Docket No:  3558-19 
            6722-01 
Ref:  Signature Date 

 
Dear : 
  
This letter is in reference to your reconsideration request received on 27 March 2019.  You previously petitioned the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) and were advised that your application had been disapproved.  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 the entire record, 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 31 August 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 5 June 2020, which was previously provided to you. 
 
You presented as new evidence several personal statements, letters of support, clinical records, and Mental Health Clinic Progress Notes.  Additionally, you contend that you only committed minor misconduct mitigated by racial bias, your discharge was disproportionate to your misconduct, that you were not able to face the mental health conditions you were dealing with until recently, and that you have new and material medical records of a mental health condition that is pertinent to your case.  After careful and conscientious consideration of the entire record, the Board determined that the statements and evidence you provided, even though not previously considered by the Board, were insufficient to establish the existence of probable material error or injustice and thus not material.  
 
You have requested 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 that you were suffering from mental health conditions during your service.  As detailed in the AO, the mental health professional opined that, at this time, based on the available evidence, there is insufficient evidence that you incurred a mental health condition attributable to your military service, and that there is insufficient evidence that your in-service misconduct is attributable 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,