DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 1426-19 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 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. Regarding your request for a personal appearance, the Board determined that a personal appearance with or without counsel will not materially add to their understanding of the issues involved. Therefore, the Board determined that a personal appearance was not necessary and considered your case based on the evidence of record. A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 16 June 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, as well as applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. In addition, the Board considered the 4 September 2019 advisory opinion (AO) furnished by a Navy mental health professional, which was previously provided to you. On 3 November 1981, you reenlisted in the Navy after serving over six years of prior honorable service. On 25 January 1984, you received NJP for knowingly and wrongfully using marijuana. On 2 April 1984, you were issued a Letter of Substandard Service concerning your failure to conduct yourself at the level required of a petty officer. You were informed that your continued failure could result in your involuntary separation from the Navy. On 23 August 1984, you received NJP for wrongful use of marijuana. Based on your Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214), you were discharged from the Navy on 24 September 1984, for misconduct due to drug abuse and received an other than honorable characterization of service. Your original service record was incomplete and did not contain any documentation pertaining to your separation from the Navy. Absent such evidence, the Board relied upon the presumption of regularity and presumed that the officials acted in accordance with governing law/policy and in good faith. 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.” In your request for review, you submitted a personal statement that you were suffering from unrecognized symptoms of mental health conditions, including bipolar disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from childhood physical abuse you sustained. You submitted an October 2018 letter of support from your civilian psychiatrist stating that you have been treated for at least 15 years, and you have been diagnosed with bipolar I disorder. The psychiatrist opined that symptoms of bipolar disorder and a fear of reporting symptoms due to stigma might have been factors in your misconduct. You submitted photos, a credential of ministry from January 2018, college diplomas, and a newspaper clipping of a youth soccer clinic that you led in your community. No other records were available for review. A Navy mental health professional further 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. The AO noted that you have a diagnosis of bipolar disorder that your long-time psychiatrist opines that you may have been experiencing during military service. However, there is insufficient information regarding the rationale to attribute your current diagnosis to military service, which ended more than 15 years before you began receiving treatment from your long­time provider. In-service, you functioned successfully for more than six years, which is inconsistent with active symptoms of bipolar disorder during service. You were also evaluated during military service and found to have no mental health diagnosis. As such, the AO concluded that there is insufficient evidence to attribute your misconduct to a mental health condition suffered during your military service. The Board carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, such as your record of service and your desire to upgrade your discharge. The Board also considered your assertions that your mental health conditions of Bipolar 1, PTSD, and Social Anxiety Disorder were not known at the time of your discharge, and had this information been available, your discharge would have reflected the medical issues. Additionally, the Board considered your assertions that you were born with Bipolar 1 Disorder, and that you suffered from mental and physical abuse beginning at 16 months when your mother broke your arm in anger. Further, you claim that the abuse continue by your parents, you were beat up on the back of a school bus nearly every day until you joined the Navy, and that your father introduced you to amphetamines in 1965, when you were 8 years old. You assert that these events led to several suicidal thoughts while in the Navy and actual attempts since leaving the service. The Board concluded these factors and assertions were not sufficient to warrant recharacterization of your discharge given your misconduct, which resulted in two NJPs for drug abuse and the fact that you were issued a Letter of Substandard Service informing you that your failure to overcome your deficiencies could result in administrative discharge action. Further, the Board concurred with the AO that there is insufficient evidence to attribute your misconduct to a mental health condition suffered during your military service. 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.