Docket No. 10297-19 
Ref: Signature Date 


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 relevant portions of your naval record and your application, 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 23 July 2020.  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 advisory opinions contained in Psychiatric Advisor CORB letter 1910 CORB: 002 of 28 May 2020 and Director CORB letter 1910 CORB: 001 of 8 June 2020; copies of which were previously provided to you for comment. 

A review of your record shows that you entered active duty with the Marine Corps in January 2015 and completed your initial training pipeline without incident.  However, during your deployment to Okinawa in 2016, you reported mental health issues related to your deployment and military service.  As a result, you were diagnosed with an Adjustment Disorder in December 2016.  Over the next several months, you were seen by multiple mental health providers and similarly diagnosed with an Adjustment Disorder based on your occupational problems.  On 9 May 2017, you reported suicidal ideations and were recommended for administrative separation based on your Adjustment Disorder diagnosis.  You contested your diagnosis, but your diagnosis was affirmed on 25 May 2017 after a revaluation by your provider.  As a result, you were discharged from the Marine Corps on 11 July 2017 for condition not a disability and assigned a General characterization of service.  In February 2018, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) assigned you a 50% disability rating for depression. 

The Board carefully considered your arguments that you were misdiagnosed by the Marine Corps and erroneously discharged without a referral to the Disability Evaluation System (DES).  You request a change to your narrative reason for separation to disability or referral to the DES. Unfortunately, the Board disagreed with your rationale for relief.  In making their findings, the Board substantially concurred with the advisory opinions in your case.  Specifically, they concluded that the preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that you were unfit for continued naval service due to a compensable disability condition.  

In order to qualify for disability discharge or retirement through the Disability Evaluation System, a service member must be unable to perform the duties of their office, grade, rank or rating as a result of a compensable disability condition incurred while in receipt of basic pay.  In your case, the Board was unable to determine you suffered from a compensable disability condition.  Medical evidence in your record documents that multiple mental health providers consistently diagnosed you with an Adjustment Disorder between December 2016 and May 2017.  Despite your argument that adjustment disorders normally occur in the first six months of service, the Board concluded other circumstances may lead to an adjustment disorder outside of the initial six months of service.  As pointed out in the advisory opinion, a service member’s military environment often changes based on the type and place of military assignment. These changes can result in adjustment issues due to a multitude of factors, including separation from family and a change in work environment, that may lead to an Adjustment Disorder outside an initial six-month period of active duty. Your medical record shows that you struggled with your deployment to Okinawa for a number of personal and work related reasons that led you to question your Marine Corps enlistment.  This occurred despite your successful completion your initial training pipeline.  Based on the medical documentation, the Board concluded your mental health struggles were directly connected to your deployment to Okinawa and military service.   In their opinion, this supports the multiple Adjustment Disorder diagnoses you received over the months prior to your discharge.  Since adjustment disorders were not considered compensable disability conditions under military disability regulations, you were not eligible for DES referral or a disability discharge. 

The Board also considered the VA rating in your case, but concluded it did not carry more weight than the contemporaneous mental health evaluations you received prior to your discharge from the Marine Corps.  The Board did not question the fact you were suffering from depression after your release from active duty but concurred with the advisory opinions that weight of the evidence supported the adjustment disorder diagnoses you received while on active duty.  As explained above, the Board concluded there was sufficient evidence to support your Adjustment Disorder diagnosis and your discharge based on it.  While it is possible that you were suffering from depression at the time of your discharge, based on the medical evidence leading up to your discharge, your Adjustment Disorder symptoms were the reason the Marine Corps concluded it was in the government’s interest to discharge you. Accordingly, the Board found insufficient evidence of error or injustice to warrant a change to your record.  

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, 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.  




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