Docket No:  1147-20 
            4232-96 
Ref: Signature Date 

Dear , 
 
This is in reference to your application for correction of your naval record pursuant to Section 1552 of Title 10, United States Code.  After careful and conscientious consideration of relevant portions of your naval record and your application, the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) found the evidence submitted 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 reconsideration application on 28 October 2020.  The names and votes of the panel members 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 the 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, to include the 25 July 2018 guidance from the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness regarding equity, injustice or clemency determinations (Wilkie Memo). 
 
You presented statements regarding your discharge from naval service as new evidence.  You state your administrative discharge was based on statements you made concerning behavior prior to your enlistment.  You further state you were 17 years old at the time of your enlistment and you are now 67 years old.  Finally, you state the statements you provided to ONI were made about experimenting with drugs prior to your enlistment.   
 
The Board carefully considered all potentially mitigating factors to determine whether the interests of justice warrant relief in your case in accordance with the Wilkie Memo.  These included, but were not limited to, your desire to upgrade your discharge, contention that 50 years have passed since your discharge, and the statements you presented as new evidence.  The Board noted your statements are contrary to the record.  On 18 February 1970, you provided statements admitting to illegal drug use prior to and during your enlistment in the Navy.  Based upon this review, the Board concluded these potentially mitigating factors were insufficient to warrant relief.  The Board determined that your misconduct, as evidenced by your nonjudicial punishment, special court-martial, and summary court-martial, outweighed these mitigating factors.  Accordingly, given the totality of the circumstances, the Board determined that your request does not merit relief. 
 
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.   
 
             Sincerely,