Docket No: 4890-19 
Ref: Signature Date 


Dear :  
 
This 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 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 for Correction of Naval Records, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 23 June 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. 
 
You enlisted in the Navy and served on active duty from 3 February 1987 to 8 November 1990.  You completed your first period of enlistment in the grade of third class petty officer (E-4) with a final performance average of 3.67; you immediately reenlisted and began a second period of active duty on 9 November 1990.  On 7 February 1991, you received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) for disorderly conduct (drunkenness), and were subsequently reduced to the grade of E-3.  On 19 February 1992, you received a second NJP for unauthorized absence (UA).  On 28 February 1992, you received NJP for wrongful use of a controlled substance.  You were discharged from the Navy on 2 April 1992, on the basis of a pattern of misconduct, and received an other than honorable discharged and a reentry (RE) code of RE-4. 
 
In your application to the Board, you request an upgrade to your discharge characterization from other than honorable to honorable.  You state that when you started the Navy, you had an alcohol problem and a couple of years later, you started smoking marijuana.  As time went on, your addiction got worse.  You state that you made many bad decisions and mistakes and it has taken you years to admit that you had a problem.  You entered drug rehabilitation in October 2008, and have been sober since.  You attend meetings regularly, speak at rehab, and put others in front of yourself.  You stated that you are a changed person.  You provide information about your charitable work, and your belief in yourself and in God.  You state that you would like to go to Veterans Affairs and take care of your medical issues. 
 
The Board, in its review of your entire record and application, carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, including the information you provide about your in-service struggles with addiction, the length of time since your discharge in 1992, and your desire to seek benefits through Veterans Affairs.  The Board also considered your post-service accomplishments, including your sobriety for since 2008, and your contributions to your community through volunteer work.  The Board found, however, that the seriousness of your misconduct of wrongful use of a controlled substance while in an active duty status was not overcome by the mitigating circumstances surrounding your discharge and your post-service achievements.  The Board determined that the other than honorable discharge that you received in 1992, is supported by the misconduct reflected in your second period of enlistment.  The Board concluded that your record does not reflect an error or injustice that warrants an upgrade to your current 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 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, 

9/13/2020


Executive Director