RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-03154 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: The applicant's DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, be amended to reflect name and gender change. APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: Through a court order on 2 Jun 14, the applicant’s name and gender were legally changed with the state of Texas. The applicant would like the official military records to reflect the same information. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. STATEMENT OF FACTS: On 21 Oct 87, the applicant entered the Regular Air Force. On 20 Oct 91, the applicant was released from active duty with an honorable character of service and credited with 4 years of active service. On 9 Apr 15, the applicant was forwarded a copy of the SAF/MR memorandum, dated 9 Mar 15, that was provided in order to comply with 10 U.S.C. §1556. Specifically, the memorandum notes that the DD Form 214 is a document primarily created for the benefit of the veteran to establish entitlement to various government programs or in seeking employment with organizations that grant a veterans' preference. In this regard, the memorandum indicates that the AFBCMR can recommend an applicant's DD Form 214 can be updated to reflect legal name change; however, the update should be limited only to the DD Form 214. The memorandum goes on to specify that any change to an applicant's other records to reflect a post-service name change should rarely be recommended, and only in the most unusual cases. The AFBCMR should require proof that the applicant's name was legally changed. A signed and authenticated court order should be required. Further, the correction should be to the DD Form 214 and for the limited purposes of mitigating an injustice caused by use of the DD Form 214. AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSIRP recommends denial, indicating there is no evidence of an error or injustice. Air Force Instruction 36-2608, Military Personnel Records System, Table A7.3, Note 5 states, “Do not correct records of former members unless evidence proves the name used while serving with the Air Force was erroneously recorded.” A review of the applicant’s records revealed that the applicant enlisted, served and was discharged under the name of “XXXX.” The court order the applicant provided that changes the applicant's name from “XXXX” to “XXXX” is dated 2 Jun 14, which is after the applicant’s period of service. As the court- ordered name change occurred after the applicant’s period of service, it does not appear the Air Force erroneously recorded the applicant’s name. Since the applicant has no continuing affiliation with the Air Force as a Reserve member or retiree, DPSIRP is unable to amend the military record after the fact. As for the gender change request, there is no statutory guidance that provides us with the direction to perform this type of correction. Using the same rationale applied to the name change, a review of the applicant’s records revealed that the applicant enlisted, served and was discharged under the gender of female. Since the court order dated 2 Jun 14 is after the applicant’s period of service, it does not appear the Air Force erroneously recorded the gender at the time of service. The complete DPSIRP evaluation is at Exhibit C. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: The applicant responded with a letter including attachments, stating the request is for a name and gender change on the DD Form 214 from XXXX, gender female, to XXXX, gender male, and is per the court order previously submitted. The court order was issued because the applicant is fully transgendered due to medical care and surgical intervention resulting in physical appearance being male. In support of the request, the applicant cites the 9 Mar 2015 Air Force memorandum that discusses a transgender case from 2004 where consensus was to change the DD Form 214 to reflect the new legal name. The applicant further indicates all legal identification, including birth certificate; social security card and driver’s license reflect the name “XXXX” with gender as “male.” Because the DD Form 214 does not currently reflect that same information, the applicant will be unable to identify as XXXX, a female, resulting in the inability to access benefits available to veterans. As mentioned in the memorandum, such a situation would result in an “injustice to force the applicant to explain why the DD Form 214 reflected the name of a person of the opposite sex.” The applicant believes the requirements of the memorandum are met with the signed court order. The complete APPLICANT review is at Exhibit D. THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations. 2. The application was timely filed. 3. Gender: Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice to warrant correcting the applicant’s records to reflect a change in gender from female to male. We note the SAF/MR memorandum dated 9 March 2015 which states that corrections to the DD Form 214 should be for the limited purposes of mitigating an injustice caused by use of the DD Form 214. In this respect, since the applicant’s DD Form 214 makes no reference to gender, we find no evidence of an error or injustice arising from use of the DD Form 214 itself. Therefore, we find no basis to recommend granting this portion of the applicant’s request. 3. Name: Notwithstanding the above, sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an injustice regarding the applicant’s request for a name change on the DD Form 214. We took notice of the applicant's complete submission, including attachments, in judging the merits of the case and agree with the opinion and recommendation of the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Manpower and Reserve Affairs and adopt his rationale as the basis for our conclusion the applicant has been the victim of an error or injustice. In this respect, we believe that should the applicant be required to present a DD Form 214 with the former name to external audiences, the applicant’s circumstances would require disclosure of personal history that is needlessly intrusive. As such, we believe allowing the applicant’s DD Form 214 to remain uncorrected would constitute an injustice. Further, we note the applicant has provided sufficient evidence of a formal name change by an authorized court order. Therefore, we recommend the applicant’s record be corrected as indicated below. THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: The applicant’s original DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, be removed, and a new DD Form 214 be issued to reflect the name of “XXXX” in Block 1. All members voted to correct the records as recommended. The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-03154 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 1 Aug 14, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Memorandum, AFPC/DPSIRP, dated 27 Aug 14. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 9 May 15.