Docket No: 2101-18 

 Ref: Signature date 

Dear 

This letter 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 that 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 
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 and personal statement, together with all 
material submitted in support thereof, relevant portions of your naval record, as well as 
applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. 

You enlisted in the Marine Corps on      for four years. In accordance with your pleas of guilty, 
you were convicted at a General Court Martial (GCM) of: 
(a) conspiracy to commit larceny, (b) nine separate specifications of larceny, and (c) six separate 
specifications of forgery. The total amount of your stolen and fraudulently obtained funds 
totaled approximately $13,900. Your adjudged sentence included six months of confinement, a 
reduction to the lowest enlisted paygrade, and to be discharged from the naval service with a bad 
conduct discharge (BCD). Following completion of the post-trial appellate review process in 
your case, your conviction and sentence were affirmed and your punitive discharge was ordered 
executed. You were discharged from the Marine Corps with a BCD on 

The Board carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors in your case, including your 
contentions that included, but were not limited to: (a) that you are requesting an upgrade so you 
can further your reintegration process, (b) that since your discharge you have terminated 
probation successfully and served your time, (c) that you have enrolled successfully in a 
vocational college program, (d) that you have been chronically homeless, (e) that if you can 
continue to be proactive with your recovery you will better your quality of life and your chances 
of thriving will be increased greatly, (f) that you want to continue to attend college with your 
own affordable housing and obtain employment, (g) that your charges involved fraudulent 
checks and to your recollection the monies stolen were returned by means of restitution, (h) that 
you were nineteen years old at the time of your crime, (i) that you are aware that your actions 
reflect solely on your character as a United States Marine and as an adult, (j) that you were 
dishonest and truly selfish, and (k) that you have no excuse to justify what you did. 

However, the Board found that your contentions and mitigating factors were insufficient to 
warrant relief in your case given the overall seriousness of your pattern of misconduct and 
financial fraud. Further, during the appellate review process for your GCM, no substantive, 
evidentiary, or procedural defects were discovered. The Board also noted that, contrary to your 
contentions, that there is no evidence in the record, and you submitted none, that you made any 
restitution of the $13,900 you and your co-conspirator fraudulently obtained. Accordingly, the 
Board determined that there was no probable material error or injustice in your discharge, and 
that your serious misconduct clearly supported your receipt of a BCD. 

The Board also noted that, although it cannot set aside a conviction, it might grant clemency in 
the form of changing a characterization of discharge, even one awarded by a court-martial. 
However, the Board concluded that, despite your contentions, under the totality of the 
circumstances clemency is not warranted on the facts of your case. 

Additionally, the Board reviewed your application under the recent guidance provided in the 
Under Secretary of Defense’s memorandum dated 25 July 2018 entitled, “Guidance to Military 
Discharge Review Boards and Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records Regarding 
Equity, Injustice, or Clemency Determinations” (USD Memo). The purpose of the USD Memo 
is to ease the process for veterans seeking redress and assist Boards for Correction of 
Military/Naval Records “in determining whether relief is warranted on the basis of equity, 
injustice, or clemency.” The USD Memo noted that “increasing attention is being paid to…the 
circumstances under which citizens should be considered for second chances and the restoration 
of rights forfeited,” and that “BCM/NRs have the authority to upgrade discharges or correct 
military records to ensure fundamental fairness.” The USD Memo sets clear standards and 
principles to guide BCM/NRs in application of their equitable relief authority, and further 
explains that boards shall consider a number of factors to determine whether to grant relief to 
include, but not limited to, positive or negative post-service conduct, job history, character 
references, the severity of the misconduct, acceptance of responsibility and atonement for 
misconduct, and evidence of rehabilitation. However, even in light of the USD Memo, the 
Board again concluded under the totality of the circumstances that your request does not merit 
relief. 

It is regretted that the circumstances of your case are such that favorable action cannot be taken 
at this time. 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.