From:  Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records 
To:      Secretary of the Navy 

Subj:    REVIEW OF NAVAL RECORD OF FORMER 

Ref: (a) 10 U.S.C. §1552 
     (b)SECDEF memo, “Supplemental Guidance to Military Boards for Correction of
        Military/Naval Records Considering Discharge Upgrade Requests by Veterans
        Claiming PTSD,” of 3 September 2014
     (c)PDUSD memo, “Consideration of Discharge Upgrade Requests Pursuant to
        Supplemental Guidance to Military Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records
        by Veterans Claiming PTSD or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI),” of 24 February 2016
     (d)USD memo, “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,” of 25 August 2017
     (e)SECDEF memo of 25 Jul 2018 “Guidance to Military Discharge Review Boards and
        Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records Regarding Equity, Injustice, or
        Clemency Determinations,” of 25 July 2018

Encl: (1) DD Form 149 
      (2)Advisory Opinion of 19 August 2020

1.Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a), Petitioner, a former member of the U.S. MarineCorps, filed enclosure (1) with this Board, requesting that his general characterization of servicebe upgraded to honorable.  As noted below, the Board voted to upgrade his dischargecharacterization of service.

2.The Board, consisting of , reviewed the subjectformer member’s allegations of error and injustice on 2 September 2020, and, pursuant to its regulations, determined that the corrective action indicated below should be taken on theavailable evidence of record.  Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of theenclosure, relevant portions of the subject former member’s naval records, and applicablestatutes, regulations, and policies.  The Board also considered a 19 August 2020 advisoryopinion (AO) of a psychiatrist, which is at enclosure (2).

3.The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record pertaining to the subject former member’sallegations of error and injustice, finds as follows:

a.Before applying to this Board, the Petitioner exhausted all administrative remediesavailable under existing law and regulations within the Department of the Navy. 

b.The Petitioner enlisted in the Marine Corps on 2 February 1970.  The Petitioner’s record was free of incidents until his return from service in the Republic of Vietnam.  Thereafter, between the period of February 1972 through May 1972, he received nonjudicial punishment on three occasions and a special court-martial.  The offenses included relatively minor unauthorized absences and disobeying an order.  His court-martial was for a thirteen-day unauthorized absence and a disrespect offense.  After his thirteen-day unauthorized absence, the Petitioner was admitted to a psychiatric ward of a hospital when he was diagnosed with a “situational reaction.” 

d.The Petitioner served through the end of his enlistment and received a general (under honorable conditions) discharge on 17 February 1973.  

e.The Petitioner contends that his misconduct usage should be mitigated by in-service post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  

f.The Board requested an opinion from a psychiatrist, who prepared an AO dated 19August 2020.  According to the AO: 

Petitioner’s in-service records contain direct evidence of a diagnosis of Situational Reaction following his deployment to Vietnam with psychological/behavioral changes that likely indicated the early manifestation of PTSD. On his DD-149 statement and psychiatric evaluation of 27 July 1972, Petitioner provided credible statements describing symptoms suggestive of PTSD following his Vietnam deployment. He described indirect evidence of probable PTSD with behaviors and psychological symptoms to include decreased performance after the Vietnam deployment, misconduct of multiple UA’s (likely avoidant behavior), anxiety, insomnia, irritability, anger/rage outbursts, and psychiatric hospitalization for these symptoms. 

The AO concluded, “based on the available evidence, it is my considered medical opinion that there is sufficient evidence that Petitioner exhibited psychological symptoms and behaviors indicative of PTSD as a result of his military service and that his misconduct may be mitigated by his PTSD.” 

CONCLUSION 

Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record, in view of references (b) through (e), and in particular view of enclosure (2), the Board finds the existence of an error or injustice warranting relief.  Specifically, the Board concluded that Petitioner’s behaviors contributed to his misconduct and his subsequent discharge, such that the Board agreed to upgrade his discharge to an honorable characterization of service. 

RECOMMENDATION 

In view of the above, the Board directs the following corrective action: 

Petitioner’s naval record be corrected by issuing him a new DD Form 214 reflecting that the characterization of his service at his discharge from the Marine Corps was honorable, narrative reason for separation:  “Secretarial Authority,” SPD code assigned “JFF,” reenlistment code “RE-1J,” separation authority “MARCORSEPMAN 6207.2;”   

Issue him a certificate of discharge reflecting honorable service; and 

No further action be granted. 

A copy of this report of proceedings shall be filed in Petitioner’s naval record. 

That upon request, the Department of Veterans Affairs is informed that Petitioner’s application was received by the Board on 8 May 2019. 

4.It is certified that a quorum was present at the Board’s review and deliberations, and that theforegoing is a true and complete record of the Board’s proceedings in the above-entitled matter.

5.Pursuant to the delegation of authority set out in Section 6(e) of the revised Procedures of theBoard for Correction of Naval Records (32 Code of Federal Regulations Section 723.6(e)), and having assured compliance with its provisions, it is hereby announced that the foregoingcorrective action, taken under the authority of the reference, has been approved by the Board onbehalf of the Secretary of the Navy.

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