Docket No. 9181 -19                       
Ref: Signature Date              

Dear  
  
This 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 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 reconsideration application on 9 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, to include the 25 July 2018 guidance from the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness regarding equity, injustice or clemency determinations (Wilkie Memo). 
 
You presented a personal statement and a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) decisional letter granting you service connection for treatment purposes only as new matters.  You requested an upgrade of your discharge for the period of service you signed up for, not to include your extension for rehabilitation for your knee.  You stated that after reconstruction surgery on your knee, you started rehabilitation while taking Darvocet and Tylenol 3.  You further state it was during that time you went on leave to see your sister.  You asked a friend to take you to the bus station, and before you got to the bus station he picked up some marijuana and you both smoked it, and when you went through the gate, the dog reacted to his stash of marijuana.  Additionally, you stated you were taken to security and do not remember if your rights were read to you, were administered a drug test without defense counsel, and you made an error in judgement when you smoked marijuana.   
 
The Board carefully considered all potentially mitigating factors to determine whether the interests of justice warrant relief in your case in accordance with the Wilkie Memo.  These included, but were not limited to, your desire to upgrade your discharge, that the DVA granted you service connection for treatment purposes, and your contention that you served with honor and integrity.  Based upon this review, the Board concluded these potentially mitigating factors were insufficient to warrant relief.  Specifically, the Board determined that your misconduct, as evidenced by your two NJPs and administrative board, outweighed these mitigating factors.  Accordingly, given the totality of the circumstances, the Board determined that your request does not merit relief.  
 
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 the absence of new matters for reconsideration, the decision of the Board is final, and your only recourse would be to seek relief, at no cost to the Board, from a court of appropriate jurisdiction. 
 
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,