Docket No:  2289-19 
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 13 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 opinion (AO) furnished by a qualified mental health professional dated 23 March 2020, which was previously provided to you. 
 
You enlisted in the Navy and began a period of active duty on 28 January 1974.  On 24 January 1975, you received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) for disobeying a lawful order, and being absent from your appointed place of duty.  On 15 August 1975, you were, convicted by special court-martial (SPCM) of unauthorized absence, disrespect and violence against a commissioned officer, and disobedience of a lawful order.  On 18 December 1975, you receive NJP for disrespectful language.  On 19 September 1975, you were notified of administrative discharge action due to being diagnosed with a Personality Disorder.  Your case was forwarded to the separation authority, and on 7 October 1975, it was directed that you be discharged from the Navy with the type warranted by your service record.  On 16 October 1975, you separated from the Navy with a general discharge. 
 
The Board noted that a characterization of service is based in part on conduct marks assigned on a periodic basis.  Your conduct average was 2.7.  At the time of your service, a conduct average of 3.0 was required to be considered for a fully honorable characterization of service due to the reason for your discharge. 
 
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.” 
 
A 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 contended the upgrade was warranted as, “I am diagnosed with Bipolar I Disorder and I believe that in service this condition was in its early stages.”  You attribute your misconduct to your incipient mental condition.  A review of available service records revealed a discharge physical in which you stated you were in “good health” and denied any mental health symptoms or conditions.  The examiner found you medically qualified for release from active duty without additional mental health follow up or consultations.  There were no other in-service medical records available for review.  You provided a letter from Dr. , M.D., stating, “[p]etitioner carries a diagnosis of personality disorder” and has a “history of childhood sexual trauma…known to cause depression, anxiety…and maladaptive behavior later in life.”  In Dr.  opinion, “it is possible that the events leading to his general discharge could be connected to past events and burgeoning affective and personality issues.”  You also provided a Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Ratings Decision Letter dated 23 January 2019, granting service connection for major depressive disorder with an evaluation of 70 percent effective 30 October 2018.  Though your in-service records only reference an in-service psychiatric diagnosis of personality disorder, you have submitted evidence of the DVA granting you service connection for Major Depressive Disorder thirty-plus years after your discharge.  Based on the foregoing, the mental health professional, in his AO, concluded that “there is sufficient evidence that it is as likely as not [you] suffered from a mental health condition during [your] military service.”  However, the AO further concluded that there is insufficient evidence to fully attribute your misconduct to a mental health condition. 
 
The Board carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, such as your record of service, and desire to upgrade your discharge.  The Board also considered your assertions that while in service, you were diagnosed as homicidal/suicidal and no treatment was offered to you, and you have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and believe that while in service, this condition was in its early stages.  The Board concluded these factors and assertions were not sufficient to warrant recharacterization of your discharge given your misconduct, which resulted in two NJPs, a conviction by SPCM, and your failure to attain the required average in conduct.  The Board concurred with the AO in that there is insufficient evidence to fully attribute your misconduct to a mental health condition. 
 
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. 
 
Sincerely,