DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY 
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 
701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 
ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 

Docket No. 6775-19 
Ref: Signature Date 

From:  Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records 
To:    Secretary of the Navy 

Ref:    (a) 10 U.S.C. § 1552 

Encl:   (1) DD Form 149 w/enclosures 
        (2) Fitness Report for the reporting period 1 Jun 15 to 31 May 16 
        (3) CMC ltr 1610 MMRP-13/PERB of 30 May 19 
        (4) HQMC memo 1610 MMRP-50 of 25 Jun 19 

1.   Pursuant to the reference, Petitioner, a commissioned officer of the Marine Corps, filed enclosure (1) with the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board), requesting that his naval record be corrected by removing his failures of selection to lieutenant colonel. 

2.  The Board reviewed Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice on 14 January 2020 and, pursuant to its regulations, determined that the corrective action indicated below should be taken on the available evidence of record.  Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of the enclosures, relevant portions of Petitioner’s naval records, and applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. 

3.  The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record pertaining to Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice, found as follows:

      a.  Before applying to this Board, Petitioner exhausted all administrative remedies available under existing law and regulation within the Department of the Navy.

      b.  Petitioner was issued enclosure (2), a fitness report for the reporting period 1 June 2015 to 31 May 2016.  On 30 May 2019, the Headquarters, Marine Corps Performance Evaluation Review Board (PERB) directed the following changes to the report: mark Section F-1 (leading subordinates) in block “E” instead of block “D,” and Section F-5 (communication skills) in block “E” instead of block “D.”  See enclosure (3). 

      c.  Petitioner contends that the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, 2019, and 2020 USMC Lieutenant Colonel Promotion Selection Boards received an inaccurate representation of his official record because the corrections made by the PERB were not available for review by the boards when he failed selection. 

     d.  An advisory opinion (AO), enclosure (4), furnished by Headquarters, Marine Corps (MMRP­50) noted that Petitioner’s request hinges on the significance of what may at first appear to be a very minor change to the record.  The AO noted, however, that the fitness report in question covered perhaps the most critical period of Petitioner’s career to date—when he was serving as a department head at the squadron level as a major.  The AO further noted that any increase in scoring on such a report has a markedly greater impact to perceived competitiveness than a less important or shorter reporting period.  Additionally, the AO opined that Petitioner’s overall record suggests that, at the time of the boards’ convening, he was otherwise basically competitive.  The AO concluded that these two factors introduce uncertainty with regard to what the selection boards’ outcome may have been had this error not been present in his record at that time.  MMRP-50, therefore, recommended Petitioner’s failures of selection be removed from his record. 

CONCLUSION 

Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record, the Board concluded that Petitioner’s request warrants relief. In this regard, the Board noted that the PERB made modifications to Petitioner’s fitness report by increasing two attribute marks from “D” to “E.”  The Board also concurred with the AO and determined that the FY 2018, FY 2019, and FY 2020 promotion selection boards were not presented with an accurate representation of Petitioner’s performance due to the errors in his fitness report.  Therefore, the Board concluded that all of  Petitioner’s failures of selection shall be removed. 

RECOMMENDATION 

In view of the above, the Board recommends the following corrective action: 

Petitioner’s naval record be corrected by removing his failures of selection incurred by the FY 2018, FY 2019, and FY 2020 USMC Lieutenant Colonel Promotion Selection Boards. 

4.  It is certified that a quorum was present at the Board’s review and deliberations, and that the foregoing is a true and complete record of the Board’s proceedings in the above-entitled matter. 

5.  Pursuant to the delegation of authority set out in Section 6(e) of the revised Procedures of the Board for Correction of Naval Records (32 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 723.6(e)), and having assured compliance with its provisions, it is hereby announced that the foregoing corrective action, taken under the authority of the reference, has been approved by the Board on behalf of the Secretary of the Navy. 

Sincerely, 

3/13/2020