Docket No: 5426-19 
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 the evidence with respect to your request to upgrade your characterization of service was insufficient to establish the existence of probable material error or injustice.  Consequently, your application has been denied. 
 
Although you did not file the application in a timely manner, the Board found it in the interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations and consider the application on its merits.  A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered the application on 29 July 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 the application, together with all material submitted in support thereof, relevant portions of your naval record, as well as applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. 
 
You re-enlisted in the Navy on 15 June 1990.  On 10 December 1991, you received nonjudicial punishment for using cocaine.  You were processed for administrative discharge, and, on 19 February 1992, an administrative discharge board recommended that you be retained notwithstanding your drug use.  On 5 April 1993, you received nonjudicial punishment for unauthorized absence and drug abuse.  You were again notified of the initiation of administrative separation processing, and you again attended an administrative discharge board, which found that you should be discharged with an other than honorable characterization of service.  You were so discharged on 13 May 1993.  You petitioned this Board in 2015, and sought relief so that your adopted daughter could obtain benefits.  The Board also considered your post-service commitment to good conduct as well as substance abuse treatment.  On 22 December 2016, the Board denied your petition. 
 
In your current petition, the Board carefully weighed all of your contentions as well as all potentially mitigating factors, including your contention that you would like to work for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) again.  The Board considered your application in light of the 25 July 2018 memorandum, “Guidance to Military Discharge Review boards and Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records Regarding Equity, Injustice, or Clemency Determinations.”  After careful consideration of your contentions and materials, the Board did not find evidence of an error or injustice that warrants upgrading your characterization of service.  In making its decision, the Board considered that you had already had an opportunity to present your case to an administrative discharge board, which ruled in your favor, and then you committed the same misconduct again.  Please note that the Board does not upgrade discharges for the sole purpose of obtaining benefits or employment. 
 
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.