DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 10518-18 Ref: Signature date From: Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records To: Secretary of the Navy Ref: (a) 10 U.S.C. § 1552 (b) 10 U.S.C. § 654 (Repealed) (c) UNSECDEF Memo of 20 Sep 11 (Correction of Military Records Following Repeal of 10 U.S.C. 654) Encl: (1) DD form 149 (NR20180010518) 1. Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a), Petitioner, a former enlisted member of the Marine Corps, filed the enclosure with this Board requesting an upgrade to his discharge to reflect an upgrade to his discharge to reflect an honorable characterization of service. 2. The Board, consisting of , reviewed Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice on 22 April 2019, and, pursuant to its regulations, determined that the corrective action indicated below should be taken on the available evidence of record. Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of the enclosures, relevant portions of his naval service records, as well as applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. 3. The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record pertaining to Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice found 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 the enclosure was not filed in a timely manner, it is in the interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations and review the application on its merits. c. Petitioner enlisted in the Marine Corps and began a period of active duty on 12 December 1967. On 15 August 1969, Petitioner admitted to agents of Naval Investigative Service (NIS) that he was approached by and participated in homosexual acts with an airman first class, United States Air Force, while attending the Defense Language Institute. d. Navy Medical evaluated Petitioner on 13 January 1970; the Medical Corps officer conducting the evaluation found Petitioner not to appear feigning homosexuality to obtain a discharge from the Marine Corps. e. On 27 February 1970, Petitioner appeared before a discharge board that recommended Petitioner be separated from the Marine Corps with an undesirable discharge for unfitness based on homosexual acts. f. Petitioner was discharged from the Marine Corps on 31 March 1970, and received an other than honorable characterization of service and a reentry (RE) code of RE-4. g. Petitioner requests that his discharge be upgraded to honorable, and notes a change in policy and practice regarding gay and transgender individuals serving openly in the military. h. Reference (c) sets forth the Department of the Defense’s current policies, standards, and procedures for correction of military records following the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) repeal of reference (b). It provides service Discharge Review Boards with guidance to grant requests to change the characterization of service to “honorable,” narrative reason for discharge to “secretarial authority,” SPD code to “JFF,” and reentry code to “RE-1J,” when the original discharge was based solely on DADT, or a similar policy in place prior to enactment of it, and there are no aggravating factors in the record, such as misconduct. CONCLUSION: The Board considered Petitioner’s request for a change to his discharge characterization and noted that, based on the statement that Petitioner made to NIS, Petitioner appears to have been targeted by a more senior service member who initiated sexual contact. The Board determined that, based on those circumstances, Petitioner’s conduct and behavior were not associated with any aggravating factors. The Board found that applying reference (c) to Petitioner’s request is appropriate given that he appears to have been separated under policy guidelines similar to DADT. The Board noted that, in light of reference (c), Petitioner is also entitled to a change to his narrative separation reason to reflect “secretarial authority,” a change to his SPD code, and a change to his reentry code. Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record, and especially in light of references (b) and (c), the Board concluded that Petitioner’s request warrants full relief. The Board noted Petitioner’s overall record of military service and current Department of the Defense policy as established in references (b) and (c), and found that Petitioner’s Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD form 214) should be changed to reflect an honorable characterization of service, a narrative reason of “secretarial authority,” a separation authority of “MARCORSEPMAN PAR 6421,” an SPD code of “JFF,” and a reentry code of RE-1J. In view of the above, the Board directs the following corrective action. RECOMMENDATION: That Petitioner’s naval record be corrected to show that on 31 March 1970, he was issued an honorable discharge by reason of “secretarial authority,” SPD code of “JFF,” separation authority of “MARCORSEPMAN PAR 6421,”and RE code of RE-1J. That Petitioner be issued a new DD form 214. That a copy of this report of proceedings be filed in Petitioner’s naval record. That, upon request, the Department of Veterans Affairs be informed that Petitioner's application was received by the Board on 14 November 2018. 4. It is certified that a quorum was present at the Board’s review and deliberations, and that the foregoing is a true and complete record of the Board’s proceedings in the above-entitled matter. 5. Pursuant to the delegation of authority set out in Section 6(e) of the revised Procedures of the Board for Correction of Naval Records (32 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 723.6(e)), and having assured compliance with its provisions, it is hereby announced that the foregoing corrective action, taken under the authority of reference (a), has been approved by the Board on behalf of the Secretary of the Navy.