Docket No: 10168-19
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.  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 2 October 2020.  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, and applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. 
 
You enlisted in the Marine Corps on 15 September 2014.  On your pre-enlistment National Security Questionnaire, you answered “No” to both:  (a) being arrested, charged, convicted, or sentenced of a crime in any court, and (b) ever being charged with an offense involving alcohol or drugs.  Additionally, on your pre-enlistment “Medical History Provider Interview,” you answered “No” to ever being arrested.  Upon your arrival at Marine Corps Recruit Depot  (MCRD), you disclosed the fact that you were arrested and convicted on a drug possession charge.   
 
MCRD initiated administrative discharge action by reason of fraudulent entry into the Marine Corps.  The factual basis for your fraudulent enlistment was the failure to disclose your pre-service drug offense.  Ultimately, after only eighteen days on active duty, on 2 October 2014, you were discharged from the Marine Corps with an uncharacterized entry level separation (ELS), and assigned a separation code of “JDT1” and an “RE-4” reentry code.  The “JDT1” separation code corresponds to:  “fraudulent entry – drug abuse,” and is the appropriate designation in fraudulent enlistment cases involving drug-related misconduct such as yours, which would likely be disqualifying for active duty service.  In this regard, you were assigned the correct characterization, separation code, and reentry code based on your factual situation as you were still within your first 180 days of continuous military service and had not yet completed boot camp.   
 
The Board carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, such as your contentions that included, but were not limited to:  (a) the narrative reason of “drug abuse” is not applicable in your situation and the wording is in error, (b) the United States federal definition of drug abuse does not correspond to your situation, (c) after your drug possession arrest you have not touched drugs and have avoided people who do so, and (d) the wording on your DD Form 214 makes it seem like you were doing drugs while in boot camp which wasn’t true.  However, the Board concluded these factors and contentions were not sufficient to warrant changing your narrative reason for separation and its corresponding separation code, or granting any other equitable relief. 
 
The Board determined that your Marine Corps service records and DD Form 214 maintained by the Department of the Navy contain no known errors.  The Board disagreed with your contention that the narrative reason for separation wording is erroneous.  In the Marine Corps, “drug abuse” is an all-encompassing term that includes all drug-related misconduct such as drug use, possession, manufacture, and distribution.  Moreover, the Board noted that a fraudulent enlistment occurs when there has been deliberate material misrepresentation, including the omission or concealment of facts which, if known at the time, would have reasonably been expected to preclude, postpone, or otherwise affect eligibility for enlistment.  Lastly, absent a material error or injustice, the Board generally will not summarily make changes to service records solely for the purpose of facilitating benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, or enhancing educational or employment opportunities.  In the end, the Board concluded that you received the correct narrative reason for separation, separation code, discharge characterization, and reentry code based on the totality of your circumstances, and that such action was in accordance with all Department of the Navy directives and policy at the time of your 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 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,