DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 6302-19 Ref: Signature Date This 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 the evidence submitted was insufficient to establish the existence of probable material error or injustice. Consequently, your application has been denied. Although your application was not filed in a timely manner, the Board found it in the interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations and consider your application on its merits. A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 20 November 2019. 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, as well as applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. Regarding your request for a personal appearance, the Board determined that a personal appearance, with or without counsel, would not materially add to their understanding of the issues involved. Therefore, the Board determined a personal appearance was not necessary and considered your case based on the evidence of record. You enlisted in the Marine Corps and began a period of active duty on 26 August 1996. On 20 July 1997, you received an honorable discharge at the completion of your required active service. On 21 July 1997, you joined the Reserve unit in . In July 1998, November 1998, and March 1999, you received page 11 counseling entries documenting that you were eligible but not recommended for promotion due to unsatisfactory participation in the Ready Reserve. On 12 April 1999, pursuant to your request, you were transferred to a reserve unit in . On 29 March 2000, administrative discharge action was initiated by reason of unsatisfactory participation in the Ready Reserve. Your commanding officer recommended that you be discharged with an other than honorable (OTH) characterization of service, citing your lack of drill participation (47 absences from drill) and inability to conform, rendering you unsuitable for any further military service. The command mailed a monthly drill notice to you with the times and dates to report, but you never attempted to contact the command to ask for assistance or to be excused. Additionally, the command made numerous telephone calls to your quarters to discuss a discharge or other options such as the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). You never returned any calls, and on 12 April 2000, the telephone number was disconnected. On 5 July 2000, you received an OTH discharge. You request the Board upgrade your discharge to honorable. You assert the number of unexcused absences is incorrect and that based on documentation of your situation you should have been given a hardship discharge. In support of your petition you attached your father’s 3 March 1997 death certificate; your mother's 28 February 2000 death certificate; two 7 February 1999 requests for make-up drills at ; an 8 April 2019 form letter from the Office of Presidential Correspondence; and a 9 June 2019 personal statement. You wrote that while on active duty your father died, and while on Reserve duty in , your mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and you requested a transfer to , to be closer to her. You and your wife and children were the sole caretakers with help from Hospice. You claim you had a conference call with the commanding officer and a major, that they were unsympathetic about postponing your drill obligations, and they said that they would get back to you, but never did. After you mother’s death, you claim you contacted the unit and were informed you were no longer in the unit and then you received discharge papers. Lastly, you stated you never signed papers or agreed to the discharge. The Board carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, such as your record of service and contentions and concluded these factors were not sufficient to warrant a change to your discharge given your misconduct. The Board noted you provided no evidence to support your contentions, but rather, your records document the command’s efforts to contact you with no response from you. The Board relied upon the presumption of regularity and presumed that the officials acted in accordance with governing law/policy and in good faith. Further, there is no provision of law or in Navy regulations that allows for recharacterization of service due solely to the passage of time. 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 the 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, 12/16/2019