Docket No: 2831-20 
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 14 April 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 Navy and began a period of active duty on 26 June 1998.  You received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) on 15 June 1999, for violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Article 92 (wrongfully participating in a hazing incident).  On 21 June 2000, you received a second NJP for failure to obey a written order.  On 14 August 2000, you were found guilty at general court-martial (military judge alone) for one specification of Article 128.  You were sentenced to confinement for seven months, forfeiture of $500 pay per month for seven months, and reduction in rank to E-1.  Administrative discharge proceedings were initiated against you, and on 25 August 2000, you were discharged from the Navy on the basis of a Pattern of Misconduct.  You received an other than honorable characterization of service and a reentry (RE) code of RE-4. 

In your petition to the Board, you ask for an upgrade to your characterization of service from other than honorable to honorable.  You state that you were going through traumatic hardships at the time of your military service, which led you to keep getting in trouble at your final command. 

The Board, in its review of your entire application, carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, including your assertion that you were going through traumatic hardships.  The Board took into account your personal struggles but found that your other than honorable discharge was supported by the two NJPs and the general court-martial conviction.  The Board determined that the frequency and nature of your misconduct could not be overcome by your personal struggles.  The Board concluded that your other than honorable characterization of service was proper as issued. 

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.