and received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, manic episode. No additional records were available for review. The AO noted that you do have a diagnosis of a mental health condition that you received during your military service.  There is no indication that you had been diagnosed prior to entering the military. However, the AO determined that there is insufficient evidence that your period of UA should be attributed to your mental health condition. The AO noted that you were able to complete your boot camp training without any incident reported in your service record. The AO further noted that after your UA, you functioned to some degree until February 1991, when you had your first hospitalization. The AO determined that there is no indication that you went UA because of symptoms of bipolar disorder. The AO further determined that post-service records regarding the symptoms and history of the diagnosis are required to render an alternate opinion, and that these records need to document your mental health symptoms and their specific link to your misconduct. Accordingly, based on the available evidence, the AO determined that there is insufficient evidence that your misconduct should be attributed to your mental health condition.

In rebuttal to the AO, you submitted additional information from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). A 4 June 2019 updated AO states that additional information was submitted by the DVA, including an October 2018 decision that you were not insane at the time of discharge from the military. The documentation also shows that in October 2005, you received a tuberculosis skin test. In April 2013, you contacted the DVA suicide prevention hotline during a period of homelessness and were provided with referrals. The rebuttal documents also state that in September 2013, you sought a mental health evaluation. The updated AO determined that the information provided by the DVA does not provide additional information regarding the timeline of the emergence of your symptoms of bipolar disorder, and concurred with the original AO.


The Board carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors in your case, including your record of service, desire to upgrade your discharge, and that you are unable to utilize Veterans facilities. The Board also considered your assertions that your mental condition, at that time, was such that you were unable to perform your duties in a responsible manner, and your mental status, at the time, interfered with your ability to understand and follow orders, as you should have. However, the Board concluded that these factors and assertions were insufficient to warrant changing your characterization of service given your misconduct, which resulted in a period of UA lasting over six years.  The Board concurred with the AO statements that, based on the available evidence, there is insufficient evidence that your misconduct should be attributed to your mental health condition.

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.