DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 73-19 Ref: Signature Date From: Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records To: Secretary of the Navy Ref: (a) Title 10 U.S.C. 1552 Encl: (1) DD Form 149 1. Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a) Subject, hereinafter referred to as Petitioner, filed enclosure (1) with this Board requesting, in effect, that the applicable naval record be corrected to upgrade his characterization of service and change his narrative reason for separation to something more appropriate. 2. The Board, consisting of , reviewed Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice on 30 May 2019, and pursuant to its regulations, determined that the corrective action indicated below should be taken on the available evidence of record. Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of the enclosures, relevant portions of the naval records, and applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. 3. The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record pertaining to Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice, finds as follows: a. Before applying to this Board, Petitioner exhausted all administrative remedies available under existing law and regulations within the Department of the Navy. b. On February 2012, Petitioner was medically cleared to enlist in the Marine Corps after he failed to disclose his history of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Depression. He entered active duty on May 2012 and, shortly after reporting to basic training, disclosed his failure to properly report his history of ADHD and Depression. He was subsequently discharged for fraudulent entry and issued an uncharacterized entry level separation. c. Petitioner provided an unsubstantiated statement that he was coerced into committing fraud by his recruiter. He provided this statement as a basis to argue that an injustice exists in his record based on his fraudulent enlistment narrative reason for separation. He also argues that he deserves an upgrade to his characterization of service. He provided a letter of support from his elected representative that raised similar arguments. CONCLUSION Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record, the Board finds the existence of an injustice warranting partial relief. Specifically, the Board determined that Petitioner committed fraud to enlist in the Marine Corps by intentionally failing to disclose his medical history. The Board did not find his unsubstantiated allegations of recruiter misconduct credible nor did they find that his fraudulent actions were excusable based on his allegations of coercion. The Board felt Petitioner had multiple other options other than to participate in the fraud. In the Board’s opinion, Petitioner participated in the fraud in order to secure his entry into the Marine Corps because he likely knew he would not medically qualify had he disclosed his medical history. Despite this finding, the Board concluded an injustice exists in Petitioner’s record that warrants partial relief in the form of changing his narrative reason for separation to erroneous enlistment. They found that his decision to tell the truth about his medical history once he was provided an opportunity to do so was sufficiently redeeming to merit the recommended change. The Board determined his later actions mitigated his original misconduct to a degree that an injustice now exists in his record. Regarding his request for an upgrade to his characterization of service, the Board found no basis for doing so. Marine Corps regulations specify that servicemembers in their first 180 days of continuous active service be issued an uncharacterized discharge should they be processed for separation within that time period. The Board found no reason to support an exception to policy to issue an upgrade to Petitioner’s uncharacterized discharge based on the fraudulent nature in which Petitioner secured his enlistment. The Board’s decision to recommend a change to his narrative reason for separation as a matter of injustice did not change their belief he enlisted fraudulently. RECOMMENDATION In view of the above, the Board directs the following corrective action. Petitioner’s naval record be corrected by changing his narrative reason for separation to erroneous enlistment with appropriate changes to his separation authority, separation code, and reentry code consistent with the change to his narrative reason for separation. 4. It is certified that a quorum was present at the Board’s review and deliberations, and that the foregoing 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 the Board for Correction of Naval Records (32 Code of Federal Regulation, Section 723.6(e)) and having assured compliance with its provisions, it is hereby announced that the foregoing corrective action, taken under the authority of reference (a), has been approved by the Board on behalf of the Secretary of the Navy. 6/4/2019