DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No. 884-18 From: Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records To: Secretary of the Navy Subj: REVIEW OF NAVAL RECORD OF Ref: (a) 10 U.S.C. § 1552 (b) SECDEF Memo of 3 Sep 14 “Supplemental Guidance to Military Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records Considering Discharge Upgrade Requests by Veterans Claiming PTSD” (c) PDUSD Memo of 24 Feb 16 “Consideration of Discharge Upgrade Requests Pursuant to Supplemental Guidance to Military Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records by Veterans Claiming PTSD or TBI” (d) PDUSD Memo of 25 Aug 17 “Clarifying Guidance to Military Discharge Review Boards 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” Encl: (1) DD Form 149 (2) Advisory Opinion (AO) of 29 Oct 19 1. Pursuant to reference (a), Petitioner, filed enclosure (1) with this Board requesting that his General characterization of service be upgraded to Honorable and his behavioral trait average be raised to allow for an honorable discharge. 2. The Board, consisting of , reviewed Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice on 12 May 2020, 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, post-service medical diagnosis, and applicable statutes, regulations, policies. The Board also considered, enclosure (2), an advisory opinion (AO) provided by a mental health professional. 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. Petitioner enlisted in the Navy and began a period of active duty on 13 April 1988. c. On 24 October 1988, he was referred to a Navy hospital for psychiatric evaluation because of poor performance and poor attitude. He was referred to a Psychiatric Clinic for in-patient follow-up for adjustment disorder with depressed mood. On 27 October 1988, Petitioner was admitted to a Navy hospital for further evaluation and treatment. On 31 October 1988, he was discharge from the Navy hospital. He was diagnosed as suffering from mixed personality disorder with passive-aggressive and avoidant features. The medical officer’s comments and recommendation: “The member is not considered mentally ill, but manifests a long-standing disorder of character and behavior which, is of such severity as to render this individual incapable of serving adequately in the Navy. This member does not require, and will not benefit from, hospitalization or psychiatric treatment. Although not considers suicidal or homicidal, this member is judged to represent a continuing risk to self or others if retained in Naval service. This member is deemed fit for return to duty for immediate processing for administrative separation, which should be initiated expeditiously in compliance with NAVMILPERSCOM instruction 1910.1C and NAVOP 013/87.” Additionally, Petitioner acknowledged reviewing his Enlisted Performance Evaluation Report for period ending 01 November 1988, referred due to derogatory comments, and was, dis-enrolled from the Nuclear Power Training Program due to medical reasons. d. On 4 November 1988, Petitioner was notified that he was being consideration for a general (under honorable conditions) discharge due to Other Physical/Mental Condition-Personality Disorder. After being afforded his procedural rights, he waived his right to request that his case be presented to an administrative discharge board. On 9 November 1988, Petitioner’s Commanding Officer directed that he received a general (under honorable conditions) discharge due to Other Physical/Mental Condition-Personality disorder. On 23 November 1988, Petitioner was separated from the Navy with a general (under honorable conditions) characterization of service. e. Characterization of service is based in part on conduct marks assigned on a periodic basis. Petitioner’s conduct average was 2.8. At the time of his service, a conduct average of 3.0 was required to be considered for a fully honorable characterization of service, based on the reason for his discharge. f. Petitioner states that at the time of his discharge, he was suffering from severe depression. The Depression was due to a personality disorder and was, exacerbated by the death of a loved one during his military service. This condition was the sole reason for his discharge from the Navy. He served his country honorably and was not the subject of any disciplinary action or accused of any behavior detrimental to his service other than depression. Due to this depression, he received a final behavioral trait average of 2.8. g. The AO, enclosure, (2), opined that there is sufficient evidence of a mental health condition that significantly negatively affected his service performance and behavior, contributing to his decreased service evaluations. h. Petitioner’s 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. CONCLUSION Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record, especially in light of enclosure (2), Petitioner’s request warrants relief. Additionally, the Board reviewed his application under the guidance provided in references (b) through (d) intended to be covered by this policy. In this regard, the Board noted that based upon Petitioner’s overall record of service, to include his in-service personality disorder diagnosis, and given our current understanding of mental health conditions, it is reasonable to reconsider that his personality disorder, which was reported in-service, could be attributed to mental health symptoms. The Board determined that the Petitioner’s characterization of service should be changed to “Honorable” and his narrative reason for separation be changed to “Secretarial Authority.” RECOMMENDATION In view of the foregoing, the Board finds the existence of an injustice warranting the following corrective action: Petitioner’s naval record is corrected to show that on 23 November 1988, he received an Honorable discharge and his narrative reason as “Secretarial Authority.” Petitioner be issued a Correction to DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 215) showing the above corrections. No further action be granted. A copy of this report of proceedings be filed in Petitioner’s naval record. Upon request, the Department of Veterans Affairs is informed that Petitioner’s application was received by the Board on 28 December 2018. 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 Regulations, 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. 7/16/2020