Naval Discharge Review Board Board for Correction of Naval Records I received an unfair discharge from the US Navy in the year 2000. The discharge was due to an oral argument with a BM on board the USS CAMDEN. It was just an argument, nothing more, and I received the worst possible discharge that has pretty much ruined my life! I served in the Army National Guard and the Army Reserves after the Navy, but I am barred from getting back into the Navy because of an argument that happened 23 years ago! Washington Navy Yard D.C. Washington D.C.

I sent my discharge review case to the Naval Discharge Review Board back in 2014. I also sent my discharge to the Naval Board for corrections recently and I requested that I receive an upgrade so I can re-enlist in the US Navy, and get my benefits back that were stripped from me due to my General Under Honorable Conditions discharge! Sounds like good paper, but it's not!! The RE code is 4 which is the worst possible RE code a sailor or soldier can possibly get from the military!! It bars a sailor or soldier from receiving the Montgomery G.I. Bill, medical benefits, dental benefits, housing benefits etc. The discharge review board responded saying they feel the correct RE code was given to me due to the circumstances involved and my reaction to them! I think the Discharge Review Board contacted someone who served with me on the USS CAMDEN and that individual told the discharge review board a lie! So due to the denial of my upgrade, I'm going to release some names, and the events that occurred on the USS CAMDEN from January 10th 2000 to May 17, 2000. I'm going to air some dirty laundry that has been hidden away for a very long time! I'm tired of dealing with this ghost that has haunted me for the past 23 years! I'm tired of putting my tail between my legs and feeling ashamed of an argument that occurred 23 years ago and trying to make amends for it!! I'm especially tired of this RE code popping up when I try to re-enlist in the military, or try to establish a career!! In my opinion these clowns at the Discharge Review Board could give a rats a** about whether a person's life is severely altered, and damaged over an RE code!! Now that I've got that off my chest, let's delve into what REALLY happened! Because according to the Discharge Review Board they reached out to BM Valasquez about this so called serious MISCONDUCT that occurred on the USS CAMDEN 23 years ago!! Now I don't know what BM TONY VALASQUEZ told the Discharge Review Board, but I'm willing to bet it was a lie! The truth is he NEVER liked me! From the minute I stepped on the quarter deck of the USS CAMDEN, he was an a******, and really didn't care if my needs were met!! I asked him for some sheets, he gave me dirty sheets and when I complained, he got angry at me! The sheets were so bad they had bedbugs crawling on them! He made fun of the way I walked several times, and thought it was hilarious when I almost got thrown off the side of the ship by a third class Petty Officer! The truth is TONY VALASQUEZ wanted me to fail! He did NOT want me to succeed at anything! Yet, the Discharge Review Board trusts him to tell them the truth? Another senior BM who served on the USS CAMDEN was BM Croll! They called him "Father time" because he was in his mid 40s. BM Croll started out as a mentor. However, Valasquez must have convinced him that I was a worthless "f*** up" as he used to call me! 

