Docket No: 3770-20 
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.     
  
Although you did not file your application in a timely manner, the statute of limitation was waived in accordance with the 25 August 2017 guidance from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (Kurta Memo).  A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 23 November 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 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, to include the Kurta Memo, the 3 September 2014 guidance from the Secretary of Defense regarding discharge upgrade requests by Veterans claiming post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Hagel Memo), and the 25 July 2018 guidance from the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness regarding equity, injustice, or clemency determinations (Wilkie Memo).  
  
You enlisted in the Navy and began a period of active duty on 16 October 1996.  On 9 October 1998 and 14 January 2000, you received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) for disobeying a lawful general regulation by wrongfully subjecting three other Sailors to unwelcome physical conduct of a sexual nature, and assault.  On 21 June 2000, you received NJP for wrongful use of marijuana.  Based on your Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214), you were discharged from the Navy on 13 October 2000, with an other than honorable (OTH) characterization of service.  Your original service record was incomplete and did not contain any documentation pertaining to your separation from the Navy.  Please note, the Board relies on a presumption of regularity to support the official actions of public officers, and in the absence of substantial evidence to the contrary, will presume that they have properly discharged their official duties.  Your contentions, unsupported in the record or by submission of documentation, failed to overcome that presumption.    
 
You requested to have your characterization of service upgraded, narrative reason for your separation changed, as well as your separation and reentry codes, and to be considered under the Hagel, Carson, and Kurta memos.  You assert that you believe your administrative board did not consider your character of service completely, did not evaluate your record fully, nor considered your total performance of duty and conduct.  You also assert the Board’s decision was unfair.   
 
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, your positive contributions to the Navy, length of your active duty service to our nation, and your post-discharge achievements.  Based upon this review, the Board concluded these potentially mitigating factors were insufficient to warrant relief.  Specifically, the Board determined that your repeated misconduct, as evidenced by your three NJPs, 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,