Docket No: 11351-19 
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 that 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 13 January 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 Navy and began a period of active duty on 1 December 1994, with an end of service date of approximately 30 November 1999.  On 4 March 1997, you received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) for wrongful use of a controlled substance (marijuana) and were awarded forfeitures of pay, restriction, and reduction in rank to E-2.  On 5 March 1997, administrative action was initiated to separate you from the naval service by reason of misconduct due to drug abuse.  After being afforded all of your procedural rights, you waived them, and your case was forwarded to the separation authority for review.  Your commanding officer recommended that you be discharged with an other than honorable (OTH) characterization of service.  The separation authority agreed and directed your separation from the Navy for misconduct, with an OTH characterization of service.  On 9 April 1997, you were so discharged. 
 
You request the Board upgrade your characterization of service to honorable.  You assert that you served honorably for over three years during wartime activity overseas.  You also state that  there are new laws now that do not criminalize the use of marijuana.  Lastly, you state this 
incident happened over 20 years ago, you are now more mature with a family and a college education, and your OTH discharge should not “follow [you] the rest of [your] life.”  You also indicate that you are seeking a Veterans Administration home loan and cannot obtain any benefits. 
 
The Board carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, such as your record of service and contentions, and concluded that these factors were insufficient to warrant a change to your discharge given your misconduct of drug use.  With respect to your contentions, the Board noted that you served two years and three months before testing positive for marijuana, and the new laws in some jurisdictions decriminalizing the use of marijuana do not affect Navy regulations.  The Board noted your post-service accomplishments; however, there is no provision of law or in Navy regulations that allows for recharacterization of service due solely to the passage of time. 
 
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.