Docket No:  2478-19/ 
            1777-12 
Ref:  Signature Date 
 
Dear : 
  
This letter is in reference to your reconsideration request.  You previously petitioned the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) and were advised that your application had been denied.  Your 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 relevant portions of your naval record and your application, the 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 issue(s) involved.  Therefore, the Board determined that a personal appearance was not necessary and considered your case based on the evidence of record. 
 
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 20 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 advisory opinion (AO) furnished by a qualified mental health professional, dated 18 March 2020, which was previously provided to you. 
 
You presented as new evidence, a letter from you psychiatrist, and your immediate supervisor on the USS  Additionally, you contend that an inaccurate diagnosis has been proven untrue, and that you do not, and did not suffer from paranoia.  After careful and conscientious consideration of the entire record, the Board determined that your statement and evidence you provided, even though not previously considered by the Board, was insufficient to establish the existence of probable material error or injustice.  
  
You request an upgrade of your characterization of service on the basis that you suffered from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder during your military service.  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 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 PTSD during your service.  The AO noted you suffered from PTSD from a physical assault that occurred on 1 August 1965, while sleeping aboard ship.  You claimed you were, assaulted in your sleep by another Sailor and suffered left eye injuries that required 13 stitches to close.  A review of available service records revealed an enlistment physical examination in which you endorsed “nervous trouble of any sort” which you explained as having been rejected for military service due to testing “16” on a “mental test.” There was no other history of mental health conditions. There is a claim in your medical record dated 30 August 1965, for reimbursement to a Hospital for services rendered on 1 August 1965, for repair of a lacerated left upper eyelid.  On 10 December 1965, you underwent a neuro-psychiatric evaluation and were diagnosed with an Inadequate Personality Disorder and recommended for administrative separation due to unsuitability for naval service.  On mental status examination there was no evidence of “psychosis, organic brain syndrome, emotional instability, or severe affective disturbance.” There were no other pertinent in-service medical records.   
 
A letter from a psychiatrist was provided, which stated that you had been in mental health treatment for PTSD and Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Symptoms precipitated from chronic medical co-morbidities.  There were no other details regarding the onset, symptoms, or behavioral effects of your PTSD, or correlation to military service. Your former supervisor stated there were never any signs or symptoms of any serious mental health conditions, especially “what appeared to be trumped-up and unsubstantiated charges of being paranoid/schizophrenic.”  You provided no additional medical records or evidence.   
 
Unfortunately, incomplete information or evidence regarding PTSD was provided in support of your petition. Though you have presented a letter stating you are being treated for PTSD currently, the Board does not have any information indicating when your PTSD was diagnosed, the origin, symptoms, or effects, nor any correlation to your military service or misconduct.  Your personal statement attributes your PTSD to a physical assault that occurred in service.  However, a psychiatric evaluation four months after the reported assault did not reveal any acute or significant mental health symptoms or behaviors.  Additionally, the incident you cite as the origin of your PTSD occurred after your first two NJP’s and summary court martial.   
 
Additional information, such as personal statements, providing some account of your PTSD and its effects on your behavior, or personnel or medical records documenting changes in your mental state or associated behaviors following your traumatic incident and linked to your military misconduct that occurred after your traumatic event, is required to render an alternate opinion.  Should you choose to submit additional clinical information, it will be reviewed in the context of your claims.  You reported an in-service physical assault as the origin of your post-service diagnosed PTSD.  However, at this time, based on the available evidence, there is insufficient evidence to attribute your in-service misconduct to a mental health condition. 
 
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,