DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 10685-19 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. A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 8 March 2021. The names and votes of the panel members 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 the 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, to include the 25 July 2018 guidance from the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness regarding equity, injustice or clemency determinations (Wilkie Memo). In addition, the Board considered the advisory opinion (AO) furnished by a qualified mental health professional dated 19 January 2021, which was previously provided to you. You enlisted in the Marine Corps and began a period of active duty on 5 November 1999. On 2 January 2000, you began a period of unauthorized absence (UA) that lasted 65 days, ending on 7 March 200. On 22 March 2000, you submitted a written request for an other than honorable (OTH) discharge in order to avoid trial by court-martial for 65 days of UA. Prior to submitting this request for discharge, you conferred with a qualified military lawyer, were advised of your rights and warned of the probable adverse consequences of accepting such a discharge. Subsequently, your request for discharge was granted and on 26 April 2000, you received an OTH discharge in lieu of trial by court-martial. As a result of this action, you were spared the stigma of a court-martial conviction and the potential penalties of a punitive discharge and confinement at hard labor. 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 Board 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 mental health professional reviewed your request for correction to your record and provided the Board with an AO regarding your assertion that you was suffering from a mental health condition during your service. The AO noted that based on the available objective evidence, there is insufficient evidence of a mental health condition at the time of your enlistment attributable to your military service that may have mitigated your misconduct. The Board carefully considered all potentially mitigating factors to determine whether the interests of justice warrant relief in your case in accordance with the Wilkie Memo. These included, but were not limited to your statement that your misconduct arose when you “exhausted all military avenues to get emergency medical leave during my wife’s pregnancy and deteriorating mental health, I remained home to support her, was arrested, served time.” You further contended, “I was doing what a good Marine should do take care of his family.” Based upon this review, the Board concluded these potentially mitigating factors were insufficient to warrant relief. Specifically, the Board determined that your misconduct, as evidenced by the referral of charges to a court-martial for a lengthy period of UA, and your request for discharge outweighed these mitigating factors. Additionally, the Board believed that considerable clemency was extended to you when your request for discharge was approved, and further concurred with the AO that the preponderance of available objective evidence fails to establish that you were diagnosed with a mental health condition, suffered from a mental health condition at the time of your military service, or your in-service misconduct could be attributed to a mental health condition. Accordingly, given the totality of the circumstances, the Board determined that your request does not merit relief. 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. Sincerely, Executive Director