DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 2013-20 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 (Repeal) (c) UNSECDEF Memo of 20 Sep 11 (Correction of Military Records Following Repeal of 10 U.S.C. 654) Encl: (1) DD Form 149 (NR20200002013) 1. Pursuant to reference (a), Petitioner, a former enlisted member of the Navy, filed the enclosure with this Board requesting an upgrade to his discharge to reflect an honorable characterization of service, a change to his narrative reason for separation, and a change to his reentry (RE) code. 2. The Board, consisting of , reviewed Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice on 21 April 2020, 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, and applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. 3. The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record pertaining 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 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 Navy and began a period of active duty on 17 March 1997. On 31 March 1997, Petitioner made a voluntary statement regarding homosexual orientation to his chain of command. In his statement, he noted that he had no problem keeping his sexuality to himself and that he had not participated in any homosexual conduct since arriving at Recruit Training Command. Petitioner stated that he made the admission because of the level of discrimination that he had witnessed against suspected homosexuals. In his application to the Board, Petitioner stated that petty officers asked about the sexual orientation of recruits, engaged in homophobic harassment, and made threats of violence targeted toward homosexuals. d. Petitioner was discharged from the Navy on 5 May 1997, on the basis of homosexual conduct admission, and received an entry level separation and a reentry (RE) code of RE-4. e. Reference (c) sets forth the Department of the Defense’s current policies, standards, and procedures for correction of military records following the DADT repeal of 10 U.S.C. 654. 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 reenlistment 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. f. The Board considered Petitioner’s request for a change to his discharge characterization, his narrative reason for separation, and his reentry (RE) code. The Board reviewed the information in Petitioner’s record and determined that Petitioner’s conduct and behavior were not associated with any aggravating factors and found that applying reference (c) to Petitioner’s request is appropriate given that he appears to have been separated under the DADT policy guidelines. The Board noted that in light of reference (c), Petitioner is entitled to a change to his narrative separation reason to reflect “Secretarial Authority,” a change to his separation authority, a change to his SPD code, and a change to his reenlistment code. The Board considered Petitioner’s length of active duty service from 17 March 1997 to 5 May 1997, and found that the time in service was not sufficient to entitle to him to an honorable service characterization. CONCLUSION: 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 partial 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 a narrative reason of “Secretarial Authority,” a separation authority of “MILPERSMAN 1910-164, an SPD code of “JFF,” and a reenlistment code of RE-1J. The Board found that Petitioner’s 1 month and 19 days of active duty service were not sufficient in length to merit the issuance of an honorable characterization of service, and the entry level separation was appropriate. The Board considered that Petitioner’s admission at the time of his service was impacted by the environment of harassment and bias against homosexuals, but found that Petitioner’s uncharacterized separation was appropriate given the short period of time that Petitioner served in the Navy. RECOMMENDATION: In view of the above, the Board directs the following corrective action: That Petitioner’s naval record be corrected to show that on 5 May 1997, Petitioner was issued an uncharacterized (entry level separation) discharge by reason of “Secretarial Authority,” that his SPD code is “JFF,” his separation authority is “MILPERSMAN 1910-164,” and his RE code is 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 26 February 2020. 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. 6/3/2020