DEPARTMENTOF THE NAVY

BOARD  FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS

2 NAVY ANNEX

WASHINGTON DC 20370-5100

CRS
Docket No:  
8 May 2002

5739-01

This is in reference to your application for correction of your
naval record pursuant to the provisions of Title 10, United
States Code, Section 1552.

A three-member panel of the Board for Correction of Naval
Records, sitting in executive session, considered your
application on 10 April 2002.
injustice were reviewed in accordance with administrative
regulations and procedures applicable to the proceedings of this
Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of
Board.
your application, together with all material submitted in support
thereof, your naval record and applicable statutes, regulations
and policies.
opinion furnished by the Specialty Advisory to the Surgeon
General for Psychiatry,

In addition, the Board considered the advisory

Your allegations of error and

a copy of which is attached.

After careful and conscientious consideration of the entire
record, the Board found that the evidence submitted was
insufficient to establish the existence of probable material
error or injustice.

The record reflects that a psychiatric evaluation,
diagnosed you with a personality
On 26 June 1997 you were diagnosed with alcohol

The Board found that you enlisted in the Navy on 7 March 1996 at
age 19.
conducted on 20 May 1997,
disorder.
Subsequently, you received nonjudicial punishment on
dependence.
12 July 1997 for telling a chief petty officer that you wanted to
kill him and his children.

The commanding officer then recommended that you be separated
with a general discharge by reason of misconduct due to
commission of a serious offense.
recommendation, you elected to waive the right to submit a
statement in response to the discharge action.
the discharge authority,
approved and on 16 July 1997 you received a general discharge.
At that time, you were assigned a reenlistment code of RE-4.

the recommendation for separation was

When informed of this

After review by

With your application,
dated 27 February 2001,
The advisory opinion
disorder and are not alcohol dependent.
from the Specialty Advisory states that there is no evidence to
support amending the diagnoses of alcohol dependence and
personality disorder.

you presented a psychiatric evaluation,
which states that you have no mental

In its review of your application the Board carefully weighed all
potentially mitigating factors,
However, the Board
and the two psychiatric evaluations.
concluded that these factors were not sufficient to warrant
recharacterization of your discharge,
the offense.
to the discharge is warranted.

In this regard, the Board concluded that no change

such as your youth and immaturity

given the seriousness of

Applicable regulations require the assignment of an RE-4
reenlistment code when an individual is discharged by reason of
misconduct.
others in your situation,
injustice in the assignment of your reenlistment code.

Since you have been treated no differently than

the Board could not find an error or

Accordingly, your application has been denied.
votes of the members of the panel will be furnished upon request.

The names and

It is regretted that the circumstances of your case are such that
You are entitled to have the
favorable action cannot be taken.
Board reconsider its decision upon submission of new and material
evidence or other matter not previously 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,

W. DEAN PFEIFFER
Executive Director

Enclosure

I I August  

1997 to

Review of  

a\,ailable Navy  

nledical  records revealed

a.

was diagnosed with alcohol intoxication on 2

 

1 

Januxy 

1997

 

 

incidents, the patient was
 

Psychintly  Consult Liaison
linlt, Naval Station, San Diego. CA

and 29 March 1997, on both occasions requiring medical treatment. A
blood alcohol level measured on admission to a civilian hospital on 2
g/dL and the patient required soft restraints for
January 1997 was 0 27
self-protection 
In conjunction with these
referred to the command DAPA and to the
Service at the Fleet Mental
20 May 1997. An evaluation by R Snyder, Staff LCSW, i-evealed an
alcohol use  
drinks and one-half bottle of whiskey with an intent “to get hammered
and followed by black outs. His
alcohol related incident at age
followed by a 3-year period of sobriety, as well as “daily
and hallucinogenic mushrooms between the ages of 14 and
also noted during the interview to have an interest in Celtic magic and

 
17, followed by family counseling,

history characterized by weekly binge drinking of

lealth 

history  also revealed a past history of an

 
  up to  
10

 

I  

 

 

I

 

on

_

”

”  use of cannabis

 

17. He was

cul-ds  

I‘a~x)t  
Remission on Axis
Personality Traits
l~ec~~lllmellded.

IHe was diagnosed  

\\gitlt Alcohol Abuse, Cannabis Abuse

iI1

 

1, as well as Schizotypal and
 
on 
 

Axis II 

I,c\lel  

I 

I substance treatment

Passi\,e-Aggl.essi\ie

 

\\‘;Is

 

,Alcoliol  
 

~‘i~lll~“-‘llellsl\~e

ser\,ice member

,+Ibusc  
\\vtli 

The 
Sulxtance 
ti~a~iiosed  
lllstcq  
l’~>lIo\\,in~ 
I‘aller 
I  
I~cc~~nlmendation 
/2diiiinistl-ati\ie  

MC ’, 

day, 

tiic 
IJSNR. 

lxltlelit 
statIll 
\\‘;ls made  

Burden

\\‘;Is 
 

Intcr\,ic\\,ed 

by 

the 
Ikpartlllent.  

I~ellabilitati~~l1  

Ikpciidence  
afier 
(Ix\,cl II
I) 
 
tl-eatlllerlt 
seer) 
\\‘;Is 
the 
aboai~d 
tllal 
\\.ished  to  
he 
f’or  
..\dminlstl.~lti\  

h4c ’Sl>

Scmicc. 
N 
1007. 
;lnd
alcoli~>l  
use

I’sych~~log~~ 
on 70
 
June  
re\lie\\ 
ol‘li~s 
IIU,rllrllelldcd  
\\‘LlS  
 
S.
L
 
lea\,e 

.\‘cril,
 
the 

.;\

‘S

 

O/./c~c//i.~
Na\.j, 
f;v
 

e Separation

I‘llt’
I)\,
 

 

I 

I

_

l)l.e-continemellt 

e\ 

aluations by

secc,ndary to  command 
of ‘his 
L>i\,lslon 
and the  
(‘PO 
NJf ’ He  
for 
\vns reduced in
f’w  7 months. 

