RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:			DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2015-02452
		
   						COUNSEL:  NONE

						HEARING DESIRED:  YES

APPLICANT REQUESTS:

His Under Other Than Honorable Conditions (UOTHC) discharge be changed to Honorable, and all other references to the reason for his UOTHC discharge be removed from his DD Form 214, Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge. 

APPLICANT CONTENDS:

He was discharged based upon his association with an individual who may have been in violation of the regulations.  He was not participating in any impropriety or subversive activity.  He was coerced into resigning without any proof of misconduct or indiscretion.  

The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant initially entered the Regular Air Force on 21 Jan 55.  

On 24 Dec 58, a Board of Officers, after reviewing an Office of Special Investigation (OSI) Report, determined the applicant should be discharged as a Class II homosexual.  The Board noted the applicant had no record of disciplinary action during his period of service.  

On 5 Jan 59, the applicant was furnished a UOTHC discharge, and was credited with 3 years, 11 months, and 15 days of active service.

On 23 Nov 60, a Discharge Review Board (DRB) reviewed the applicant’s case and determined a change in the type of his discharge was not warranted. 

On 21 Jun 15, a request for post-service information was forwarded to the applicant for review and comment within 30 days.  As of this date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit E.)

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are described in the memorandum prepared by the Air Force office of primary responsibility (OPR), which is included at Exhibit C.

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

On 20 Sep 11, the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness [USD(P&R)], issued guidance to the services concerning correction of military records following repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT).  The USD(P&R) guidance includes the following:  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 RE 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.  Service BCMRs have a significantly broader scope of review and are authorized to provide much more comprehensive remedies than are available from DRBs.  Upon finding an error or injustice, BCMRs may fashion the remedy they find necessary and appropriate within applicable legal limits. 

A complete copy of the USD(P&R) evaluation is at Exhibit C.

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

In support of his request, the applicant submitted additional documentation, to include a personal statement and character references.  In his personal statement, he explains after he refused a request from a male member in his unit to engage in a sexual act, the individual provided the applicant’s name as one of the men who had been involved in his activities.  The applicant requested a court-martial but was told the issue was not big enough for a court-martial, and they involuntarily discharged him.  After the military, he started his own construction company and ran it until 2010.  Shortly after his discharge, he married his first wife and that marriage lasted 14 years.  He has been with his current wife for over 40 years (Exhibit D).

THE BOARD CONCLUDES:

1.  The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations.

2.  The application was not timely filed; however, it is in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

3.  Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice.  We took notice of the applicant's complete submission, to include his rebuttal response to the advisory opinion, in judging the merits of the case and consider that the guidance issued by USD(P&R) concerning the repeal of DADT applies and serves as the basis for our conclusion the applicant has been the victim of an error or injustice.  The applicant’s discharge record indicates his discharge was solely based on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) or a similar policy and did not involve aggravating factors.  While no evidence has been presented which would lead us to believe his discharge was improper or contrary to the directive under which it was affected at the time of his separation, in light of the repeal of DADT, the Board believes it would be appropriate to upgrade the applicant’s UOTHC discharge to Honorable, change the narrative reason for separation to “Secretarial Authority,” and correct his separation program designator (SPD) and reentry (RE) codes accordingly.  Therefore, we recommend the applicant’s record be corrected as indicated below.

4.  The applicant’s case is adequately documented and it has not been shown a personal appearance with or without counsel will materially add to our understanding of the issues involved.  Therefore, the request for a hearing is not favorably considered.

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to the APPLICANT be corrected to show On 5 January 1959, he received an Honorable discharge with a corresponding separation code and narrative reason for separation of “Secretarial Authority” and a reentry (RE) code of “1J.”

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2015-02452 in Executive Session on 15 Nov 16, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

	Panel Chair
	Member
	Member

All members voted to correct the records as recommended.  The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2015-02452 was considered:

	Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 9 Jun 15.
	Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
	Exhibit C.  Memorandum, USD(P&R), dated 20 Sep 11.
	Exhibit D.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 15 Feb 16.  
	Exhibit E.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 21 Jun 15, w/atch.
	Exhibit F.  Letter, Applicant, dated 30 Jun 16.  

Pursuant to paragraph 1 of AFI 36-2603 (Title 32 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 865.1), it is certified that a quorum was present at the Board's review and deliberations, and the foregoing is a true and complete record of the Board's proceedings in the above entitled matter.