RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-04582 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: Her records be corrected to change her gender from male to female. By amendment at Exhibit E, the applicant requests her DD Form 214, Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge, be changed to reflect her current name. APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: She is a male to female transsexual and has undergone irreversible genital surgery as documented by her surgeon. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant is a former member of the Air Force who served from 13 April 1992 through 31 August 2012. She retired in the grade of master sergeant and was credited with 20 years, 4 months and 18 days of active service. The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are contained in the memorandum prepared by the Air Force office of primary responsibility (OPR), which is attached at Exhibit C. AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSIRP recommends denial. There is no statutory guidance provided with direction on performing gender change corrections. A review of the applicant’s records revealed she enlisted, served and was discharged as a male. Furthermore, the gender- altering surgery was performed on 9 October 2014, after the applicant’s period of service. The complete DPSIRP evaluation is at Exhibit C. SAF/MR provided a memorandum of guidance with regard to the name changes. The memorandum is advisory only and is not intended to predetermine outcomes or otherwise restrict the AFBCMR’s statutory authority under 10 U.S.C., Section 1552, where there is error or injustice. 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. A name change should be limited only to the DD Form 214; 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. A complete copy of the SAF/MR evaluation is at Exhibit D. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: The applicant states that although she served as a male, she chose to suppress and hide her gender dysphoria which caused mental and emotional distress. While there is no guidance on correcting transgendered veteran’s records, the DoD General Counsel has opined that although the Correction Boards operate independently, guidelines were unnecessary as the Army and Navy have provided relief in these cases. She respectfully requests the Board correct her record. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit E. 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 error or injustice regarding the applicant’s request to change her name. We note that AFPC/DPSIRP recommends denial. While there is no evidence indicating her name was incorrectly recorded, it is our opinion that should the applicant be required to present her DD Form 214 with her former name to external audiences, the circumstances would require her to disclose personal history that is needlessly intrusive. As such, we believe allowing the DD Form 214 to remain uncorrected would constitute an injustice. Further, the applicant has provided a copy of an authenticated court order that reflects her current name, which aligns with the memorandum prepared by SAF/MR which requires such, to mitigate any further injustice caused by the current DD Form 214 only. A change to the applicant's records to reflect the gender from male to female is not recommended; there has been no showing of an unusual circumstance that would require this correction. Therefore, we find the evidence presented is sufficient to recommend the records be corrected to the extent indicated below. THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: Remove the originally issued DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, and issue a new DD Form 214 to reflect the name “APPLICANT” in Block 1. The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-04582 in Executive Session on 24 June 2015 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: All members voted to correct the records as recommended. The following documentary evidence was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 7 Nov 14, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Record Excerpts. Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSIRP, dated 29 Dec 14. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 17 Feb 15. Exhibit E. Letter, Applicant’s Response, dated 23 Feb 15. Exhibit F. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 1 Apr 15.