Docket No: 3460-19 
Ref: Signature Date 



Dear : 
 
This letter is in reference to your application for correction of your naval record pursuant to Title 10, United States Code, Section 1552.  After careful and conscientious consideration of the entire record, the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) found that the evidence submitted was 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 17 March 2020.  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, as well as the enclosed 5 March 2019 advisory opinion (AO) furnished by the Marine Corps Performance Evaluation Review Board (PERB).  The AO was provided to you on 5 March 2019, and you were given 30 days in which to submit a response.  When you did not provide a response, your case was submitted to the Board for consideration.   
 
The Board carefully considered your request to remove your fitness report for the reporting period 1 April 2015 to 31 July 2015.  The Board considered your contentions that the report is not an accurate reflection your performance, you were not counseled about the below-average nature of the report, and the Section I and Section K comments do not align with the below-average value.  You also contend that the term “brand new Sergeant” by your reporting senior (RS) indicates that your time in grade was considered instead of your performance.   
 
The Board, however, substantially concurred with the AO that the contested report is administratively and procedurally correct.  In this regard, the Board found no evidence that the report is not an accurate assessment of your performance during the reporting period, and you provided none.  The Board noted that, in accordance with Marine Corps Order (MCO) 1610.7, the Marine Corps Performance Evaluation System (PES) Manual, there is no scale to match attribute marks against Section I or Section K comments.  The Board also noted that, although 
the PES Manual encourages reporting officials to counsel Marines, it does not mandate counseling, and the perceived competitiveness of a report’s relative value is not a basis for removing the report.  The Board determined that the RS’s use of the term “brand new Sergeant” provided context to your achievement by “stepping into the role of a senior NCO” and was not a violation of the PES Manual.  The Board thus concluded that there is no probable material error or injustice warranting corrective action.  
  
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 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.