Docket No: 321-19 
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 case on its merits.  A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 19 November 2019.  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, and applicable statutes, regulations, and policies, as well as the enclosed 7 December 2018 advisory opinion (AO) furnished by the Marine Corps Performance Evaluation Review Board (PERB).  The AO was provided to you on 7 December 2018, and you were given 30 days in which to submit a response.  When you did not provide a response, your case was submitted to the Board for consideration.   
 
The Board carefully considered your request to remove your fitness report for the reporting period 21 April 2012 to 5 August 2012.  The Board considered your contention that your reviewing officer (RO) included an adverse comment:  “He is still performing slightly below the level of his peers.” 
 
The Board, however, substantially concurred with the AO that the contested report is administratively and procedurally correct.  In this regard, when read in context with the following comment (“However, he is well above his peers in performance in the aircraft where he is superb and garnered him an increase from his last fitrep.”), the Board agreed that the disputed comment is not adverse, noting that your RO’s comment was a comparison of your ground abilities with those of your peers, a comparison he was required to make.  The Board thus concluded that there is no probable material error or injustice warranting corrective action.  
  
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 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.