Docket No: 0200-20
Ref: Signature Date              
            
       
Dear   
 
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  
4 November 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, as well as applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. 
 
You enlisted in the Marine Corps and began a period of active duty on 31 December 1974.  On 24 July 1975, you were convicted by special court-martial (SPCM) of failure to obey a lawful order, disrespect in deportment, and wrongful possession and use of marijuana.  As punishment, you were awarded forfeiture of pay, confinement, and a bad conduct discharge (BCD).  After the BCD was approved at all levels of review, you were discharged on 5 July 1977. 
 
The Board carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors in your case, including your desire to upgrade your discharge.  The Board considered your statement that include your contentions, the charges were unjust given the consequences for a young man at the age of 19-years-old trying to serve his country.  You assert that your attorney advised you to plead guilty and you would probably receive a fine and restriction; and you should not have been locked up for misbehaving for your first time with hardened offenders because you became more misguided.  After your release from confinement you requested a transfer; you were transferred to , and while there you were ridiculed, denigrated, and totally disrespected by the command as well as fellow comrades from the beginning of your time in . 
 
The Board has no authority to set aside a court-martial conviction and must limit its review to determining whether the sentence should be modified as a matter of clemency.  Your request was fully and carefully considered by the Board in light of the Secretary of Defense’s 25 July 2018 memorandum, “Guidance to Military Discharge Review boards and Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records Regarding Equity, Injustice, or Clemency Determinations.”  The Board determined that no clemency is warranted in your case given the severity of your misconduct that resulted in a BCD.  Accordingly, the Board discerned no material error or injustice in your discharge, nor did it find that clemency was warranted. 
 
It is regretted that the circumstances of your case are such that favorable action cannot be taken at this time.  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,