Docket No:  4775-19 
            Ref: Signature Date 
 
 
 
Dear : 
 
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 5 October 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 13 August 2020, which was previously provided to you. 
  
You enlisted in the Navy and began a period of active duty on 20 January 1977.  On 15 July 1978, you began a period of unauthorized absence (UA) that lasted 105 days, ending on 28 October 1978.  On 10 November 1978, you began another period of UA that lasted 768 days, ending with your apprehension by civil authorities on 17 December 1980.  On 17 March 1981, you were convicted by special court-martial (SPCM) of two specifications of UA totaling 873 days.  You were sentenced to a period of confinement at hard labor, a forfeiture of pay, a reduction in paygrade, and a bad conduct discharge (BCD).  You received your BCD on 2 August 1982. 
  
You request an upgrade of your characterization of service on the basis that you suffered from Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 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 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 that based on the available evidence, there is insufficient evidence of PTSD or other mental health conditions attributable to your military service that may have mitigated your misconduct. 
  
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 feel you were bullied and hazed to the point where you could not take being in the position you were put in.  Additionally, you state you were pulled into an engine room, stripped naked and had grease rubbed all over your body.  You brought it to the attention of the Officer-in-Charge only to be further humiliated, and that is why you commenced a period of UA.  You still feel very ashamed, and that you have been a good citizen and member of the community.   
 
The Board concluded these factors and assertions were not sufficient to warrant re-characterization of your discharge given your SPCM conviction for two lengthy periods of UA totaling over two years.  Further, the Board concurred with the AO in that there is there is insufficient evidence of PTSD or other mental health conditions 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,