Docket No: 10664-19 
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 on 7 May 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, as well as applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. 
You enlisted in the Marine Corps and began a period of active duty on 26 February 1971.  On 2 November 1971, you received nonjudicial punishment for unauthorized absence.  On 17 November 1971, you received nonjudicial punishment for disobeying an officer.  Thereafter, you made several admissions and descriptions of your regular use of a wide range of illegal drugs.  Then on 18 November 1971, you were notified that you were being discharged from the naval service with a general characterization of service.  On 16 December 1971, you were discharged with a general characterization of service. 

The Board carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, such as your desire to upgrade your discharge, your assertion that you thought you had a guaranteed MOS as a combat photographer and volunteered to deploy to Vietnam, but instead you were assigned to be a disbursing clerk. The Board also considered your assertion that you were young and you felt cheated, that you sought an early discharge, and that you were harassed by your Master Sergeant.  After careful consideration of your contentions, the Board did not find evidence of an error or injustice that warrants upgrading your characterization of service. 

With regard to your request to have your rank restored to E-2 because you assert that your reduction in rank to E-1 was the result of harassment, the Board found no evidence of harassment in your record, and you submitted none. 

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.