Docket No:  5111-19 
            291-17 
Ref:  Signature Date 

Dear : 
  
This letter is in reference to your reconsideration request received on 14 May 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 16 October 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 12 August 2020, which was previously provided to you. 
 
You presented as new evidence, two letters from   Health Clinic, and a VA Review PTSD Disability Benefits Questionnaire.  After careful and conscientious consideration of the entire record, the Board determined that your statement and the 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 (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 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 opined that although you have a current diagnosis of PTSD, the preponderance of available objective evidence does not indicate you suffered from PTSD at the time of your military service, or that your in-service misconduct could be attributed to PTSD or other mental health conditions.  The Board concurred with this opinion, and concluded that, based on the totality of the circumstances, there was insufficient evidence to support your request for an upgrade to the characterization of your discharge.   
 
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,