DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 1525-19/ 1913-14 Ref: Signature Date Dear : This letter is in reference to your reconsideration request dated 25 January 2019. Your husband previously petitioned the Board (Board) and was advised that his application had been disapproved. This 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 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. Because your application was submitted with new evidence 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 10 July 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 10 February 2020 advisory opinion (AO) furnished by a Navy mental health professional, which was previously provided to you. You presented as new evidence, a personal statement, and your husband’s in-service inpatient disposition form from his hospitalization. Additionally, you state that your husband served with extreme pride. However, the intense life stressors of being in the military caused him to develop an Adjustment Disorder. He mentally could not adjust, and his behaviors were simply a cry for help. He was not a bad sailor as his discharge status indicates. You request an upgrade of your husband’s characterization of service on the basis that he suffered from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder during his 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.” A Navy mental health professional further reviewed your request for correction to your husband’s record and provided the Board with an AO regarding your assertion he was suffering from a mental health condition during his service. The AO noted that your husband had in-service diagnoses for an Adjustment Disorder with mixed emotional features, Occupational Problem (his primary stressor), Alcohol Abuse, and Personality Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified, with Mixed Features. There is no evidence that your husband suffered from a mental health condition of sufficient severity as to mitigate his serious misconduct. At the time of his misconduct, he was fully competent and responsible for his actions. Additional information, such as post-service medical records containing a diagnosis of an ongoing major mental health condition associated with his military service and linked to his military misconduct is required to render an alternate opinion. Based on the available evidence, there is insufficient evidence of a mental health condition attributable to your husband’s military service that may have mitigated his misconduct. The Board concurred with the AO that your husband’s mental health conditions were not of sufficient severity as to mitigate his serious misconduct, and that he was fully competent and responsible for his actions. After careful and conscientious consideration of the entire record, the Board determined that your statement and documentation you provided, even though not previously considered by the Board, were insufficient to establish the existence of probable material error or injustice that warrants an upgrade in the characterization of his 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. Sincerely,