DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY 
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 
701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 
ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 

Docket No: 11775-19 
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 23 April 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 24 June 1955. According to your official military personnel folder, during your enlistment, you received nonjudicial punishment on the following occasions due to unauthorized absences of varying lengths: 10 January 1956, 3 May 1956, 13 November 1956, 26 March 1957, 6 December 1957, 21 November 1958, and 4 December 1958.  You received nonjudicial punishment on 6 August 1958 for the dereliction of your duties by failing to get up at reveille, failing to have your liberty card when leaving the ship, and failing to relieve the watch on time.  In addition to the nonjudicial punishments noted above, you went to several courts-martial.  Specifically, you were convicted by a summary court-martial on 23 February 1956 for failing to obey a lawful order by having liquor onboard your ship and for being drunk on board the ship.  You were next convicted by a special court-martial on 26 November 1956 for unauthorized absence.  You were also convicted by summary courts-martial on 3 April 1957 and 11 February 1959, each time for unauthorized absences.

You were recommended for discharge, and you were provided an administrative discharge board, which, on 4 March 1959, found that you repeatedly committed military offenses and that you should be discharged due to unfitness.  On 10 April 1959 you were discharged with an undesirable discharge due to unfitness. 

The Board carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, such as your desire to upgrade your discharge and your assertions that you corrected your ways and served your last 10 months in that Navy as the Coxswain of the Captain’s Gig.  The Board also considered your assertions that your XO was going to add a remark in your records to show that you should not reenlist but that you would still be considered for an honorable discharge, and that you had no idea that your discharge was other than honorable until you registered with the state veterans cemetery.  The Board also considered your request to have your discharge upgraded so that you can be buried at the state veterans cemetery.  The Board concluded these factors and assertions were not sufficient to warrant a change to your discharge given your misconduct.
 
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,