\\x 

I 
MC . 

recei\,ed a 
 

12 July 1997,

‘5’; 
Hono~~al~le  

the patient
 
ISNR. 
lifk 
the 

threatened 
sent to  
(‘apain ‘s M ast 
forfiture of  
pay 
 
Other  
‘Then  

On 
1-T J Taller, 
member 
and 
sentenced to
and water. and  
seiGce member complained during the interview
his 
as his distaste
for humanity
 
“Armageddon  would consume
them all
 
petq~le and wished revenge
tht‘m,
(‘eltic/lhid  faith and
diagnosed 
and Schizotypal
NMCSD for further Mental

of‘the  end of
on Axis  
 
Personalit!, Disorders on Axis Ii
 
Heultll consultation

the coming  
\vith Alcohol Dependence

.3 
sepawtlon 

(‘hief. as  well 

 
on 

 

 

” He stated that lie hated most
tlic

and  reiterated 

his belief in  
\vorld He  
the 
 
1  and  
Passi\/e-Aggl.essi\
I 
le
refened  to

\V;IS 

\\‘a~

 

 

co11cw11  after  
(‘hief”s 

sewice
the 
(‘hildren

rank to  SR .
 
days confinement
head
f’mm  Naval
SelGce Th e
 
of
b>z
 

 
being
and his  
 
\vish 

 “singled out”
that

011 

 

 

‘e

I

II.

 

 

d  

w was evaluated

12

on 

by R Burbank
 

Psychiatry  Consult  Liaison
 
 July 1997, and stated during this interview that

Service at N MCSD 
he “[had] no friends and [did] not want
history significant for repeated tights., disciplinary trouble in school, and
arrest at age 16 for- assault with a baseball bat. He was given no Axis
an 
diagnosis and a diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder

fi-iends.” He also revealed a past

on  AXIS 
 

 

Review of the patient

’s service record

re\,ealed-

 

a

began basic training 07 
He continued with training at NATTL, Millington, TN from
Nc\v 
 

M ay 1996 until 01 August 1996 He reported to the
1996 and was discharged
 
Naval Station, San Diego, CA

M arch 1996, which he completed

10
OY/CCIIU at
I6
 

on I6 August

U.S.S. 

 

I6

 

performance evaluations aboard the
1 0 awarded for military bearing
with a  
was awarded the Sea Service Ribbon.

U.S.S. 

 

Nc?\v 

Orlctrlls

d

The patient notes
or 
llsed  
~~f‘fense. in contrast

c;~lln:~bis 

on his DD  

 
hallucinogerls  

F(xm 
and 

011 enlistment that he had
7  
’ 
306-_
had 
never 
gi\,en 
histol.l*  later  

a11 
noted 

had 
;lS 

alcohol relate

:lh)\,C

 

to the  

 

IIC\‘C’I‘
d

4

Ke\,ie\\s 

of‘tlie VA file  

re\,ealed

-I‘he patient
17 
I-ebi-uai-y 
There is  
no 
took place  
psychiatrist. The
alcohol use,
close 
unremarkable He
was deferre

d

 

 

brief 

e\,aluation  noted a past history
pi~ihle~iis.  as   well 
as a stable
 

but no recent

I~elationships 

\vitll a 
\\‘;Is 

 

friend 
gi\/en  

md 
no 

.-2xis 

;I 

psyclliatl-lc  

under\\,ent  

 
200 I as  
indication  
(II- if the patient ‘s past records  

required  
pro\,ided  as  

for 

to 

OII

enlistment  screening

iS 

e\xluation  

the facility  

11 M 
Arm>,

by Donna
 
\vllere 

IIciclicc. 
 
for 
the 
this 
e\ 
were available to the

I 
aluatloll
 
examining
 
of‘angel.  and isolated
\\‘ork 
111s sister His mental status

Ilist~q~  and
 
exam 
Axis II diagnosis

1  diagnosis and

 

a11 

 

\\‘a~

5

Dlscllsslc~ll

General  

Medical

e\~aluated  

was 
by Mental Health  

011 

multiple occasions
ill conjunction  
ship 
 

  by his  
lvith his alcohol
 

  use  and
consistent
 
by tolerance,

The history provided is

history  is also suggestive of long-standing and underlying difficulties

Officer and  
interpersonal problems aboard
with the diagnosis of Alcohol Dependence, as evidenced
substance use in larger than intended amounts, unsuccessful efforts to quit.
and occupational difficulties resulting from alcohol use.
The 
with interpersonal functioning and impulse control, dating at least to
adolescence, which occurred even in the absence of substance use and
contributed to occupational social and occupational problems This pattern
of behavior in the context of the
is consistent with a Personality Disorder Not Otherwise Specified
Schizotypal and Anti-social personality traits.
The  cursory  psychiatric. 
notes no  
cunent problems with alcohol or other substance use, but does
not address the patient
’s past history in detail. Again, it is unclear as to
what medical records were available to the evaluating psychiatrist He was
given no Axis  

evaluation  provided with the VA

an evaluation on Axis 11 was

1 diagnosis   and 

history  available in Navy medical records
 
 
with

defened
 

 

documentation

0

liecommendations-

Opinion and  
pix~vided,  to support amending the diagnoses of Alcohol
Pci-scxiality  

Disol-der 

Thet~e is 

,

no evidence in the  

inf~omlati~~n
01‘

Depelldctlce 

 

I’s\,cliiati-y  

f