DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY 
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 
701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 
ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 

Docket No. 1008-21 
Ref: Signature Date 


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.  
  
A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 4 March 2021. 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. 

A review of your record shows that you entered active duty with the Navy in May 2018.  Non­judicial punishment was imposed on you for sleeping on post on 25 July 2018 but your initial performance evaluation ending on 15 July 2019 documents that you were performing well in your first duty assignment.  Subsequent performance evaluations ending on 29 February 2020 and 29 May 2020 show that you were recommended for promotion and retention despite receiving a 2.0 grade in military bearing in your last evaluation.  You were discharged for condition not a disability on 29 May 2020 with an Honorable characterization of service. 

The Board carefully considered your arguments that your narrative reason for separation should be changed to disability or that you should be placed on the disability retirement list.  You assert that you were unfit for continued naval service as a result of a bipolar disorder and narcolepsy but were misdiagnosed with borderline personality traits.  You rely on assertions of post-discharge medical provider opinions that you were misdiagnosed.  Unfortunately, the Board disagreed with your rationale for relief. 

In order to qualify for military disability benefits through the Disability Evaluation System with a finding of unfitness, a service member must be unable to perform the duties of their office, grade, rank or rating as a result of a qualifying disability condition.  Alternatively, a member may be found unfit if their disability represents a decided medical risk to the health or the member or to the welfare or safety of other members; or the member’s disability imposes unreasonable requirements on the military to maintain or protect the member. In your case, despite your assertion that you suffered from a bipolar disorder and narcolepsy, the Board determined insufficient evidence exists to show you met any of the criteria for a finding of unfitness.  In particular, the Board noted that you were recommended for promotion and retention on your last performance evaluation issued on the day you were discharged from the Navy.  So despite the fact you may have suffered from personality traits that made your continued service incompatible with continued naval service, you appear to have been perform your military duties adequately with no sign that your symptoms created a decided medical risk or imposed an unreasonable requirement to protect your safety.

Accordingly, the Board found insufficient evidence of error or injustice to warrant a change to your record.  
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, 

Deputy Director