DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 7153-18 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 28 August 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, 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 31 March 1965. You served for a year and five months without disciplinary incident, but during the period from 12 September 1966 to 14 May 1968, you received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) on seven occasions and were convicted at summary court-martial (SCM). Your offenses were failure to obey a lawful order, failure to comply with a standard transfer order, unauthorized absence (UA) from your unit for periods totaling 27 days, failure to go to your appointed place of duty, and missing ship’s movement. Subsequently, you were notified of pending administrative discharge processing with an other than honorable (OTH) discharge by reason of frequent involvement with military authorities. You elected to present your case to an administrative discharge board (ADB), and were represented by non-lawyer counsel. The ADB found that you had frequent involvement and recommended that you be retained for a six month probationary period while facing an undesirable (OTH) discharge. Your commanding officer concurred with the ADB and forwarded his recommendation to the separation authority. On 9 August 1968, the separation authority directed your commanding officer to issue you a discharge as warranted by service record and reason not to be shown. You had a final military behavior average of 2.73, below the 3.0 required for an honorable discharge. You were discharged under honorable conditions (GEN) on 30 August 1968. The Board carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, including your request to upgrade your character of service. The Board concluded these factors were not sufficient to warrant relief in your case due to your misconduct that resulted in seven NJPs and a SCM. Concerning your request to change your characterization of service, there is no provision of law or in Navy regulations that allows for recharacterization of service due solely to the passage of time. The Board, in its review, discerned no material error or injustice in the discharge. 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.