Docket No: 10193-19 
Ref: Signature date 
 
 
Dear : 
 
This letter 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 with respect to your request to upgrade your characterization of service 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 on16 September 2020.  The names and votes of the panel members 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 the 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, to include the 25 July 2018 guidance from the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness regarding equity, injustice or clemency determinations (Wilkie Memo). 
 
After having served honorably for three years in the U.S. Army, you enlisted in the Marine Corps and began a period a period of active duty on 4 February 1991.  According to your naval record, on 19 May 1992, you were convicted by  authorities for stealing private property.  You were sentenced to a year and a day of forced labor in a  prison.  Your sentence was suspended for a period of three years.  On 23 May 1992, you submitted a request for discharge in lieu of facing a trial by court-martial.  Your request was granted, and on 24 July 1992, you were discharged with an other than honorable characterization (OTH) of service. 
 
The Board carefully considered all potentially mitigating factors to determine whether the interests of justice warrant relief in your case in accordance with the Wilkie Memo.  These included, but were not limited to, your desire to upgrade your discharge and contention the crime that led to your discharge was false.  You explained that you were 25 at the time of the alleged offense, and that you did not understand the justice system.  In addition, the Board reviewed the correspondence you provided by a social worker from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.  Your naval record does not provide support for the assertions and you did not provide any materials to support your assertions.  Based upon this review, the Board concluded these potentially mitigating factors were insufficient to warrant relief.  Specifically, the Board is not an investigative body and it is not in the position to evaluate evidence many years after the fact.  The Board further noted that, setting aside the allegations for which you escaped court-martial, you were otherwise subject to a possible other than honorable characterization of service based on the civilian conviction.  Accordingly, given the totality of the circumstances, the Board determined that your request does not merit relief.   
 
In reviewing the circumstances of your separation and characterization of service, the Board considered the totality of the circumstances to determine whether relief is appropriate today in the interests of justice in accordance with guidance provided by the Wilkie Memo.  Accordingly, the Board considered and acknowledged your positive contributions to the Marine Corps, the length of your active duty service to our nation, and your post-discharge achievements.  Even considering these potentially mitigating factors in accordance with the above referenced guidance, the Board did not find that relief was in the interest of justice.  The Board concluded that your OTH discharge characterization was issued without error or injustice, and that corrective action is not warranted. 
 
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,