DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No. 780-21 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 25 February 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. The Board carefully considered your arguments that you deserve to have your narrative reason for separation changed to disability based on the Board’s previous decision to upgrade your characterization of service. Since your mental health condition contributed to the misconduct that formed the basis for your discharge, you assert your narrative reason for separation should be changed to reflect that you were discharged for a disability condition. You resubmitted your Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rating that shows you are rated a combined 80% with a service connection for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). 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, the Board found no evidence that your disability condition impacted your inability to perform your duties or met the other criteria for a finding of unfitness. As pointed out in the advisory opinion from your previous case, you were never diagnosed with PTSD while on active duty. Other than your misconduct, the Board found no evidence that you suffered from a mental health condition while on active duty. Therefore, the Board concluded there was insufficient evidence to conclude you were unfit for continued naval service at the time of your discharge. Further, the Board again concluded you were ineligible for disability processing regardless of whether you were unfit at the time of your discharge. Disability regulations direct misconduct processing to superseded disability processing when the misconduct qualified for a punitive or Other than Honorable discharge. Since your missing movement qualified for an Other than Honorable discharge, the Board concluded you were ineligible for disability processing. In making this finding, the Board found no evidence that you were not criminally responsible for your misconduct. Therefore, the Board concluded the Navy appropriately processed and discharged you for your serious misconduct. The fact the previous board applied liberal consideration in upgrading your characterization of service to Honorable did not persuade the Board that you were not criminally responsible for your misconduct. The Board noted that the liberal consideration policy for mental health conditions only applies to upgrades of characterization of service and not to obtaining military disability benefits. Finally, the Board considered your current combined VA rating and rating for PTSD. The Board concluded neither were probative on the issue of whether you were unfit for continued naval service at the time of your discharge since eligibility for compensation and pension disability ratings by the VA is tied to the establishment of service connection and is manifestation-based without a requirement that unfitness for military duty be demonstrated. 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, 3/7/2021 Deputy Director