Docket No: 8781-19
Ref: Signature Date


Dear : 
 
This letter is in reference to your application for correction of your naval record pursuant to Section 1552 of Title 10, United States Code.  After careful and conscientious consideration of the relevant portions of your naval record and your application, the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) found the evidence submitted 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 5 November 2020.  The names and votes of the panel members 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 the 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 13 September 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 to this AO, you did not do so. 
 
The Board carefully considered your request to remove your fitness report for the reporting period 1 January 2018 to 9 November 2018.  Specifically, the Board considered your contention that your reporting senior’s (RS’s) markings in section D of the fitness report and the reviewing officer’s (RO) comparative assessment in section K are inconsistent with the reviewing officer’s (RO) comments in section I, and that the RS comments are inconsistent with the RO comments.  It also considered you contention that you received a letter of appreciation from the Tunisian military and were recommended for a Joint Service Commendation Medal, which was subsequently pulled by your commanding officer, during the reporting period. 
 
The Board concurred with the AO and the PERB’s decision that the subject fitness report is valid as written and filed.  In this regard, the Board noted that, according to the Performance Evaluation System (PES) Manual, there is no scale to “match” the attribute markings with the Section I comments.  By extension, there is no scale to “match” the RS and the RO comments, which by design are supportive but not necessarily interrelated.  The Board also noted that your letter of appreciation is correctly documented in the report. 
 
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 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,