DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS

2 NAVY ANNEX

WASHINGTON DC 20370-5100

TRG
Docket No: 5431-01
24 October 2002

Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records
Secretary of the Navy

From:
To:

Subj:

Ref:

(a) Title 10 U.S.C. 1552

Encl:

(1) Case Summary

Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a), Petitioner, a

1.
former enlisted member of the Marine Corps Reserve filed an
application with this Board requesting that his record be
corrected, in effect, to show that he was not discharged on 19
June 1996 but continued to serve until the expiration of his
enlistment, and was assigned an RE-Rl reenlistment code at that
time.
decorations he would have received but for his improper
discharge, and waiver of the recoupment that was directed for
the cost of gear he lost.

He is also requesting corrections to show the award of

The Board, consisting of Mr. McBride, Mr. 

2.
McCormick, reviewed Petitioner's allegations of error and
injustice on 8 October 2002 and, pursuant to its regulations,
determined that the corrective action indicated below should be
taken on the available evidence of record.
considered by the Board consisted of the enclosures, naval
records, and applicable statutes, regulations and policies.

McPartlin and Ms.

Documentary material

The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record pertaining

3.
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 it appears that Petitioner's application was

not filed in a timely manner,
waive the statute of limitations and review the application on
its merits.

it is in the interest of justice to

C .

Petitioner enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve on 29
July 1991 at age 20.
period of active duty for training and remained in that status
until his release on 22 April 1992.
excellent manner as a drilling reservist until 1995.
included almost three months of active duty in support of

On 19 August 1991 he began his initial

He then served in an

This

recruiting efforts.
(CPL; E-4).

On 1 April 1995 he was promoted to corporal

d.

Subsequently, Petitioner began to miss drills and was

absent from the two weeks of annual training (AT) in 1995.
Consequently, he was processed for discharge due to
unsatisfactory participation in the Marine Corps Reserve.
letter recommended discharge,
part, as follows:

the commanding officer stated, in

In his

. 

. 

to this day no attempt has

The I-I (Inspector-Instructor) and First

. Attempts were made to contact (Petitioner) at his

. 
home, however contact was unable to be made.
were left with his brother on several occasions to
contact the Reserve Center,
been made by phone. . . . . (His parents said) . . . . that
their son has gotten himself up to his neck in school
and work as well as trying to deal with the  two
hurricanes that passed thru where he lived.
the First Sergeant if the Marine Corps could give their
son a little time to get his act together and that they
would try to convince him to return to a good drill
status.
Sergeant agreed to give him 2 weeks to at least call
the Reserve Center to discuss his drill status. To
this date he has 
not.called  the Reserve Center to
discuss his drill status, however, he has sent us a
number of fax's with no return phone number.
of one way conversation is not going to help this
(The
Marine return to a satisfactory drill status.
letter of notification) was hand delivered by MGYSGT
(B), he was told by (Petitioner's) landlord that (he)
had to break his lease for military reasons and no
longer liver there.
address, his (letter of notification) was returned
unsigned, therefore (Petitioner) has waived his rights.
. 

(Petitioner) left no forwarding

. 

. 

. 

.

Messages

They asked

This sort

On 28 May 1996, the discharge authority directed discharge under
other than honorable conditions and Petitioner was so discharged
In connection with discharge, he was reduced to
on 19 June 1996.
lance corporal (LCPL; E-3) and was assigned an RE-4 reenlistment
code.

e.

At about the time discharge processing was begun,

Petitioner requested congressional assistance stating, in part,
as follows:

. 

. 

. I am a full time student at the Saint Leo College

. 
in Fort Walton Beach, Florida (about 150 miles from
(the reserve center)).

The large commuting distance,

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my full time student status and hardships brought on by
Hurricanes Erin and Opal have precluded my regular
attendance at reserve drill meetings and training
events.
damage have no fixed address.

I do not own a vehicle and due to hurricane

Despite my repeated requests to be excused from
Reserve activities and be transferred to the Inactive
Ready Reserve (IRR) based upon my hardship situation
and in accordance with Marine Corps regulations, I was
shocked to learn that my unit is planning to vacate my
noncommissioned officer status (i.e. demote me) and
ultimately discharge me from the Marine Corps.
am asking your help in being placed in the IRR until I
can get through my extreme hardships and complete my
degree. . . . . . .

Sir, I

f.

In its response to the congressman, the unit stated that

Petitioner had requested transfer to the IRR on two occasions,
but did so by fax rather than in person or over the phone and was
The unit also provided
in an unsatisfactory status at the time.
a chronology of events and actions taken in Petitioner's case.
The command input concludes, in part, as follows:

. 

. 

. . . .

(His) problems started

he was helping out the Marine

I believe he felt that we had

. prior to missing AT this past summer, (he) has

. 
been an exemplary Marine,
Recruiters in Fort Walton Beach and has received a NAM
for his referral efforts.
when he scheduled classes for the same period as AT
this past summer.
screwed him by not excusing him from AT, once he didn't
get his way he didn't want anything to do with us.
I
think this is verified by the fact that he has not
called to talk to us on the phone.
he thinks he has proof of one way conversations in
which he directs us to do things, once directed, he
believes we will do as he wishes.
. . . . If he can make
the effort to research orders and directives, type them
on a computer and Fax them to us, why can't he make the
same effort to pick up the phone and call his platoon
sergeant or the I-I staff? . . . .

