DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 1671-19 Ref: Signature Date From: Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records To: Secretary of the Navy Ref: (a) 10 U.S.C. § 1552 Encl: (1) DD Form 149 w/attachments (2)Deputy, Chief of Personnel ltr 1611 Ser BUPERS-00B/156 of 18 Mar 18 (3) Commander, ltr 5812 N00 of 1 Jun 18 (4) CNPC ltr 1920 Ser 834/128 of 6 Jun 18 (5) CNPC ltr 1920 Ser 834/010 of 25 Feb 19 1. Pursuant to the reference, Petitioner, a commissioned officer of the Navy, filed enclosure (1) with the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) requesting that his record be corrected to remove his 18 March 2018, Detachment for Cause (DFC), enclosure (2), and his 6 June 2018, Status in the Navy (SIN) letter, enclosure (3), from his official military personnel file (OMPF). 2. The Board, consisting of , reviewed Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice on 7 January 2020 and, pursuant to its regulations, determined that the corrective action indicated below should be taken on the available evidence of record. Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of the enclosures, relevant portions of Petitioner’s naval records, and applicable statutes, regulations and policies. 3. The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record pertaining to Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice finds as follows: a. Before applying to this Board, Petitioner exhausted all administrative remedies available under existing law and regulations within the Department of the Navy. b. Petitioner contends that a Board of Inquiry (BOI) found no basis for the allegations against him and that, as a result of the BOI findings, the non-judicial punishment authority who imposed Petitioner’s non-judicial punishment (NJP) set aside the NJP, and all administrative and punitive action associated with the NJP. Petitioner further asserts that the continued existence of the DFC and SIN in his record is an enduring representation of an event that through due process, has been formally unsubstantiated and withdrawn by the proper naval authorities. c. On 12 December 2017, Petitioner was the subject of NJP for violation of Article 120 of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), (Abusive Sexual Contact). d. On 18 March 2018, in enclosure (2), the Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel approved Petitioner’s DFC. e. On 22 May 2018, Petitioner was the subject of a BOI for violation of Article 120 and substandard performance. The BOI found that the preponderance of evidence did not support the allegations, nor were the allegations supported by sufficient evidence to warrant separation for cause. f. On 1 June 2018, in enclosure (3), the judicial punishment authority who imposed Petitioner’s NJP), set aside Petitioner’s 12 December 2017 NJP, his Punitive Letter of Reprimand, and the DFC. The Commander commented that, “In light of these new findings [from the BOI] under a more rigorous examination, I do not believe the evidence upon which I based my findings at NJP were complete or wholly accurate. My preponderance standard of the evidence provided to me at NJP was based on what appears to be increasingly unreliable eye-witness statements against the accused in multiple instances and to the degree that I no longer believe the evidence supports my original finding.” g. On 6 June 2018, Petitioner was issued enclosure (4), a Status in the U.S. Navy letter, by PERS-834 directing that the SIN letter be inserted in his OMPF. h. The advisory opinion (AO), enclosure (5), recommended approval in favor of the Petitioner by removing both the DFC and SIN letter from Petitioner’s OMPF. The AO advised that the sole basis for the DFC request was the guilty finding at NJP (found unsupported by sufficient evidence by the BOI). Upon the set aside of the NJP and withdrawal of the request for DFC, the basis for DFC was no longer adequately supported. Thus, if the DFC approval letter is removed, the information in the SIN letter is no longer pertinent. CONCLUSION Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record, the Board finds the existence of an error warranting corrective action. The Board substantially concurred with AO and determined that the NJP was the basis for the DFC and subsequent SIN letter. In light of the fact that Petitioner’s NJP was set aside, the Board determined that the DFC and SIN letter should be removed. RECOMMENDATION In view of the above, the Board directs the following corrective action. That Petitioner’s naval record be corrected by removing the 18 March 2018 Detachment for Cause, enclosure (2). That Petitioner’s naval record be corrected by removing the 6 June 2018 Status in the Navy letter, enclosure (4). That any material or entries inconsistent with or relating to the Board’s recommendation be corrected, removed or completely expunged from Petitioner’s record, that no such entries or material be added to the record in the future. This includes but is not limited to all information systems/data base entries which reference and/or discuss the material being expunged. 4. It is certified that a quorum was present at the Board’s review and deliberations, and that the foregoing is a true and complete record of the Board’s proceedings in the above-entitled matter. 5. Pursuant to the delegation of authority set out in Section 6(e) of the revised Procedures of the Board for Correction of Naval Records (32 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 723.6(e)), and having assured compliance with its provisions, it is hereby announced that the foregoing corrective action, taken under the authority of the reference, has been approved by the Board on behalf of the Secretary of the Navy.