Docket No:  6930-19 
Ref: Signature Date 

Dear  
 
This is in reference to your application for correction of your naval record pursuant to Section 1552 of Title 10, United States Code.  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 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 14 December 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, to include the 25 July 2018 guidance from the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness regarding equity, injustice or clemency determinations (Wilkie Memo).  In addition, the Board considered the advisory opinion (AO) furnished by a qualified mental health professional dated 29 October 2020, which was previously provided to you. 
  
You enlisted in the Navy and began a period of active duty on 27 August 1990.  On 11 May 1992, you were convicted by special court-martial (SPCM) of wrongful use and distribution of marijuana on base.  You were sentenced to a period of confinement, a forfeiture of pay, a reduction in paygrade, and a bad conduct discharge (BCD).  You received your BCD on 8 April 1993. 
   
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 was suffering from a mental health condition during your service.  The AO noted, that based on the available objective evidence, there is insufficient evidence you incurred a traumatic brain injury (TBI) attributable to your  military service or that your substandard performance, inability to adapt to military service, or in-service misconduct can be attributed to TBI. 
 
The Board carefully considered all potentially mitigating factors to determine whether the interests of justice warrant relief in your case in accordance with the Wilkie Memo.  These included, but were not limited to, your record of service, and desire to upgrade your discharge.  The Board also considered your assertions that you were “knocked unconscious” on 21 December 1990, while on active duty during the time of war, and in uniform.  Based upon this review, the Board concluded these potentially mitigating factors were insufficient to warrant relief.  Further, the Board concurred with the AO’s statement that based on the available objective evidence, there is insufficient evidence you incurred a traumatic brain injury (TBI) attributable to your military service or that your substandard performance, inability to adapt to military service, or in-service misconduct can be attributed to TBI.  Accordingly, given the totality of the circumstances, the Board determined that your request does not merit relief.   
 
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,