By relying on faxes

Petitioner applied to the Naval Discharge Review Board

(NDRBy'on  25 September 1999, stating that he lived over 100 miles
from the reserve drill site;
struck his residence, destroying his only means of transportation
and blocking physical access-to-the drill site.
He pointed out
that he went to the recruiting office and faxed notices to his
reserve unit advising them of the hurricanes and the reasons why
Additionally, he said that due to
he could not attend drills.

and that Hurricanes Opal and Erin

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Given the commuting distances and the

the hurricanes his gear was lost as was his vehicle and most of
his personal possessions.
fact that he was attending school,
entitled to transfer to the IRR.
essentially found that Petitioner should have been transferred to
the IRR.
substantial documentation of his accomplishments and conduct and
the testimony of the applicant and witnesses, the NDRB voted to
recharacterize Petitioner's discharge to honorable and change the
A copy of the
reason for discharge to
NDRB decisional document is attached to enclosure (1).

After reviewing Petitioner's service record, the

he believes that he was
In its decision, the NDRB

"Secretarial Authority".

h.

In his application, Petitioner is essentially raising

RE-1A reenlistment code.

He further requests removal

He contends that since
the discharge should be

the same issues considered by the NDRB.
NDRB found his discharge to be improper,
cancelled and the record should show that he was retained in the
Marine Corps Reserve until the expiration of his enlistment in a
grade comparable to that of his peers,
and was then discharged
with an 
from the record of all documentation concerning his improper
discharge, and the award of all decorations he would have
received but for the improper discharge.
correction to show that recoupment of the cost of the lost gear
was waived.
In support of this request, he has submitted a fax
to his reserve unit, dated 4 December 1997, in which he states
that gear valued at $666.86 had been lost when hurricane Erin
severely damaged his residence, and he should not be held
financially responsible for the loss.
There is no command
determination on the form as to Petitioner's culpability or
negligence in this matter.
evidence showing that the government is actually trying to recoup
that amount.

Further, he has not submitted any

Finally, he requests, a

i.

Secretary of the Navy Instruction  

(SECNAVINST)  7220.38

allows for the remission of an indebtedness that remains unpaid
before, or at the time of, an enlisted member's honorable
discharge.
endorsed by the commanding officer and approval by the Secretary
of the Navy or his designee prior to discharge.

There must be a report of investigation properly

j.

Attached to enclosure (1) is an advisory opinion from

Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) that recommends denial of
Petitioner's requests for a change in his reenlistment code,
retroactive promotion, date of discharge, and the award of
decorations.
of the characterization of his service as under other than
honorable conditions,
to the grade of CPL.

However, since he was only reduced to LCPL because

the opinion recommends that he be restored

k.

The service record is unavailable and the review was

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conducted using the NDRB decisional document, Petitioner's
application and the advisory opinion from HQMC.
CONCLUSION:
Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record the
Board concludes that Petitioner's request warrants partial
Concerning his request that the discharge be
favorable action.
cancelled and the record be corrected to show service until the
expiration of his enlistment,
without fault in this matter.
contacted or appeared at the reserve center insufficient time to
have his request for transfer to the IRR properly considered
The Board agrees with the command that submitting faxes was not
sufficient. Therefore,
the Board concludes that the record should
continue to show that he was honorably discharged on 19 June 1996
by reason of Secretarial Authority and his request for service
Since the record will then
after that date should be denied.
show no further service after 19 June 1996 there is no basis for
awards or decorations after that date.

the Board believes that he was not
In this regard, he should have

The Board agrees with the recommendation contained in the
advisory opinion and concludes that Petitioner should be
reinstated to the grade of CPL.
period of good service,
the circumstances of the case, and the
findings of the NDRB that the discharge was improper, the Board
believes that no useful purpose is served by the RE-4
reenlistment code and concludes that it should now be changed to
RE-1A.

Additionally, given Petitioner's

Finally, the Board believes that his military gear was destroyed
in the hurricane and he should not be required to reimburse the
government for the cost of that gear.
The action to remit the
indebtedness in the amount of $666.86 can be accomplished by
showing that a request for remission of indebtedness was granted
by the Secretary of the Navy under the provisions of Title 10
U.S.C. 6161 and SECNAVINST 7220.38 on 19 June 1996, the date of
his discharge.

The Board further concludes that this Report of Proceedings
should be filed in Petitioner's naval record so that all future
reviewers will understand the actions taken in this case.

RECOMMENDATION:

That Petitioner's naval record be corrected to show that

a.
he was not reduced in grade in connection with his discharge but
was discharged in the grade of CPL.

b.

That Petitioner's naval record be further corrected to show

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that on 19 June 1996 he was recommended
assigned an 

RE-1A reenlistment code.

for reenlistment and/or

That Petitioner's record be further

C .
request for remission of his indebtedness in the amount of
$666.86 under the provisions of SECNAVINST 7220.383 was approved
by the Secretary of the Navy on 19 June 1996, the day of his
discharge.

corrected to show that a

d.

That no further relief be granted.

That this Report of Proceedings be

C .
naval record.

filed in Petitioner's

It is certified that a quorum was present at the Board's

4.
review and deliberations, and that the foregoing is a true and
complete record of the Board's proceedings in the above entitled
matter.

5

Y ’&&?&?c

Acting Recorder

.

ROBERT D.  
Recorder

ZSALMAN

The foregoing report of the Board is submitted for your

5.
review and action.

Reviewed and approved:

NOV 

2 2 

;?:1

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