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 relevant portions of your naval record and your application, 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. 
 
A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on  27 August 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.  In addition, the Board considered the advisory opinion contained in Director CORB letter 1910 CORB: 001 of 9 July 2020 and your responses to the opinion. 
 
A review of your record shows that you entered active duty with the Marine Corps in September 2013.  After undergoing a procedure to remove an ovarian cyst in March 2016, you continued to suffer from chronic pelvic pain that required treatment through 2017.  In addition, you were treated for hip and back pain in 2017 leading up to your discharge.  You were treated for pelvic pain in May 2017 and back/hip pain in June 2017.  You were medically cleared for separation on 13 July 2017 and discharged on 8 September 2017 at the end of your obligated active service.  Post-discharge, you transitioned to the Marine Corps Reserve where you were determined not physically qualified for retention in December 2018 for various disability conditions.   
 
The Board carefully considered your arguments that you deserve to be placed on the disability retirement list.  You assert that you were unfit for continued naval service at the time of your discharge for your pelvic, hip, and back issues.  You also argue that you did not sign your separation physical.  Unfortunately, the Board disagreed with your rationale for relief.  In making their findings, the Board substantially concurred with the advisory opinion in your case. 
 
In order to qualify for placement on the disability retirement list, a service member must be unable to perform the duties of their office, grade, rank or rating as a result of a qualifying disability condition.  In your case, the Board found insufficient evidence to support such a finding.  While the Board acknowledged that you were symptomatic for pelvic, back, and hip pain, the medical documentation shows that your conditions did not prevent you from performing your duties.  In your last medical treatments leading up to your release from active duty, you were released without limitations on each occasions.  Additionally, you were promoted in 2017.  This was further evidence that you were able to perform your military duties leading up to your discharge.  Finally, the Board considered the fact you were medically cleared for release from active duty.  This was an important factor in the Board’s decision since the Manual of the Medical Department Chapter 15-20 requires separation examinations and evaluations for active duty members and states “comprehensive evaluations are conducted for the purposes of ensuring that Service members have not developed any medical conditions while in receipt of base pay that might constitute a disability that should be processed by the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) and to ensure Servicemembers are physically qualified for recall to additional periods of active duty.  Thus, the standards for being physically qualified to separate are the same as those being qualified to continue active duty Service … .”  Since you were medically cleared for separation, the Board determined you were medically cleared for continued active duty and not unfit as you allege.  Consistent with this medical finding, the Board noted you were assigned an unrestricted reenlistment code that would have allowed you to continue on active duty had you chosen to reenlist.   
 
The Board also considered, but did not find persuasive, your arguments that you failed to sign your separation physical and were later found not physically qualified for retention in the Reserve in 2018.  Regarding your separation physical, the Board concluded there was no error with the medical conclusions in the separation physical based on the fact your medical history of treatment leading up to the separation physical contained no duty limitations.  Therefore, the absence of your signature on the medical form did not persuade the Board that the medical findings were erroneous.  Your Reserve not physically qualified status was also not persuasive since it occurred approximately 18 months after your release from active duty and contained new conditions not previously noted in your active duty record, i.e. pulmonary embolism and long term current use of anticoagulant.  The Board agreed with the advisory opinion that these new conditions and the gap in time significantly reduced the probative value of the not physically qualified finding when compared with contemporaneous  medical evidence from the time of your release from active duty.  Accordingly, the Board found insufficient evidence of error or injustice to warrant a change to your record.   
 
Regarding your request for a personal appearance, the Board determined that a personal appearance with or without counsel will not materially add to their understanding of the issues involved.  Therefore, the Board determined that a personal appearance was not necessary and considered your case based on the evidence of record. 
 
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.   
 
       Sincerely,