Docket No: 10493-19 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 to be 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 to be 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 5 October 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 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 service record, your previous applications for relief to the Board and to the Naval Discharge Review Board (NDRB), and applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. You enlisted in the Navy and served honorably from 24 August 1953 until 20 October 1954. You reenlisted on 21 October 1954. On 30 August 1955, you received non-judicial punishment (NJP) for a short period of unauthorized absence (UA) in violation of Article 86, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). On 27 May1957, you received a second NJP for another short period of UA in violation of Article 86, UCMJ. On 9 July 1957, you were convicted by a special court-martial (SPCM) for an approximately 11-day UA in violation of Article 86, UCMJ; for missing movement in violation of Article 87, UCMJ; and for breaking restriction in violation of Article 134, UCMJ. The SPCM sentenced you to confinement at hard labor for two months, forfeiture of pay and reduction in grade. On 21 January 1958, you received NJP for a period of UA of approximately eight days in violation of Article 86, UCMJ. On 12 February 1958, you received NJP for a period of UA of just over a day in violation of Article 86, UCMJ. By memorandum dated 27 February 1958, the Commanding Officer (CO), recommended that you be discharged by reason of unfitness. An administrative discharge board reviewed this recommendation on 19 March 1958, but apparently elected to retain you on active duty. During this ADB, your CO remarked that your “performance of duty has not been such as to warrant special consideration, and regardless of counseling, in the matter of [your] responsibilities to the navy [sic] and in matters of [your] conduct and attitude [you] present a difficult problem for [your] officers and petty officers.” After this ADB, you received NJP for a short period of UA on 27 June 1958. On 12 July 1958, you received NJP for an approximately one-day UA in violation of Article 86, UCMJ. Finally, on 17 October 1958, you received NJP for refusal to obey an order from a commissioned officer, in violation of Article 91, UCMJ. You were not recommended for reenlistment, and were subsequently discharged from the Navy. On 5 December 1958, you received an undesirable discharge (OTH) certificate for reason of unfitness. The Board carefully and conscientiously considered the totality of the circumstances of your case in light of recent guidance provided by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness1 to determine whether relief is appropriate the interests of justice. In this regard, the Board considered, among other factors, your sincere remorse for your previous conduct and that you have accepted personal accountability for your actions; your relative youth and immaturity at the time of your discharge; your advanced age and desire to remove the “black mark” of your service characterization from your conscience; the economic and social stigma that you have and continue to endure due to the characterization of your naval service; your continuing dedication to the Sailors with whom you served; that your characterization of service may deny you the recognition enjoyed by other Veterans despite your five years of service; that you have endured the shame and embarrassment of your service characterization for most of your life; and the passage of time since your discharge. The Board also considered the contents of your previous applications to both this Board and to the NDRB, to include the character letters attesting to your favorable character, work ethic, and community involvement. Even considering these potentially mitigating factors, however, the Board determined that the interests of justice do not warrant an upgrade of your characterization of service at this time given the evidence of record. In reaching this conclusion, the Board found that the volume and nature of your misconduct in the Navy was so significant that it outweighed all of the potentially mitigating factors considered by the Board. The Board recognized and appreciated your sincere remorse for your conduct in the Navy and sympathized with the stigma that you have endured as a result of that conduct, but ultimately determined that your naval service was accurately characterized and that the circumstances do not warrant any relief. 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, See USD Memorandum, “Guidance to Military Discharge Review Boards and Boards for Correction of Military / Naval Records Regarding Equity , Injustice, or Clemency Determinations,” 25 July 2018