Docket No. 5361-19
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. 
 
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, as well as applicable statutes, regulations, and policies.  In addition, the Board considered the 23 July 2019 advisory opinion (AO) contained in Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (Bureau) letter 5400 Ser M1/19UM10035.  The AO was provided to you on 9 October 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. 
 
On 27 May 2010, you were conferred with a Master’s degree from  University in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, prior to completion of your qualified degree.  On 30 July 2013, you were commissioned in the Navy Reserve (Inactive) and entered the Armed Forces Health Profession Scholarship Program (AFHPSP).  On 20 April 2017, after completion of the AFHPSP, you were commissioned in the active component as a Lieutenant (LT) after being credited with four years of Extra Grade Credit (EGC). 
 
You requested one year of additional EGC for this Master’s degree.  As part of the review process, the Bureau reviewed your request and provided the AO to the Board.  The AO determined that no further EGC is warranted.  The AO determined that under applicable DoD and Navy Instructions, the degree not only must contribute directly to performance in the primary medical or surgical specialty to which the applicant will be assigned, but constructive credit for advanced degrees other than the professional degree for which the officer was appointed was eliminated for all those graduating after 30 December 2015.  The Board, in its  
review of your entire record and application, carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, to include your assertions.  However, the Board concurred with the AO for the reasons stated therein.   
 
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 the 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,