Docket No: 3745-19 Ref: Signature Date MR Dear Mr. : 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 16 September 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 June 2020, which was previously provided to you. You enlisted in the Navy and began a period of active duty on 22 February 1994. On 19 May 1994, you began a period of unauthorized absence (UA) that lasted 154 days, ending with your apprehension on 20 October 1994. Your original service record was incomplete and did not contain any documentation pertaining to your discharge. However, based on your Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD 214), it appears you submitted a written request for an other than honorable (OTH) discharge in order to avoid trial by court-martial for the UA. Prior to submitting this request for discharge, you would have conferred with a qualified military lawyer, would have been advised of your rights, and warned of the probable adverse consequences of accepting such a discharge. Subsequently, it also appears your request for discharge was granted and on 13 December 1994, and you received an OTH discharge in lieu of trial by court-martial. As a result of this action, you were spared the stigma of a court-martial conviction and the potential penalties of a punitive discharge and confinement at hard labor. The Board noted that you provided no evidence to support your contentions. Absent such evidence, the Board relied upon the presumption of regularity and presumed that the officials acted in accordance with governing law/policy and in good faith. 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 qualified mental health professional further reviewed your request for correction to your record and provided the Board with an AO. The mental health professional reviewed your contentions in conjunction with your medical records in order to evaluate your assertion you were suffering from a mental health condition. However, based on the available evidence, the AO concluded that there is insufficient evidence to support the existence of an in-service mental health condition to which your misconduct could be attributed. 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 you had a pre-existing mental health issue that contributed directly to your actions that led up to your discharge, and you were diagnosed less than a month after your discharge. However, the Board ultimately concluded these factors and assertions were not sufficient to warrant re-characterization of your discharge given your lengthy period of UA, what appears to be the referral of changes to a court-martial, and your request for discharge in lieu of court martial. The Board believed that considerable clemency was extended to you when your request for discharge was approved. Further, the Board concurred with the AO in that there is insufficient evidence of a mental health condition attributable to your military service that may have mitigated your misconduct. 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 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,