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

Docket No.  0730-19  
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 with attachments 

1.  Pursuant to the provisions of the reference, Petitioner, a former enlisted member of the Navy, filed the enclosure with the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) requesting that his separation code (SPD) be corrected on his Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214). 

2.  The Board, consisting of    , reviewed Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice on 
5 February 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 finds as follows: 

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

b.  Although the enclosure was not filed in a timely manner, it is in the interest of justice to waive the statute limitation and review the application on its merits. 

c.  Petitioner contends that his current SPD code of “NDB” indicates a hardship discharge and may have been inadvertently transposed with “NBD,” which is the code for separation after 20­30 years of service, such as Petitioner’s. 

CONCLUSION: 

Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record, the Board concludes that Petitioner’s request warrants relief in the form of correcting his SPD code on his DD Form 214 to reflect “NBD” vice “NDB.”  The Board noted that Petitioner’s current SPD code of “NDB” designates when a member is discharged due to hardship.  The Board further noted Petitioner has a total of 20 years and 20 days of total service.  The Board determined there is sufficient evidence of an error to warrant changing Petitioner’s SPD code to “NBD,”which designates as “Sufficient Service for Retirement” as noted by Petitioner’s total period of service.  In accordance with the foregoing, the Board concluded that the record shall be corrected by issuance of a new DD Form 214 reflecting Petitioner’s correct SPD code. 

In view of the foregoing, the Board finds the existence of an error and injustice warranting the following corrective action. 

RECOMMENDATION: 

That Petitioner’s naval record shall be corrected to show that on 31 May 1984, Petitioner was issued a DD Form 214 with his SPD code listed as “NBD.” 

That a copy of this Record of Proceedings be filed in Petitioner’s naval record. 

That, upon request, the Department of Veterans Affairs be informed that Petitioner’s application was received by the Board on 19 December 2018. 

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 Regulation, 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.