Docket No. 8196-19
Ref:m 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 15 October 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 15 August 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 17 May 2017 to 3 November 2017.  The Board considered your contention that your reporting senior (RS) improperly utilized the underlying actions documented in a non-punitive letter of caution (NPLOC) in the contested fitness report.  You assert that the communication of the NPLOC between the issuing officer and your RS constitutes an inappropriate use of the NPLOC, influencing your RS’s objectivity, and as a result the NPLOC is punitive. 
 
The Board, however, substantially concurred with the AO.  In this regard, the Board determined that your RS’s purported foreknowledge of the NPLOC’s prior existence prejudiced his assessment lacks merit because it lacks validation and justification.  The Board determined that, even if your RS was made aware of the NPLOC, there is no evidence to suggest that the purported awareness tainted the evaluation.  The Board thus concluded that this report is deemed valid as written. 
 
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 attachés 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,