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. 
 
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 case on its merits.  A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 5 November 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.   
 
A review of your record shows that you entered active duty with the Marine Corps in February 1968.  Starting in June 1968, you commenced a series of unauthorized absences that ended when you admitted yourself to Naval Hospital on 12 August 1968.  On 30 September 1968, a medical board diagnosed you with a preexisting Passive Dependent Personality Disorder and recommended your discharge from the Marine Corps for unsuitability.  In May 2020, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) assigned you a 70% disability rating for Major Depressive Disorder with Anxious Distress effective November 2015. 
 
The Board carefully considered your arguments that you deserve to be placed on the disability retirement list based on your 2015 VA rating.  You assert the medical board findings were incorrect.  Unfortunately, the Board disagreed with your rationale for relief.  In reviewing your record, the Board concluded the preponderance of the evidence supports the medical board findings in your case since the diagnosis was issued contemporaneously with your active duty service.  The Board did not find your VA rating persuasive since it was assigned more than 50 years after your discharge from the Marine Corps.  Finally, even if you were suffering from Major Depressive Disorder in 1968, the Board found no evidence to support a finding that it would have merited a rating of 30% or greater at that time.  The Board concluded that your 2015 disability rating was not probative on the issue determining an accurate 1968 disability rating based on the length of time elapsed since your discharge and potential intervening factors that may have aggravated your mental health in the 50 years since your discharge.  Accordingly, the Board found insufficient evidence of error or injustice to warrant a change to your 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,