Docket No: 3548-19  
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) Fitness report for the reporting period 3 Sep 16 to 14 Mar 17 
     (3)  ltr of 28 Jun 18 
     (4) CMC ltr 1610 MMRP-13/PERB of 5 Mar 19 


1.  Pursuant to the provisions of the reference, Petitioner, a non-commissioned officer of the Marine Corps, filed enclosure (1) with the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board), requesting that her record be corrected by removing her fitness report for the reporting period 3 September 2016 to 14 March 2017. 

2.  The Board reviewed Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice on 24 March 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, found that, before applying to this Board, she exhausted all administrative remedies available under existing law and regulations within the Department of the Navy. The Board made the following findings: 

a.  Petitioner contends that her reporting senior (RS) issued enclosure (2) with low attribute marks, because as a Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) instructor, Petitioner would not agree to certify her RS as a MCMAP green belt without the RS’s completion of the required sustainment training.  Petitioner also contends that her RS did not mark her report as commendatory for her 23 January 2017 Letter of Appreciation (LOA).  As evidence, Petitioner submitted a letter from her MCMAP coordinator and the LOA. 

b.  Petitioner’s MCMAP coordinator submitted enclosure (3), in which he confirms speaking with Petitioner’s RS regarding her demand that she be given a green belt.  The coordinator noted that the RS did not want to complete the required sustainment training because she was pregnant and had a leg injury. 

c.  The advisory opinion (AO), enclosure (4) recommended that Petitioner’s fitness report be retained as filed.  The AO explained that Petitioner did not provide evidence that her RS’s attribute marks were biased or that the fitness report was issued in retribution by her RS.  The AO opined that the letterfrom Petitioner’s MCMAP coordinator confirms that the RS was suspected of attempting to short-circuit the standard MCMAP requirements but does not lend any credence to subsequent consequences associated with the contested report. Further, the AO recommended that Petitioner address the missing commendatory material via the administrative change process with Headquarters, Marine Corps Records and Performance (MMRP-31). 

CONCLUSION 
Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record, the Board found the existence of an injustice warranting corrective action. The Board acknowledged Petitioner’s contentions and the letter from Petitioner’s MCMAP coordinator, and opined that Petitioner’s contention has merit.  The Board noted the AO’s recommendation that Petitioner’s fitness report be retained as filed, but, contrary to the AO, the Board determined that Petitioner’s contested fitness report should be removed.  In this regard, the Board noted Petitioner’s billet accomplishments and determined that the AO failed to address the disparity between the below-average attribute marks and Petitioner’s billet accomplishments.  Specifically, Petitioner earned a second military occupational specialty, acted as the operations platoon sergeant (a staff non-commissioned officer billet), and supervised 18 Marines as a MCMAP instructor. The Board determined that Petitioner’s billet accomplishments are indicative of higher attribute marks.  The Board thus concluded that Petitioner’s contested fitness report shall be removed.  

RECOMMENDATION 

In view of the above, the Board directs the following corrective action. 

Petitioner’s naval record be corrected by removing the fitness report for the reporting period 3 September 2016 to 14 March 2017. 

Any material or entries inconsistent with or relating to theBoard’s recommendation be corrected, removed, or completely expunged from Petitioner’s record, and no such entries or material be added to the record in the future.  This includes, but is not limited to, all information systems/database entries that reference 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.