Docket No: 10160-19
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.    
  
Your application was not filed in a timely manner.  A three-member panel of the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board), sitting in executive session, considered your application on 20 August 2020.  After careful consideration, the Board determined that it would not be in the interest of justice to excuse your failure to submit your application in a timely manner.   
 
You were discharged on or about 13 December 1994 with a general (under honorable conditions) characterization of service.  According to your application, you discovered the alleged error or injustice in your record on or about 3 September 1994.  You did not file your application with this Board, however, until October 2019, more than 24 years after your discharge date. 
 
You contend that the Board should find it in the interest of justice to excuse your failure to submit your application within three years of the date of your discovery of the alleged error or injustice because you are “[h]oping to apply for VA education benefits for my children and VA healthcare benefits for myself.”  The Board determined, however, that this was insufficient reason to find it in the interest of justice to excuse your failure to submit your application in a timely manner.  In reaching this conclusion, the Board determined your request for consideration is denied due to the length of time since your discharge and lack of evidence to support your contentions in your application.  The Board also noted that your eligibility for veteran’s benefits does not fall under the purview of this Board, but rather the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  You must contact your regional VA office to start the appeal process for benefits eligibility or to start an appeal for previously denied benefits.   
 
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.   
 
Sincerely,