RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:	BC-2014-02948 COUNSEL:	NONE
HEARING DESIRED:	NO

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
His DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, be corrected to change the narrative reason for  his discharge and his discharge be upgraded to honorable.

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
The narrative reason for his discharge is a private matter and is not needed to verify his service as a veteran.

The	applicant’s	complete	submission,	with	attachments,	is	at Exhibit A.

STATEMENT OF FACTS:
On 6 Aug 82, the applicant entered the Regular Air Force.
On 4 Sep 84, the applicant received a Letter of Reprimand (LOR) for willful destruction of government property and disrespect to a commissioned officer.

On 4 Jun 85, the applicant received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) in the form of an Article 15 for using disrespectful language towards a noncommissioned officer (NCO), for which he received forfeiture of pay and a suspended reduction in grade.

On 17 Jun 85, the applicant’s commander denied the award of the Air Force Good Conduct Medal, for the period of service 6 Aug 82 through 23 Nov 85, for receiving an Article 15.

On 1 Oct 85, the applicant’s commander notified him that he was recommending him to be discharged under the provisions of AFR 39- 10, Administrative Separation of Airman, para 5-35 (Homosexuality- acts). The reason for the action was admission by the applicant, following an investigation, based on information provided by the applicant’s roommate.

On 4 Oct 85, a legal review found the discharge legally sufficient and recommended a general discharge because the negative aspects of the applicant’s service outweighed the positive aspects of his service.

On 8 Oct 85, the applicant was recommended for discharge for homosexuality. Additionally, his record of disciplinary actions listed disrespect to an NCO [4 Jun 85], for which he received an Article 15, and willful destruction of government property/disrespect to an officer [4 Sep 84], for which he received an Article 15 with Unfavorable Information File and letter of reprimand.

On 8 Oct 85, the discharge authority directed the applicant be separated with a general discharge.

On 18 Oct 85, the applicant was furnished an under honorable conditions discharge, for homosexuality-acts, and was credited with 3 years, 2 months, and 13 days of active service.

On 10 Sep 11, the Under Secretary of Defense issued guidance pertaining to correction of military records requests resulting from the repeal of Title 10, United States Code (USC), Section 654, commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT).” In a memorandum, dated 20 Sep 11, the Under Secretary of Defense published guidance that Service Discharge Review Boards should normally grant requests to change the narrative reason for discharge (the change should be to “Secretarial Authority”), requests to re-characterize the discharge to honorable, and/or request a change to the reentry code to an immediately-eligible- to-reenter category when both of the following conditions are met:
(1) the original discharge was based solely on DADT or a similar policy in place prior to enactment of DADT and (2) there were no aggravating factors in the record, such as misconduct. Although each request must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, the award of an honorable or general (under honorable conditions) discharge should normally be considered to indicate the absence of aggravating factors.

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are described in the memoranda prepared by the Air Force offices of primary responsibility (OPR), which are included at Exhibits C and D.

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
AFPC/DPSOR recommends granting partial relief of the applicant’s request, indicating there is evidence of an error or an injustice. While the discharge was properly processed according to the applicable regulation, the applicant’s discharge record indicates there were other acts of misconduct that affected this service characterization.  The applicant received an Article 15 with an

Unfavorable Information File (UIF) and an LOR for willful destruction of government property, and an Article 15 placed in the existing UIF for disrespect to an NCO. Based on the additional aggravating factors in his master personnel record, an upgrade of his discharge characterization is not recommended.

It is recommended the Board approve changing the narrative reason for separation to reflect “Secretarial Authority” and the Separation Program Designator (SPD) code to “JFF,” and disapprove the applicant’s request to change his service characterization to honorable based on other aggravating factors in his master personnel record.

A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSOR evaluation is at Exhibit C.
AFPC/JA concurs with the AFPC/DPSOR recommendation to  grant partial relief of the applicant’s request, in the form of changing the narrative reason for separation to reflect “Secretarial Authority” and the SPD code to reflect “JFF.” While he was discharged based solely on a policy similar to DADT, administrative separation guidance at the time strongly encouraged commanders to select a single basis for discharge. Even with a sole basis, other misconduct could be considered in determining characterization of the discharge. The applicant had misconduct in his record and the misconduct was considered at the time of his discharge; specifically, the legal review by the base legal office comments strongly on it. As such, this case does not meet the DoD guidance to grant relief regarding the applicant’s service characterization. Further, due to his misconduct, the applicant’s Reenlistment Eligibility (RE) code should not be changed.

A complete copy of the AFPC/JA evaluation is at Exhibit D.

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to  the applicant on 8 Dec 14 for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibit D). As of this date, no response has been received by this office.

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:
1.	The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations.

2.	The application was timely filed.
3.	Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an injustice warranting partial relief. We took notice of the applicant’s complete submission in judging the merits of the case, and all members agreed with the opinion and
1.	

recommendation of the Air Force office of primary responsibility (OPR) to adopt its rationale as the basis for our conclusion that it would be appropriate to recommend the applicant’s narrative reason for separation and the Separation Program Designator (SPD) code be changed. However, with regards to the applicant’s request to upgrade his discharge from general (under honorable conditions) to honorable, the majority is not persuaded that corrective action is warranted and agrees with the comments of the Air Force OPR indicating the applicant’s misconduct unrelated to his homosexual admission significantly outweighed the positive aspects of his service and would have formed the legitimate basis of his general (under honorable conditions) character of service. Therefore, while the repeal of the law commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) provides a basis for us to recommend the upgrade of a discharge to fully honorable, the majority believes the presence of other misconduct on the part of the applicant is a significant aggravating factor that precludes such a recommendation. Therefore, while it is the unanimous recommendation of the Board to correct the applicant’s records to reflect the narrative reason for separation of “Secretarial Authority,” and a  separation program designator code of “JFF,” the majority recommends the applicant’s request for an upgrade of his discharge be denied.

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:
The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to the APPLICANT be corrected to show that that on 18 October 1985, the applicant was discharged and issued a narrative reason for separation of “Secretarial Authority,” and a Separation Program Designator (SPD) code of “JFF.”

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-02948 in Executive Session on 21 May 15 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

, Panel Chair
, Member
, Member
By a majority vote, the Board voted to partially grant the application. ------ voted to grant the application in full but did not submit a minority report. The following documentary evidence was considered:

Exhibit A.	DD Form 149, dated 5 Sep 14, w/atchs. Exhibit B.	Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C.	Memorandum, AFPC/DPSOR, dated 28 Oct 14. Exhibit D.	Memorandum, AFPC/JA, dated 17 Nov 14.
Exhibit E.	Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 8 Dec 14.