DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 7971-18/751-15 Ref: Signature Date This letter is in reference to your reconsideration request dated 2 April 2018. You previously petitioned the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) and were advised that your application had been disapproved. Your case was reconsidered in accordance with Board procedures that conform to Lipsman v. Sec’y of the Army, 335 F. Supp. 2d 48 (D.D.C. 2004). After careful and conscientious consideration of the entire record, the Board found the evidence submitted was insufficient to establish the existence of probable material error or injustice. Consequently, your application has been denied. Because your application was submitted with new matters not previously considered, the Board found it in the interest of justice to review your application. Your current request has been carefully examined by a three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session on 3 February 2020. The names and votes of the members of the panel will be furnished upon request. Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of your application and all material submitted in support of your application. In addition, the Board considered the 15 August 2019 advisory opinion (AO) furnished by a qualified Navy mental health professional. On 21 May 2019, the Board wrote you requesting additional medical or clinical evidence from you in support of your claim, and received no response. The AO was provided to you on 16 August 2019, and you were given 30 days in which to submit a response. When you did not provide a response, your case was submitted to the Board for consideration. You presented no new evidence, just your application and assertions that your command had you escorted to a psychiatrist due to a manic episode, but the information was never submitted into your medical record, or treated correctly. The Board determined that your statement you provided, even though not previously considered by the Board, was insufficient to establish the existence of probable material error or injustice. You request an upgrade of your characterization of service on the basis that you suffered from a mental health condition during your military 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.” As part of the review process, a qualified Navy mental health professional further 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 that in your pre-enlistment paperwork, you reported prior marijuana use, arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol and being a minor in possession of alcohol, and for possession of marijuana. In your current request for review, you submitted a statement that you were suffering from unrecognized bipolar disorder during your military service. No additional records were available for review. That AO noted that, unfortunately, you have submitted no medical documentation of a mental health condition. The AO determined that additional, post-service medical records describing the your mental health symptoms and their specific link to your military misconduct are required to render a comprehensive opinion. The AO also found that you had pre-service marijuana use and opined that it is as likely as not that your in-service misconduct represented a return to pre-service behavior. Based on the available information, the Board concurred with the AO’s determination that there is insufficient evidence to attribute your misconduct to a mental health condition incurred in military service. It is regretted that the circumstances of your reconsideration petition 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 the absence of new matters for reconsideration, the decision of the Board is final, and your only recourse would be to seek relief, at no cost to the Board, from a court of appropriate jurisdiction. 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.