DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY 
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 
701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 
ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 

Docket No: 3144-20        
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 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. 

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 28 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 Marine Corps and began a period of active duty on 6 April 2000.  On 4 December 2002, you pleaded guilty at special court-martial (military judge alone) for unlawful absence on 17 June 2002, and wrongful use of cocaine.  The Court sentenced you to confinement for 120 days, reduction to the paygrade of E-1, and forfeiture of $500 pay per month for a period of 4 months.  On 6 May 2003, you were notified of administrative separation proceedings against you on the basis of drug abuse.  You elected to appear before an administrative separation board.  The administrative separation board found that you committed misconduct and recommended that you be separated with an other than honorable characterization of service.  On 17 December 2003, you were discharged from the Marine Corps on the basis of misconduct and received an other than honorable discharge and a reentry (RE) code of RE-4B. 

In your application for correction, you ask for an upgrade to your discharge, a change to your RE code, and a change to your narrative reason for separation.  You assert that your current discharge was unfair at the time, is unfair now, and was procedurally defective.  In support of your application, you provide a brief (the brief is actually a summarized record of trial from your court-martial) medical files, character letters, and information about your post-service contributions to include your heroic act in 2006, of catching five children who were dropped out of a second story window during a fatal fire. 

The Board reviewed your request for a change to your record and carefully considered potentially mitigating factors including your contention that the current discharge is unfair and procedurally defective.  The Board noted that your record indicates that you pleaded guilty at special court-martial proceedings for UA and for wrongful use of cocaine.  The Board reviewed your available service records and noted that you appeared before an administrative separation board which found that you committed misconduct and recommended that you be separated with an other than honorable characterization of service.  Even taking the mitigating factors into consideration, the Board found that the seriousness of your misconduct as documented by your special court-martial conviction merited your current discharge characterization.  The Board concluded that your current discharge is supported by the evidence in your record and is not overcome by the clemency information you provided.  The Board found that your discharge is proper as issued and does not reflect an error or an injustice. 

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, 


5/29/2020