Docket No: 5630-20 
Ref: Signature Date                                                                                
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 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 was 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 for Correction of Naval Records, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 23 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. 
  
You enlisted in the Navy and began active duty on 3 May 2000.  On 16 July 2001, nonjudicial punishment (NJP) was imposed on you for Wrongful Use of Cocaine.  Subsequently, administrative separation action was initiated for Misconduct - Drug Abuse.  On 16 July 2001, you waived your rights to counsel and an administrative board.  On 17 July 2001, your Commanding Officer (CO) recommended administrative separation with an Under Other than Honorable Conditions (OTH) discharge.  On 17 July 2001, the Separation Authority directed administrative separation with an OTH discharge.  On 20 July 2001, you were administratively separated with an OTH discharge.   
 
You have requested an upgrade of your discharge to Honorable.  You asserted you went to Captain’s Mast before the Commodore, not your Commanding Officer, as the boat was at sea.  You also asserted that the Commodore did not know what you had accomplished onboard. Finally, you asserted you were not offered an opportunity to attend drug rehabilitation, as other Sailors had, or to seek medical attention for drug use and cited this as disparate treatment.  The Board concluded that this assertion was not sufficient to warrant a change to your discharge, given your misconduct, which resulted in NJP for drug use.  The Board noted you were assigned to the Commodore’s squadron at the time of your NJP.  Also, the Board noted that you waived your rights with regard to discharge proceedings.  By doing so, you waived your first, and best, opportunity to advocate for retention, or a more favorable characterization of discharge. 
 
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,