Docket N0. 6072-19 
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 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 1 September 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.  The Board also considered the 30 May 2019 advisory opinion (AO) furnished by the Marine Corps Performance Evaluation Review Board (PERB), which was previously provided to you.  Although you were afforded an opportunity to submit a rebuttal, you did not do so.      
 
The Board carefully considered your request to remove your fitness report for the reporting period 19 December 2015 to 08 March 2016.  The Board considered your contention that the fitness report is invalid because you outrank your Reporting Senior (RS) by seven months.  The Board also deliberated your contention that the fitness report removed should have been marked as an academic report; you further argue that this fitness report negatively impacts your competitiveness for promotion.   
 
The Board noted that the PERB modified the RS portion of the fitness report to not observed, as the period covered consisted of 80 days, less than the 90 day threshold required for an observed report.  The Board concurred with the AO that the Performance Evaluation System (PES) Manual specifies that the RS cannot be junior in grade, but does not place any constraints regarding time in grade.  You and the RS were the same grade; the Reviewing Officer (RO) correctly included a required Directed Comment authorizing the RS of same grade to report.  Consequently, the Board concurred with the PERB that the contested report, as modified, is administratively correct and concluded that the report shall remain in your official military personnel file. 
 
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,