Docket No: 1673-19 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. Although your application was not filed in a timely manner, the Board found it in the interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations and consider your application on its merits. A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 7 November 2019. 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, applicable statutes, regulations, policies, and a 25 September 2019 advisory opinion (AO), previously provided to you, to which no response was received. You reenlisted in the Navy on 31 March 1988. On 11 September 1995, you received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) for wrongful use of cocaine. On 15 November 1995, you began a period of unauthorized absence (UA). The documentation regarding your status as a deserter states you were pending administrative separation for misconduct due to drug abuse and alcohol rehabilitation failure. The documentation further stated you had been apprehended by the Sheriff’s office on 19 November 1995 for two civil charges and booked in the county jail. When you were released from the county jail on 20 November 1995, pending arraignment, you left your sea bag at the command and continued in an UA status until apprehended on 15 December 1995. On 11 July 1996, you were convicted by general court-martial (GCM) of 30 days of unauthorized absence, wrongful use of cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and four specifications of distribution of cocaine. The GCM adjudged a dishonorable discharge (DD), five years confinement, forfeiture, and reduction in rank, but the DD was mitigated to a BCD and confinement was reduced to 3 years. The BCD was subsequently approved at all levels of review, and, on 3 April 1998, you were discharged. Your request for an upgrade to your characterization of service was reviewed in consideration of your contention you suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the time of your 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 Board’s review, a qualified mental health professional reviewed your request and provided the Board with the 25 September 2019 AO. The AO noted you did not submit any medical evidence of a diagnosis of a mental health condition. The AO further states that “personal and family stressors can lead to a mental health condition” but there is insufficient evidence to support the contention without a comprehensive history of your mental health symptoms. The AO was provided to you on 27 September 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. The Board carefully reviewed your application, weighed all potentially mitigating factors, and considered your contentions that you are suffering from PTSD, need help from the Department of Veterans Affairs, you were a 4.0 sailor but an extremely difficult divorce created stressors in your life, and you began to use drugs to “escape my life for a little while” but then you became “addicted to crack cocaine” which resulted in “lost control of your life”. The Board further considered your contention that it’s been twenty years since your discharge and at the time of your discharge you had “been through two deployments” and “all these life changing things left me mentally, emotionally, and with anxiety problems” that are still part of your life. The Board, however, concurred with the AO and determined there is insufficient evidence to support a finding that PTSD or a mental health condition contributed to or mitigated your misconduct. The Board did not find evidence of an error or injustice that warrants changing your BCD, nor did it find that clemency was warranted given the severity of your drug related misconduct which included, not only use and possession with intent to distribute but also distribution. 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.