RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-04894 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, block 28, Narrative Reason for Separation, be changed to something other than “Admitted Homosexual or Bisexual.” APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: The separation reason is now invalid given the repeal of the law commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” He has been reluctant to show his current DD Form 214 to a potential employer due to possible discrimination. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachment, is at Exhibit A. STATEMENT OF FACTS: On 13 May 85, the applicant entered the Regular Air Force. On 8 Jul 88, the staff judge advocate reviewed the applicant’s proposed administrative discharge under AFR 39-10, Airman Separation Manual, paragraph 5-35b, for disclosing to the Area Defense Counsel and a psychologist at Mental Health, that he had homosexual tendencies. On 6 Jul 88, the applicant received an honorable discharge. He was credited with 3 years, 1 month and 24 days of active service. The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are described in the memoranda prepared by the Air Force offices of primary responsibility (OPR), which are included at Exhibits C, D and E. AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSOR recommends approval, indicating there is evidence of an error or injustice. On 10 Sep 11, the Under Secretary of Defense issued guidance pertaining to correction of military records requests resulting from the repeal of Title 10, Section 654, commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT).” Although the discharge was properly processed according to the applicable regulation, the applicant’s discharge record indicates discharge was based solely on DADT. Effective September 20, 2011, Service Discharge Review Boards (DRBs) should normally grant requests to change the characterization of service to “honorable;” the narrative reason for a discharge to “Secretarial Authority;” the Separation Program Designator (SPD) code to “JFF” meaning “Secretarial Authority;” and/or the reentry code to “1J” meaning eligible to reenlist, but elects separation; when both of the following conditions are met: (1) the original discharge was based solely upon 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 discharge should normally be considered to indicate the absence of aggravating factors. The complete DPSOR evaluation is at Exhibit C. AFPC/DPSOA recommends that although the applicant did not address his Reenlistment Eligibility (RE) code, the board should direct the applicant’s RE code be changed to “1J.” DPSOR addresses the applicant’s RE code based upon the Under Secretary of Defense’s 10 Sep 11 guidance to repeal the DADT policy. The guidance stated requests to change the RE code to 1J—(eligible to reenlist, but elects separation) should be granted for members separated under DADT or similar policy that did not involve aggravating factors. A thorough search of the applicant’s record did not reveal any aggravating factors. The complete DPSOA evaluation is at Exhibit D. AFPC/JA agrees with the recommendations of DPSOR and DPSOA that the applicant’s discharge warrants a change to the narrative reason for his discharge, related SPD code, and RE code. The records support that actions taken by the Air Force complied with the law, regulations and applicable policy in effect at the time, pursuant to current DoD policy guidance. Due to the repeal of “DADT” and subsequent guidance, JA concurs with each of the recommended changes. The complete JA evaluation is at Exhibit E. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the applicant on 1 Jul 15 for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibit F). As of this date, no response has been received by this office. 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 injustice. In light of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) and given the applicant’s record of performance, we believe it would be appropriate to correct his records to reflect a narrative reason for separation of “Secretarial Authority,” with associated Separation Program Designator (SPD) and Reentry (RE) codes. In accordance with the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) guidance memorandum, Correction of Military records Following Repeal of Section 654 of Title 10, United States Code, dated September 20, 2011, Discharge Review Boards should normally grant requests to change the narrative reason for discharge, requests to re-characterize the discharge to honorable, and/or requests to change 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. Based on our review of the evidence of record, there was no evidence of additional misconduct or aggravating factors in his record. Though the applicant’s discharge was properly processed according to the applicable regulation at the time, his discharge record indicates it was based solely on DADT. Therefore, the applicant’s records should be corrected as indicated below. THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to the APPLICANT be corrected to show that the DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, issued in conjunction with his July 6, 1988 discharge, be amended to read “JFF” in block 26, Separation Code; “1J” in block 27, Reenlistment Code, and “Secretarial Authority,” in block 28, Narrative Reason for Separation. All members voted to correct the records as recommended. The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-04894 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 24 Nov 14, w/atch. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Memorandum, AFPC/DPSOR, dated 18 Mar 15. Exhibit D. Memorandum, AFPC/DPSOA, dated 22 Jan 15. Exhibit E. Memorandum, AFPC/JA, dated 5 May 15. Exhibit F. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 1 Jul 15.