Dear   
 
This letter is in reference to your reconsideration request dated 21 August 2019.  You previously petitioned the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) and were advised that your application had been disapproved.  Your case was reconsidered in accordance with Board procedures that conform to Lipsman v. Sec’y of the Army, 335 F. Supp. 2d 48 (D.D.C. 2004).  After careful and conscientious consideration of the entire record, the 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 Board for Correction of Naval Records, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 19 December 2019.  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.   
 
The Board carefully considered your arguments that you deserve to be placed on the disability retirement list based on a number of service connected disability conditions that left you 100% disabled including spinal surgeries, thyroid surgeries, stomach ulcers, prostate condition, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, schizophrenia, hypertension, bronchitis, anxiety, and depression.  Unfortunately, the Board disagreed with your rationale for relief.  In order to be placed on the disability retirement list, a servicemember must be determined to be unfit for continued naval service due to a qualifying disability condition that is incurred or aggravated by active duty service.  Unfitness is defined as inability to perform the duties of their office, grade, rank or rating as a result of a disability condition.  In your case, despite the extensive list of disability conditions that impacted you after your release from the Marine Corps, the Board found insufficient evidence you were symptomatic for any of these disability conditions prior to your discharge or that these disability conditions prevented you from performing the duties of your office, grade, rank or rating.  You record shows that you were discharged from active duty and transferred to the Marine Corps Reserve after completing your active duty obligation.  While you were limited in your ability to reenlist without higher level approval, this was based on your failure to meet aptitude and educational requirements in addition to your history of minor misconduct.  In the end, the Board found the preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that you were unable to perform the duties of your office, grade, rank or rating at the time of your discharge due to any of the claimed disability conditions.  Accordingly, despite empathizing with your history of mental illness in the years after your discharge, the Board found insufficient evidence of error or injustice to warrant a change to your record.  In their opinion, your post-discharge service connected disability conditions fall under the purview of the Department of Veterans Affairs for compensation and treatment. 
 
It is regretted that the circumstances of your reconsideration petition 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 the absence of new matters for reconsideration, the decision of the Board is final, and your only recourse would be to seek relief, at no cost to the Board, from a court of appropriate jurisdiction. 
 
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,