Docket No: 8637-19 
Ref: Signature Date 
 
  
Dear :  
 
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.     
 
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 for Correction of Naval Records, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 9 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. 
 
You enlisted in the Navy and began a period of active duty service on 18 November 1954.  Your Enlistment Contract obligated you to service until 7 May 1958.  Your record indicates that in July 1956, you were qualified for an honorable discharge and reenlistment; your available record does not reflect a discharge and subsequent reenlistment in 1956.  In October 1956, you were hospitalized.  On 27 December 1956, you began a period of unauthorized absence (UA) that terminated with your apprehension on 29 December 1956.  On 6 January 1957, you failed to report to the   in accordance with Technical Arrest Orders; you were declared UA on 14 January 1957.  Your period of UA ended when you surrendered onboard the US Naval Air Station.  On 18 February 1957, you were found guilty at special court martial (SPCM) proceedings of UA and of knowingly failing to obey a lawful order.  The Court sentenced you to confinement at hard labor for one month and reduction in rank to fireman recruit.  You continued your naval service and in July 1957, were commended by your Commanding Officer for being instrumental in detection of a noticeable loss of freshwater onboard the  and for identifying a defect in the dishwasher which once remedied, saved 2,000 gallons of fresh water daily.  On 23 December 1957, you appeared before a second SPCM and were found guilty of a period of UA from 30 October through 21 November 1957, and of missing ship’s movement.  You were discharged from the Navy on 18 March 1958, and received a general characterization of service.  Your overall marks for your enlistment were 3.25 at the time of your discharge. 
 
You request a change from a general characterization of service to a medical discharge.  You state that you had a mental breakdown in service due to harassment and were admitted to the hospital.  You indicate that the military discharged you while in the hospital, and that your discharge should be changed to a medical discharge with health care and mental health services.   
 
The Board, in its review of your entire record and application, carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, including your contention that you were discharged while hospitalized after suffering from harassment.  The Board noted that your record indicates that you were hospitalized in October 1956, and that your final duty station as reflected on your Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge (DD Form 214) was .  However, your record does not reflect that your discharge was based on a medical condition or that you were unfit for duty due to a condition or disability which would have merited processing pursuant to a medical separation.   
 
The Board noted that your record reflects two convictions at SPCM for various infractions, to include UAs and missing ship’s movement.   Processing for administrative discharge for misconduct take precedence over processing for disability.  Even in consideration of your assertion of entitlement to a medical discharge, the Board found that your misconduct would have likely precluded you from a medical separation.  Finally, the Board concluded that your general discharge was supported by your overall marks for enlistment and your two SPCM convictions during your period of enlistment from 1954 to 1958.  The Board found that your record does not reflect an error or an injustice that merits corrective action, and that there is insufficient evidence to warrant a medical discharge.  
 
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.