Docket No: 4815-20 
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 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, the 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 the application on its merits.  A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on            15 January 2021.  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 the 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, including 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 Marine Corps on 11 February 1974.  On 31 July 1974, you commenced a period of unauthorized absence, which ended when you surrendered to military authorities on 6 November 1974.  On 25 November 1974, you were convicted by a special court-martial for the period of unauthorized absence.  On 16 December 1974, you submitted a hardship discharge request, asserting that you needed to return home to assist your father with the family business, because your father’s health was deteriorating.  The hardship discharge request was denied on 8 January 1975, with your chain of command and medical personal noting that your father’s illness preexisted your enlistment in the Marine Corps, and that, generally, it was manageable with medication.  On 17 March 1975, you commenced another period of unauthorized absence, which ended when you were apprehended nearly a year later, on 4 March 1976.  On 15 March 1976, you submitted a request, for the good of the service, to be discharged with an other than honorable characterization of service, in order to escape another trial by court-martial.  Your request was approved, and you were discharged on 19 March 1976, with an other than honorable characterization of service. 
 
The Board carefully considered all potentially mitigating factors to determine whether the interests of justice warrant relief in your case including in accordance with the Wilkie Memo.  These included, but were not limited to, your desire to upgrade his discharge and contentions that: (1) you were in an untenable position, pulled between needing to care for your father and also your duty to the Marine Corps; (2) the Marine Corps failed to grasp the necessity of allowing you to assist your father; (3) you were always up front with the Marine Corps, and they always knew your whereabouts; and (4) the other than honorable characterization of service is tantamount to a bad conduct discharge, and unfairly stigmatizes you.  Based upon this review, the Board concluded that these potentially mitigating factors were insufficient to warrant relief.  Specifically, the Board determined that your repeated lengthy unauthorized absences, as evidenced by a special court-martial conviction as well as a request for discharge in lieu of a second court-martial, outweighed these mitigating factors.  In reaching its decision, the Board considered the hardship discharge request, including your chain of command’s review of same.  Accordingly, given the totality of the circumstances, the Board determined that the request does not merit relief.   
 
You are entitled to have the Board reconsider its decision upon submission of new matters, which will require him 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,