Docket No: 6277-19 
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 20 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 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 began a period of active duty on 22 January 1986.  On 27 November 1985 you signed the Navy policy on drug abuse.  On 28 January 1986, you attended a briefing on Navy drug and alcohol policies.  On 23 April 1987, nonjudicial punishment (NJP) was imposed on you for Provoking Speech or Gestures.  On 2 October 1987, NJP was imposed on you for Unauthorized Absence, Insubordinate Conduct toward a Petty Officer and Disobedience of a Senior Chief Petty Officer.  On 19 March 1989, NJP was imposed on you for Breach of Peace and Assault.  On 8 March 1991, NJP was imposed on you for Unauthorized Absence.  On 14 June 1991, NJP was imposed on you for Wrongful Use of Cocaine.  Subsequently, administrative separation action by reason of Misconduct – Pattern of Misconduct was initiated against you.  On 23 July 1991, you were notified that administrative separation proceedings had been commenced against you, and waived counsel and your right to an administrative board.  On 2 August 1991, your Commanding Officer recommended administrative separation with an Under Other than Honorable Conditions (OTH) discharge.  On 18 September 1991, the Separation Authority directed you be administratively separated with an OTH discharge.  You were discharged from the Navy on 27 September 1991, with an OTH discharge.   
 
You requested an upgrade of your OTH discharge characterization to General or Honorable.  You stated that, based on your current character of discharge, you feel your discharge was wrongfully given.  You assert that in 1991, you were subject to improper and unjust treatment after commencing an interracial relationship with a white woman.  You stated that this caused problems such as being ordered to clean sludge or mopping in the rain on a steel barge at 110 degrees.  You also asserted that you were profiled for being a black man dating a white woman and this problem only occurred after your ship docked in .  The Board concluded that these factors and assertions were not sufficiently supported by the record presented to them and did not warrant a change to your discharge characterization, given your misconduct, which resulted in five NJPs, three of which were imposed prior to 1991.  The Board also noted that you waived your rights with regard to discharge proceedings.  By doing so, you waived your first, and best, opportunity to advocate for retention, or a more favorable characterization of 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 reviously 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,