Docket No: 5647-19
Ref: Signature Date                           
               
MR 

Dear Mr.  
 
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 BCNR, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 26 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 25 September 2020, which was previously provided to you. 
  
You enlisted in the Marine Corps and began a period of active duty on 26 January 1981.  On 26 June 1981, you began a period of unauthorized absence (UA) that lasted 277 days, ending with your apprehension by civil authorities on 8 February 1982.  Based on your Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214), it appears you submitted a written request for an undesirable discharge for the good of the service in order to avoid trial by court-martial for 277 days of unauthorized absence.  Prior to submitting this request for discharge, you would have conferred with a qualified military lawyer, advised of your rights, and warned of the probable adverse consequences of accepting such a discharge.  Subsequently, it also appears your request for discharge was granted and on 31 March 1982, you received an other than honorable discharge in lieu of trial by court-martial.  As a result of this action, you were spared the stigma of a court-martial conviction and the potential penalties of a punitive discharge and confinement at hard labor.  Your original service record was incomplete and did not contain any documentation pertaining to your separation from the Navy.  Absent such evidence, the Board relied upon the presumption of regularity and, absent evidence to the contrary, presumed that the officials acted in accordance with governing law/policy and in good faith. 
 
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 reviewed your request for correction to your record and provided the Board with an AO regarding your assertion that you were suffering from a mental health condition during your service.  As set forth in detail in the AO, the mental health professional opined that there is insufficient evidence that you incurred a mental health disorder as a result of your military service that would mitigate your in-service conduct. 
 
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: (a) you left the Marine Corps to be with your father who was injured in an accident, and that you do not remember if you had permission to leave; (b) your problems should have been addressed when you were in boot camp; and (c) you are suffering from a mental illness, bi-polar, paranoid schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression.  The Board concluded that these factors and assertions were not sufficient to warrant changing your characterization of service given the misconduct illustrated in your service record.  Further, the Board concurred with the AO that there is insufficient evidence that you incurred a mental health disorder as a result of your military service that would mitigate your in-service conduct. 
  
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,