Docket No: 2457-18

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 
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, relevant portions of your naval record, as 
well as applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. 

You enlisted in the Navy on Your administrative separation documents are 
not contained in your electronic service record that the Board had available for review. The 
Board relies on a presumption of regularity to support the official actions of public officers. In 
the absence of substantial evidence to rebut the presumption, the Board presumes that you were 
properly processed for separation. Based on the information contained on your Certificate of 
Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214), you submitted a voluntary written 
request for a discharge for the good of the service in lieu of trial by court-martial for a period of 
unauthorized absence (UA) lasting approximately 289 days. Prior to submitting this voluntary 
discharge request, you would have conferred with a qualified military lawyer, at which time you 
were advised of your rights and warned of the probable adverse consequences of accepting such 
a discharge. On you were separated from the Navy with an other than honorable 
(OTH) discharge. 

Despite not making any specific contentions to support your petition for a discharge upgrade, the 
Board nonetheless carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, such as any possible 
medical or mental health issues that may have contributed to the misconduct that formed the 
underlying basis for your discharge. Your separation physical did not note any physical or 
mental abnormalities. There were no other mitigating factors apparent in your record. The 
Board, therefore, found insufficient evidence to warrant relief in your case given your voluntary 
request for a good of the service discharge in lieu of a trial by court-martial, and the overall 
seriousness of your UA that lasted over nine months. The Board concluded that your serious 
misconduct merited your receipt of a less than honorable discharge, and that there was no 
material error or injustice in your OTH discharge. 

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 Naval 
Records “in determining whether relief is warranted on the basis of equity, injustice, or 
clemency.” The USD memo sets clear standards and principles to guide boards in the 
application of their equitable relief authority, and further explains that boards shall consider a 
number of factors to determine whether to grant relief. However, you did not submit any 
evidence relevant to the factors listed in the memo. 

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.