Docket No: 2499-19
Date: Ref Signature 



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 9 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 service on 23 November 1988.  On 8 December 1993, you were discharged with a bad-conduct discharge (BCD), as a result of a special court-martial conviction. 

The Board carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, such as your desire to upgrade your discharge and contention you participated in operations in Panama, and that you received an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.  Although your complete record was not available, the Board relied upon the presumption of regularity that attaches to all official records, and, absent substantive evidence to the contrary, presumed that the officials acted in accordance with governing law and policy, and in good faith. As you provided no contrary supporting evidence, the Board concluded that your SPCM conviction and subsequent BCD outweighed your desire to upgrade your discharge, and discerned no probable material error or injustice in the discharge.  

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.