Docket No: 3643-19 108-16 Ref: Signature Date Dear : This letter is in reference to your reconsideration request received on 20 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. 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 17 June 2020, which was previously provided to you. You presented as new evidence a Veterans Administration (VA) Summary of Benefits, 72 Hour Involuntary Commitment Advisement, VA Ratings Decision Letter noting an increase in your service –connected disability rating for PTSD from 70 to 100%, and a letter from a treating psychiatrist at VA Healthcare System. Additionally, you noted that you are a Persian Gulf veteran and “suffered a lot of psychiatric problems in the Navy, but still served.” You also noted that you were told that the time that you served would be considered honorable when you signed your paperwork, and you did not understand that you would be receiving an other than honorable discharge. 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 and thus not material. 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 the assertions in your petition and the documents you provided, as well as your service record. As detailed in the AO, your in-service records document your Personality Disorder diagnosis but no evidence of other mental health conditions. You have provided evidence of post-discharge diagnoses of PTSD, Major Depression, General Anxiety Disorder, and Panic Disorder with a VA Ratings Decision granting service-connection for PTSD at 100%. However, you have submitted no evidence describing specific in-service trauma, or that you exhibited any symptoms or behaviors suggestive of a major mental health condition during your military service. There was no evidence submitted that included a clinical history, date of diagnosis, or linkage to your in-service misconduct. Additional evidence, such as medical records containing a diagnosis of a mental health condition associated with your military service and linked to your military misconduct 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. There has been no clinical information provided linking your post-discharge diagnoses to your in-service misconduct. Therefore, there is insufficient evidence to attribute your in-service misconduct to your post-discharge diagnosed mental health conditions. 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,