Docket No: 8555-20
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 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 application on its merits.  A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 17 February 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, to include 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 and began a period of active duty on 13 August 1974.  On 17 November 1974, you began a period of unauthorized absence that continued until you were apprehended in , by civilian authorities on 13 February 1975.  You were returned to Marine Corps authorities and issued straggler orders to Marine Corps Base .  On 14 February 1975, when you changed planes in , you cashed in your government funded airline ticket to  for a ticket home.  On 19 August 1975, while you were on a period of unauthorized absence from the Marine Corps, you enlisted in the Navy.  On 14 November 1975, you were discharged from the Navy due to unsuitability.  On 14 October 1976, you surrendered to Marine Corps authorities in .  On 28 October 1976, you requested a good of the service separation in lieu of trial by court-martial.  On 3 November 1976, your request was approved, and on 9 November 1976, you were discharged with an other than honorable characterization of service.  On 17 October 2011, the Naval Discharge Review Board (NDRB) determined your discharge was proper and no change was warranted.  In your petition to the NDRB, you contended that you while you were on leave from the Marine Corps, your stepmother died and you tried to get your leave extended through your recruiter but you never received a response.  You filed two previous petitions with this Board, which were denied on 17 October 2011 and 2 April 2020.  In your most recent petition before this current petition, you contended that you believed you were honorably discharged from the Marine Corps. 
 
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 your discharge as set forth in your DD Form 149, as well as your contention that previously, the Board did not consider or address your honorable service in the Navy, and that your discharge from the Marines was a result of intimidation and ignorance with administrative processes, that you openly served in the Navy during the period that you were allegedly AWOL, and that it is not logical that a person who is trying to avoid service in the military world openly “hide” in the military.  The Board carefully considered each of the contentions that you set forth.  Based upon its review, however, the Board concluded that the mitigating factors that you set forth were insufficient to warrant relief. Specifically, the Board determined that your honorable service in the Navy, from which you were discharged due to unsuitability, has no bearing on the fact that you served in the Navy while in an unauthorized absence status from the Marine Corps.  The Board also did not find your other contentions availing, considering all of the facts and circumstances, and the fact that, when you finally returned to Marine Corps authority, you requested a discharge in lieu of trial by court-martial.  You did not provide any evidence that your request for discharge was as a result of intimidation, and, in fact, your request provided you the opportunity to avoid facing a court-martial and potential conviction.  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 the 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,