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

Docket No: 3453-19 
Ref: Signature Date 

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.  
  
A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 17 March 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, and applicable statutes, regulations, and policies, as well as the enclosed 5 March 2019 advisory opinion (AO) furnished by the Marine Corps Performance Evaluation Review Board (PERB).  The AO was provided to you on 5 March 2019, 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 1 March 2016 to 9 August 2016.  The Board considered your contentions that the fitness report is below your reporting senior’s (RS) average, because all of the Marines in his profile are drill instructors.  As evidence, you provided a letter from your RS to the E-7 promotion selection board stating that, although he issued you a below-average fitness report, he did not equate that to you being a below-average Marine, explaining that, instead, it merely reflected the difference in billets between you and the other Marines in your RS’s profile. 

Despite your contentions and evidence, the Board substantially concurred with the AO that the contested report is administratively and procedurally correct.  In this regard, the AO explained that your relative value indicates that you were rated ahead of a segment of drill instructors, and that the perceived competitiveness or a report’s relative value is not a basis for removing the contested report.  The Board acknowledged the RS’s letter and determined that the RS merely explained the below-average value of your report, noting that you received marks similar to experienced and senior drill instructors in his profile.  Moreover, the Board found no evidence that the report is not an accurate assessment of your performance by your RS, and you provided none.  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.
         
Sincerely, 

4/10/2020