  Let me give you a little history about myself before we go any further. I wasn't from Washington State. I was born and raised in a small town in Oklahoma. I joined the Navy in 1999 because I had a dream of sailing the ocean, being on ships, going to other ports and islands! I had a dream of becoming someone who was admirable to my community! I had big dreams of even becoming an officer because I had a couple of semesters of college behind me! My recruiters wanted to help me accomplish those dreams and they decided I would benefit from the Seaman Apprenticeship Program. They said the work was easy and I would get to choose another job onboard the ship I would be stationed on. I left for Basic Training in September of 1999. Basic Training was in Great Lakes, Illinois. Basic Training was pretty much what I expected it to be. I felt very proud and it was an honor when I was promoted to E-2! I did very well in Basic Training! Then after Basic Training I walked across the street to A school for the Seaman Apprenticeship Program. I did very well for the next two weeks I was in A school. Then after A school my duty station was assigned to me. I was very excited and couldn't wait to finally go to my first duty station! According to my packet, my next duty station was Bremerton, Washington, and I would be stationed on the USS CAMDEN AOE-2. I received my orders, and flew to Seattle, Washington in January of 2000. Once I arrived, I was instructed to take a cab to a ferry which would then take me to Bremerton, Washington. I thought it was cool to take a ferry across the Puget Sound for the first time! I was ready to become something! I was ready to finally get my career started in the fleet of the US Navy. When I arrived to the USS CAMDEN I was in awe of how massive the ship was! I slowly walked up the ramp to the quarter deck and saluted and said "Respectfully request permission to come aboard". The petty Officer at the quarter deck wasn't impressed! He was like "Did you just get out basic training?" I responded I just finished A school petty officer, and he said get your a** up here! I entered the USS CAMDEN that day with high hopes, but those high hopes didn't last long. I was assigned a rack, but it had no sheets. I asked BM Valasquez for some sheets and he gave me some sheets but they looked dirty. When I complained, he said "Oh a whiner huh?" I said no petty officer, but these sheets don't look clean. He said take it up with housekeeping!" The sheets were obviously dirty. They hadn't been washed! There were bedbugs on them! I was given sort of a tour of the boat. The head was filthy with condoms on the deck and in the shower. Two shipmates we're getting their hair cut in the head and there was black hair on the deck. The berthing was an open bay berthing with a tv on the bulkhead. I was given a quick tour of the ship, and then told the galley would open in a couple of hours. So I got ready for chow. In the chow hall they had tv and most of the time it was on MTV. So we got to watch TV while having lunch which I thought was cool! 

   So now that you know my background, you should understand the situation a little better than the clowns on the Discharge Review Board! 

  Later I spoke to BM2 Croll about the dirty sheets and he issued me some clean sheets. I also told BM2 Croll about how excited I was to be onboard the USS CAMDEN! We talked for quite a while! He told me if I need anything to ask him! He was very helpful at first. However, a few months later that wouldn't be the case. 

   A few days later I mustered with my division, and met other Seaman who also were fresh from A school. They also had the same high hopes when they arrived on the USS CAMDEN. I met SN Jessica Griffin, SN Jason Smith, SN Davis, SN Kristina Simpson, and several others. Chief Jill Rea was our chief. She welcomed us to the USS CAMDEN and gave us our instructions and duties for the day. Our commanding officer was Deborah Loewer. Very few of us enlisted got to to meet her and talk with her, but I actually did. I spoke to her on the bridge during watch. I told her I would like to become an officer and she gave me some advice about how to become an officer. 

