Dear : 
 
This letter is in reference to your application of 7 June 2018 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 that the evidence submitted was insufficient to establish the existence of probable material error or injustice.  Consequently, your application has been denied. 
 
A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 21 January 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, as well as applicable statutes, regulations, and policies.  The Board also considered the enclosed 20 November 2018 advisory opinion (AO) furnished by the Marine Corps Performance Evaluation Review Board (PERB), which was previously provided to you.  Although you were afforded an opportunity to submit a rebuttal, you did not do so. 
 
The Board carefully considered your request to remove your fitness report for the reporting period 18 January 2017 to 31 May 2017.  The Board considered your contentions that your fitness report is inconsistent with your past performance and reports from your reporting senior (RS), your professional military education (PME) mark is not in line with the word picture in Section I, your RS made a statement in Section I that is not only unprofessional but extremely inappropriate to be used in the word picture, and at no period before or after the submission of this report were you briefed on the assessment, markings, or word picture. 
 
The Board concurred with the PERB that Section I contained unacceptable comments, and noted that the Marine Corps’ course of action was to remove the comment “He demonstrated great perseverance and resiliency during this period while dealing with personal tragedy in his family and remaining devoted to a challenging schedule.”  The Board, however, determined that the contested report, as modified by the PERB, is now administratively and procedurally correct as written and filed, noting that there is no scale to match the attribute markings with the Section I 
comments, nor is any scale to accomplish such a match provided or feasible.  The Board also concurred with the AO that your fitness report is not a counseling tool or document but it is recognized that there is a complimentary relationship between the counseling process and the Performance Evaluation System (PES) that begins when the you and RS first met to discuss the PES billet description and expectations.  Additionally, formal counseling is not a requirement of the PES, thus any lack of counseling does not invalidate a report.  The Board thus concluded that there is no probable material error or injustice warranting removal or further modification of the contested report. 
 
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 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.