DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS
2 NAVY ANNEX
WASHINGTON DC 20370-5 100
JRE
Docket No. 06289-05
16 October 2006

This is in reference to your application for correction of your naval record pursuant to the provisions of title 10 of the 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 13 October 2006. Your allegations of error and injustice were reviewed in accordance with administrative regulations and procedures applicable to the proceedings of his Board. Documentary material considered by he Board consisted of your application, together with all material submitted in support thereof, your naval record and applicable statutes, regulations and policies.

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 Board found that you were released from active duty and transferred to the Temporary Disability Retired List on 7 December 1979, while recovering from second and third degree burns which covered more than fifty percent of the surface of your body. Effective 8 December 1979, the Veterans Administration (VA) awarded you a pre-stabilization rating of 100%. On 10 October 1980, the VA awarded you a combined rating of 40% for burn scars of your ears, face, neck, chest, shoulders, back, buttocks, left thigh and knees. You were discharged from the Marine Corps effective 31 May 1982, after being found fit for duty by the Physical Evaluation Board. You were offered the opportunity to reenlist at the time, but apparently declined to do so at that time.

The fact that the VA awarded you a substantial combined disability rating in 1980 does not demonstrate that you were discharged in error in 1982. In this regard, the Board noted that the VA rating was based on the presence of scars, rather than your inability to perform military duty because of the scars. As you have not demonstrated that you were unfit to reasonably perform the duties of your office, grade, rank or rating at the time of your discharge, due to the residual effect of the burns, there is no basis for granting your request for disability separation or retirement. As you did not reenlist, the issue of the grade in which you would have been entitled to reenlist is moot, and was not considered by the Board.

In view of the foregoing, your application has been denied. The names and votes of the members of the panel will be furnished upon request.

It is regretted that the circumstances of your case are such that favorable action cannot be taken. You are entitled to have the 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