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

Docket No: 3888-19 
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 14 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, and applicable statutes, regulations, and policies, as well as the enclosed 28 March 2019 advisory opinion (AO) furnished by the Marine Corps Performance Evaluation Review Board (PERB) and your response. 

The Board carefully considered your request to remove your fitness report for the reporting period 1 June 2017 to 31 May 2018 or adjust your reporting senior’s (RS) marks to reflect a relative value above the RS’s average.  The Board considered your contention that the report is biased and does not accurately reflect your performance because you were rated against active-duty majors serving as company-level Inspector-Instructors (I&Is).  You also contend that your performance was devalued because of your billet as the S-4, that your RS concurred that the report was unjust and recommended that you have it removed, and that you were not counseled.  

The Board, however, substantially concurred with the AO that the contested report is administratively and procedurally correct. In this regard, the AO noted that you did not provide endorsements from your reporting officials to support your contentions.  The Board noted the letter from your RS to the Commandant of the Marine Corps (MMPR-1), in which he explained the relative value of your report and endorsed your consideration for promotion to lieutenant colonel.  The Board found no evidence that your RS considered the report unjust or that the report is not an accurate assessment of your performance during the reporting period, and you provided none.  The Board also noted your RS’s statement that his Section I comments remain consistent with his continued assessment of your potential for continued service.  The Board determined that being rated with officers of a different Service component and different billets is not biased.  The Board noted, too, that, although Marine Corps Order (MCO) 1610.7A, the Marine Corps Performance Evaluation System (PES) Manual, provides that the RS should counsel the Marine Reported On throughout the reporting period, it does not mandate counseling.  Furthermore, the perceived competitiveness of a report’s relative value is not a basis for removing your report.  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, 

4/24/2020