Fast forward to March of 2000, and I was sitting in my rack talking to another SN about cars. A petty officer 3rd class walked in the berthing and "Berry shut up!" I was like what? I was just talking about cars, and he said "Did you hear what I said, I said shut the f*** up!" I snapped back, you shut up" he grabbed me by the shirt collar and threatened to punch me. I said go ahead do it! He backed off and went and told BM2 Croll! BM2 Croll told BM1 Valasquez! I ended up getting counseled for it. Valasquez yelled at me and told me if he tells you to shut up, you shut the f*** up!" BM2 Croll interrupted and said "who are you to question the authority of a petty officer?" I did not understand why I was being told to shut up when everyone else in the berthing could freely talk. It wasn't taps, it wasn't lights out, it didn't make sense! So I went along with it and said I apologize and said it wouldn't happen again. Three days later, I volunteered to swing by a harness off the ship to chip some paint off. The same petty officer who told me to shut up when I was talking about cars, tied a harness on to me, and a rope and held it. I was about 60 feet in the air. I slipped, and that petty officer third class along with everyone else watching laughed as my body hurled under a drain that was spewing gray water on the side of the ship! It was very cold that day and getting wet just pissed me off! I was dangling about 50 feet off the ground, I told that petty officer to lift me back up and he just continued to laugh while I got wet! Chief Rea saw what was happening and ordered the third class Petty officer to pull me back up. He did! Chief Rea asked if I was okay, I said yes, but I'm freezing and wet! She told me to get out of my coveralls and change into some clean coveralls. Chief Rea said she saw what happened and was going to counsel that Petty officer! Three days after that I was voluntold for watch on the bridge at 0200. I was trying to sleep in my rack when two shipmates walked in the berthing after taps and were banging s*** around, listening to loud rap music, and I asked them to turn the music off and quiet down so I could sleep. They asked me who I was to tell them to be quiet! I told them I have watch at 0200 and need to sleep. They were laughing and said f*** you Berry you f****** white trash, you ain't s***! I got up out of my rack and asked what they called me, and they said white trash. I punched a rack and said I'm trying to sleep, turn off the f****** black rap music, I have watch at 0200!! A shipmate came to rack and grabbed my shirt and said Berry shut the f*** up, I'll stab your f****** as** and throw your a** over the side of the ship!! You hear me Berry? I don't give a f*** if go to jail! I'll stab your f****** a**! I jumped down from my rack and walked out of the berthing at that point! I tried to find BM2 Croll but he was nowhere to be found! I sure as hell didn't want to bring it up to Valasquez! Chief Rea wasn't around, there was no petty officer on duty! I left the berthing and found a place on the quarter deck to sit down and eventually fell asleep. I made it to watch at 0200, but was extremely drowsy! The next day Chief Rea was called to our berthing and saw the rack I punched the night before. Some paint had chipped off of it, and it had a small dent. I explained to her what happened, and she told me I wouldn't get Captain's Mast over that. Well I did. The commanding officer in charge Deborah Loewer called it destruction of government property even though I fixed the dent and repainted it. So the wonderful commanding officer of the USS CAMDEN, the commander that gave me good advice about becoming an officer a few weeks before, said that because of my misconduct I was to be restricted to the ship for two weeks, half a months pay removed for 2 months and reduction of rank for 6 months. I tried to explain the situation and she said it was no excuse. During the 2 weeks restriction I got the anthrax vaccination which caused a painful rash on my inner thighs. BM2 Croll had to escort me off the ship a few times to go to medical regarding the rash. After the 2 week restriction period, I was told to purchase new uniforms, and new coveralls during a seabag inspection by BM2 Croll. He told me I needed to come up with $450.00 within 3 days or I'm going to counseling again! I told him I don't have the money because half my pay was removed for 2 months. He then asked if I was refusing an order. I told him no, I'm just saying that I can't pay for new coveralls, new uniforms, and new dungarees right now! He said alright Berry, you're done! He said I'm going to report you to Valasquez. Valasquez of course called me a f*** up and worthless piece of s***! He said people like Berry should never join the Navy! He said I don't even think Berry should work at McDonalds! I asked what he meant and told me to shut the f*** up! Then he told me to address him as BM1! I said yes Petty officer, and apologized, but then he said Berry, get your s*** out my berthing, you're done! I was told to go to Personell the next day. The Chief at Personell told me that BM1 Valasquez and BM2 Croll felt that I wasn't going to be an asset on the USS CAMDEN. I asked why? The Chief at Personell said that the senior NCOs feel that I should accept a discharge. He told me it was good paper and that I would be able to get any job I wanted including federal jobs! It was signed by Refurenzo. I was shocked! BM2 Croll told me to sign it. I asked if I could appeal it. Valasquez interrupted and told me to just sign the f****** paper Berry! I signed it. The next day I was escorted off the USS CAMDEN at Port Hadlock near Bangor, Washington. From there I was sent to Sub base Bangor. I did my outprocessing at the Sub base in Bangor Washington. On June 1st I was on a bus back to Oklahoma. 

  Now that's what really happened! I don't know what Valasquez told the Discharge Review Board, but my bet is that it was an outright lie! I decided to state my case here just in case Valasquez tries to f*** up my potential career once again at a future date. Because apparently everytime I've tried to join the military, for some reason they call Tony Valasquez!! Like giving me the worst possible discharge wasn't enough to f*** up my life!!