Docket No:  4555-19 
            11888-10 
Ref:  Signature Date 
 
Dear  
  
This letter is in reference to your reconsideration request received on 26 April 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 28 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 6 August 2020, which was previously provided to you. 
 
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. 
 
You presented as new evidence, letters of commendation, certificates of training, and an email dated 10 March 2020, alleging your Nonjudicial Punishment’s Rights (Booker Rights) were violated during the disciplinary and administrative processes.  You also provided a report from the Navy Personnel Research and Development Center San Diego, “An Investigation into Equity in Navy Discipline” dated July 1992, and four personal statements contending you experienced “continuous sexual harassment and extreme racial abuse epithets by my immediate superiors.”  
 
Further, you stated that you suffered PTSD from racial and sexual harassment, and your misconduct was a result of the “abuse” you received during your naval service.  You claimed you were diagnosed with “Other Specified Trauma and Stressor Related Disorder and an Adjustment Disorder” by the Veteran’s Administration Healthcare System.  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 your assertion you were suffering from PTSD during your service.  As detailed in the AO, the mental health professional reviewed the additional information you provided and the totality of your record, including the decisions rendered by the Department of Veterans Affairs; however, the mental health professional opined that there was insufficient evidence presented that your in-service misconduct could be attributed to your post-discharge mental health condition.  The Board concurred with this opinion and concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support your request to re-characterize your discharge considering the totality of the circumstances as well as the misconduct reflected in your record. 
 
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,