Docket No: 7850-19
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.     
 
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 14 December 2000.  The names and votes of the panel members 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 the 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 Kurta Memo, the 3 September 2014 guidance from the Secretary of Defense regarding discharge upgrade requests by Veterans claiming post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Hagel Memo), and the 25 July 2018 guidance from the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness regarding equity, injustice, or clemency determinations (Wilkie Memo). 
 
You enlisted in the Navy and began a period of active duty on 22 July 1992.  You received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) on 26 April 1993, for a period of unauthorized absence (UA) from 16 -19 April 1993, the larceny of a military identification (ID) card from another service member, and wrongful use of an unauthorized military ID.  On 30 January 1995, you received NJP for leaving your place of duty, failure to obey a lawful regulation, and drunkenness- incapacitation for performance of duties.  You received NJP for a period of UA from 0600 to 1800, on 7 April 1995.  On 13 April 1995, you received NJP for failure to obey a lawful order or regulation, and house breaking.  On 17 April 1995, you were notified of administrative separation proceedings against you.  You waived your right to appear before an administrative separation board.  On 26 April 1995, Commanding Officer,  forwarded your package to the Separation Authority recommending your discharge by Reason of Misconduct due to Commission of a Serious Offense and a Pattern of Misconduct.  On 27 April 1995, you submitted a personal statement pertaining to your discharge in which you requested a general discharge and noted that you plan to go to college once you leave the Navy.  You were discharged on 31 May 1995, on the basis of misconduct, and received an other than honorable (OTH) characterization of service and a reentry (RE) code of RE-4. 
 
In your application to the Board, you request that your OTH discharge be upgraded to a general characterization of service.  You state that when you joined the Navy, you were 100% healthy.  You state that you are currently suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)/Mental Health issues due to your time in the service.  You state that while in boot camp, you were set back for two weeks because you could not adjust to military life.  At the time, you asked that your command release you before the 180-day mark.  Your request was not approved and you began drinking to cope with military life.  You state that while in   , you got in trouble at a local bar and were arrested for starting a riot.  After being assigned to the , you were deployed for six months and you got worse mentally.  You state that you were tasked with picking up Cubans and Haitians who were fleeing from their country on rafts and all types of shift boats, and also tasked with picking up dead floating bodies; and you still have nightmares from that assignment.  Since your discharge in 1995, you worked over 20 mediocre jobs because you have not been able to deal with people. 
 
As part of the review process, a Physician Advisor reviewed your request and issued an Advisory Opinion (AO) dated 13 November 2020.  The AO noted that your in-service records do not contain evidence of a mental health condition.  Throughout your military service, disciplinary actions, counseling and administrative processing, there were no concerns noted of any indications of a mental health condition that would have warranted referral to mental health resources.  The AO noted that you did not submit any information that you had a post-discharge clinical diagnosis of any mental health conditions as rendered by a mental health practitioner.  The AO concluded that based on the available objective evidence, there is insufficient evidence that you incurred PTSD as a result of your military service that may have mitigated your misconduct.  The AO was provided to you, and you were given 30 days in which to submit a response.  When you did not provide a response within the 30-day timeframe, your case was submitted to the Board for consideration.     
 
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, the Hagel Memo, and the Kurta Memo.  These included, but were not limited to your desire to upgrade your discharge and your assertion that you were suffering from PTSD as a result of your military service.  The Board reviewed the AO, and substantively concurred with the AO’s determination that there is insufficient evidence to support a finding that you suffered from service-connected PTSD that mitigated your misconduct.  The Board noted that your record reflects four NJPs, and that you were given the opportunity to appear before an administrative separation board prior to your discharge with an OTH characterization of service.  The Board also reviewed your performance record, and found that based on the available evidence, your OTH discharge was executed without error or injustice.  The Board concluded that you did not provide sufficient evidence to overcome the misconduct in your record and that your current discharge does not merit corrective action at this time. 
 
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,