Docket No: 5382-19 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 relevant portions of your naval record and your application, 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. Although your application was not filed in a timely manner, the Board found it in the interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations and consider your application on its merits. A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 13 July 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, as well as applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. You enlisted in the Marine Corps and began a period of active duty on 8 January 1976. Your record reflects a period of time lost from 10 December 1976 to 14 December 1976. On 21 December 1976, you began a period of unauthorized absence (UA) and were declared a deserter the following month. Your record indicates that you returned by surrender in the Spring of 1977, with periods of UA from 21 December 1976 through 16 March 1977; 23 May 1977 to 25 May 1977; and 31 May 1977 to 12 December 1977. Your record indicates that you received a summary court-martial conviction for an 86-day period of UA. After consulting with counsel, you submitted a request for discharge to escape trial by court-martial. On 16 December 1977, your chain of command recommended that you be discharged with an other than honorable characterization of service for the good of the service. On 16 December 1977, you were discharged from the Marine Corps and received an other than honorable discharge. In your application, you request an upgrade to your other than honorable discharge and a change to your narrative reason for separation to “Secretarial Authority.” You state that you have experienced severe financial hardship, homelessness, imprisonment, and mental instability that have impacted your ability to apply to the Board. You state that you enjoyed serving in the Marine Corps. You contend that you were discharged after you went home to see your fiancée and discovered her with a lover. You state that you suffered a temporary fit of passion, jealousy, and rage that resulted in a dispute and physical altercation. You were arrested and confined in County Jail. After you were released, you returned to but were given the option to be discharged immediately or serve six months in the brig and then be discharged. You assert that you chose to be discharged immediately because you believed that you would receive a general discharge. You ask for relief in part because matters beyond your control impaired your capability to serve. You also seek an upgrade because you need medical care in part for hearing loss and osteoarthritis in both knees and your joints. The Board noted that your application for correction raises a potential issue of a mental health condition during your military service. In a communication dated 26 September 2019, you were asked to provide additional medical or clinical evidence to support your claim. When you did not provide additional evidence, your case was re-opened and processed for consideration by the Board. 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.” The Board, in its review of your entire record and application, carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, including your contention that your misconduct was caused by a temporary emotional reaction to discovering your fiancée with someone else. The Board took into consideration your personal circumstances prior to your periods of UA, your belief that you would receive a general discharge, and your post discharge health struggles. Even taking into account the information you provided in your application, the Board found that your misconduct as reflected by four periods of UA support your other than honorable discharge to escape trial by court-martial. The Board determined that the mitigating circumstances did not overcome the frequency and seriousness of your multiple UAs. The Board concluded that your current discharge does not reflect an error or injustice that merits corrective action. 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 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 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,