Docket No: 6925-20 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 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 to be 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 26 October 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 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 service record, and applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. You enlisted in the Marine Corps and began a period of active duty on 5 January 2004. On 31 October 2005, you were evaluated at the Substance Abuse Counseling Center (SACC) and diagnosed with alcohol dependence. You were subsequently assigned to the Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Treatment Program (SARP). On 11 January 2006, you received non-judicial punishment (NJP) for absenting yourself without authority. On 3 February 2006, your commander recommended that you be administratively separated for alcohol rehabilitation failure and that you receive a general (under honorable conditions) characterization of service. On 27 March 2006, you received a second NJP for willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer, insubordinate conduct toward an noncommissioned officer, failure to obey an order or regulation, being drunk on duty, and incapacitation for performance of duty through prior wrongful indulgence in intoxicating liquor. You were discharged from the Marine Corps on 28 April 2006 for alcohol rehabilitation failure and received a general (under honorable conditions) characterization of service. You requested an upgrade to your characterization of service to honorable. In your application, you asserted that you have had difficulty finding alternative employment due to the characterization of your service. You also asserted your belief that your discharge was because of a personality conflict with one of your counselors for “not opening up. Finally, you commented that you did not realize the importance of your characterization of service until you realized that it caused difficulties in seeking employment. The Board carefully and conscientiously considered your application in light of guidance provided by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness1 to determine whether the interests of justice warrant an upgrade to your characterization of service under the totality of the circumstances. In this regard, the Board considered all potentially mitigating factors, including but not limited to, the difficulty that you have experienced in finding off-season employment due to the characterization of your service; the fact that you have successfully established and run your own business; your demonstrated work ethic, as evidenced by your desire to pursue alternative work during the slow winter season and the letter of support that you provided in support of your application; that you deployed to ; that you were relatively young and immature at the time of your discharge; the passage of time since your discharge; that you have sought to rehabilitate yourself by committing yourself to Alcoholics Anonymous; and that you did not realize the potential consequences of your characterization of service. Even considering these mitigating factors, however, the Board determined that the interests of justice do not warrant an upgrade to your characterization of service at this time. In making this determination, the Board noted that you had multiple instances of misconduct along with your alcohol rehabilitation failure, and that your general (under honorable conditions) discharge does not represent an adverse action. Accordingly, the Board found that your mitigating circumstances did not overcome the basis for your characterization of service, and therefore that your characterization of service presents no 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 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, 12/21/2020 1 See USD Memo, subj: “Guidance to Military Discharge Review Boards and Boards for Correction of Military / Naval Records Regarding Equity, Injustice, or Clemency Determinations,” 25 July 2018.