DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 4403-18 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 17 July 2019. 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. You enlisted in the Navy and began a period of active duty on 2 August 1972. You served for eight months without disciplinary incident, but during the period from 20 April 1973 to 26 June 1973, you received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) on two occasions. Your offenses were failure to go to your appointed place of duty, unauthorized absence (UA) from your unit for a day, and missing ship’s movement. On 2 December 1974, you were in a UA status from your unit until you surrendered on 28 February 1975, a period of 88 days. Subsequently, you made a written request for undesirable discharge for the good of the service to avoid trial by court- martial for the foregoing period of UA. Prior to submitting this request, you 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. Your request was granted and the commanding officer directed your other than honorable (OTH) discharge. As a result of this action, you were spared the stigma of a court-martial conviction and the potential penalties of a punitive discharge and confinement at hard labor. On 9 April 1975, you were discharged under OTH conditions. On 27 December 1979, the Board upgraded the characterization of your discharge to general under honorable conditions based on your overall record, your age, low GCT scores, your documented personal problems, and the findings of the Veterans Administration in granting you benefits. The Board carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, including your request to upgrade the characterization of your service and your contentions that you would not have gone UA with three months left in your enlistment without a good reason, your wife was being harassed, you had your house broken into, you returned of your own accord, the decision was unfair and unjust under your circumstances, and you have had an exemplary record the last 40 years. The Board concluded these factors were not sufficient to warrant relief in your case because of the seriousness of your misconduct that resulted in two NJPs, periods of UA totaling nearly three months and request for discharge. In regard to your contention the Board was sympathetic to your concern for you wife’s safety, noted your previous upgrade but noted nothing further in your record and you did not submit any additional supporting documentations to show that your family problem could not be resolved through standard military channels. The Board, in its review, discerned no material error or injustice in the discharge and determined no further clemency is warranted. 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.