Docket No: 7001-19/ 7002-19/ 7003-19/ Ref: Signature Date Dear This letter is in reference to your applications 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 applications have been denied. Although your applications were not filed in a timely manner, the Board found it in the interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations and consider each on its merits. A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your applications on 12 December 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. Regarding your request for a personal appearance, the Board determined that a personal appearance with or without counsel will not materially add to its understanding of the issues involved. Therefore, the Board determined that a personal appearance was not necessary and considered your case based on the evidence of record. You enlisted in the Marine Corps and began a period of active duty on 1 July 1996. On 31 July 1999, you were transferred to the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL) due to a Temporary Disability. In your application for correction, 7001, you request that you be considered for the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal (Individual Award) (MOVSM). You state that your entitlement to the award was not looked at due to your medical discharge. You contend that you did volunteer work for a community project, worked at a soup kitchen, participated in a clothing drive, and helped with the preparation of the Child Development Center. You also ask in a separate petition, 7002, that you be awarded the National Defense Service Medal (NDSM). You state, in sum, that you earned college credits prior to your enlistment in December 1995, and therefore meet the service criterial during the period of entitlement to the award. You also request in a third application, 7003, that you be granted the “Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Service Medal” (which the Board interpreted to mean the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal or NCM) on the basis of all of the projects that you completed, as well as in consideration of your honorable discharge. The Board considered your request for the MOVSM, the NDSM, and a NCM. With regard to the MOVSM, the Board noted that the award is designed to recognize those members of the military who perform substantial volunteer service to the local community above and beyond the duties required as a member of the United States Armed Forces. The volunteer service must be made in a sustained and direct nature toward the civilian community. The Board reviewed your contributions as described in your application for correction, and as noted in the 1 March 1999 letter from your commanding officer (CO). Your CO indicated that, as a combat engineer in the Marine Corps, you contributed to the . The Board noted that the letter from your CO was not a recommendation for an award and, with the exception of your volunteer work installing a major appliance for the , appeared to discuss military projects on which you worked during the course of your duties in the Marine Corps. The Board determined that you did not provide sufficient evidence or information to establish that you performed qualifying sustained volunteer work in the local community above and beyond the duties required as a member of the Armed Forces. With regard to your NDSM and NCM, the Board noted that in 2015, Headquarters Marine Corps reviewed your records and advised you that personal awards must have the following documents: (1) a personal award recommendation, (2) a detailed summary of action, (3) a proposed award citation, and (4) two notarized eyewitness statements with contact information. In its 2015 review of your records, Headquarters Marine Corps also advised you that you did not qualify for the NDMS because your service did not fall within the requisite period. The Board noted that the qualifying periods of service for the NDSM are 2 August 1990 through 30 November 1995, and 11 September 2001 to the present. The Board reviewed your records and determined that despite your assertion that the college credits you earned before your December 1995 enlistment qualify you for an NDSM, you did not serve in the military during the requisite periods. Accordingly, the Board found you are not entitled to an NDSM. With regard to your request for a NCM, the Board noted that you do not appear to have been recommended by your chain of command for that award. Furthermore, the NCM is a mid-level military decoration which is presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. The Board noted that your CO’s 1 March 1999 letter indicates that you received the Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal (NAM) for your efforts on the Project. The Board determined that your command was engaged in the individual awards process and determined a NAM was appropriate for your contributions. Presumably, if your command determined a NCM was an appropriate level of award, it could have submitted such a request to Headquarters Marine Corps. Even in consideration of the totality of your contributions in the Marine Corps and your honorable discharge, the Board found that there is insufficient evidence or information on which to base awarding you a NCM. 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.