RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2017-00343

	COUNSEL:

	HEARING: NO

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, be upgraded from a General Under Honorable Conditions to an Honorable discharge.

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was discharged for homosexual acts and did nothing wrong.  The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 05 Nov 98, the applicant received a Memorandum For Record (MFR) for failure to show for a Human Relation Education Training.

On 05 Jan 99, the applicant received a Letter of Reprimand (LOR) for failure to report on time for duty, was instructed to be on time for duty the entire month of Jan 99 due to earlier tardiness.

On 8 Mar 99, the applicant received a Memorandum For Record (MFR) for an Inquiry into Homosexual Statements and Conduct.

On 22 Mar 99, the applicant received a Record of Individual Counseling (RIC) for poor duty performance, had to be removed from his job as a DITY counselor due to constant and consistent mistakes that caused the section to fall behind in production.

On 20 Apr 99, the applicant received a Letter of Reprimand (LOR) for failure to go to his appointed place of duty and making a false statement as to his whereabouts when questioned.

On 26 Apr 99, the applicant received a Memorandum For Record (MFR) for failure to report to duty on 25 Apr 99.

On 17 May 99, the applicant received an Article 15 (Art. 15) for failure to go to his appointed place of duty, without authority on 25 Apr 99.

On 16 Jun 99, the applicant received a general (under honorable conditions) discharge with a narrative reason for separation of Homosexual Act with a separation code of HRA as an Air Force airman basic and was credited with 1 year and 7 days active duty.  

On 11 Jul 08, the applicant submitted an application to the Discharge Review Board (DRB) for an upgrade to his discharge and the DRB concluded that the discharge was consistent with the procedural and substantive requirements of the discharge regulation and was within the discretion of the discharge authority and the applicant was provided full administrative due process.  The Board concluded that there exists no legal or equitable basis for upgrade of discharge and determined that the discharge should remain unchanged.

On 27 Sep 17, AFBCM staff provided the applicant the Information Bulletin - Upgrade of Discharge – Clemency and information on obtaining an FBI background check with no response from the applicant. (See Exhibit C).

On 20 Sep 11, the law commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), 10 USC 654 was repealed.  The Department of Defense subsequently issued guidance indicating that Service Discharge Review Boards (DRB) should normally grant requests to change the narrative reason for a discharge, requests to re-characterize the discharge to honorable, and/or requests to change the reentry code when both of the following conditions were 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.

For more information, see the excerpt of the applicant’s record at Exhibit B and the advisories at Exhibit D, E and F.

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DP2STM and AFPC/JA recommends partially granting the application to change the narrative reason for separation to “Secretarial Authority” and the corresponding SPD code to “JFF” while maintaining the service characterization as General (Under Honorable Conditions) to accurately reflect his time in the Air Force since the discharge documentation shows that the applicant committed additional acts of misconduct (failure to attend training, failure to report to duty on time, poor duty performance, failure to go to appointed place of duty, making false statements of whereabouts).

AFPC/DP2SSM recommends denying a change to the RE Code.  The complete advisories are at Exhibit D, E and F.

APPLICANT’S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The Board sent a copy of the Air Force evaluation to the applicant on 10 May 18 for comment (Exhibit G), but has received no response.

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.  The application was not timely filed, but it is in the interest of justice to excuse the delay.

2.  The applicant exhausted all available avenues of non-judicial relief before applying to the Board.

3.  After reviewing all Exhibits, the Board concludes the applicant has presented evidence sufficient to demonstrate an error or injustice regarding part, but not all, of his request.  In particular, guidance in concert with the repeal of DADT, is sufficient to justify granting the applicant’s request to change the narrative reason for separation and corresponding separation code.  However, for the remainder of the applicant’s request, an upgrade from General (Under Honorable Conditions to an Honorable discharge, the evidence presented did not demonstrate an error or injustice as the applicant’s discharge was the result of other mitigating factors, and the Board therefore finds no basis to recommend granting that portion of the applicant’s request.  In the interest of justice, the Board considered upgrading the discharge based on clemency; however, in the absence of any evidence related to the member’s post-service activities, there was no way for the Board to determine if the applicant’s accomplishments since leaving the service warranted such an action.  Accordingly, the Board recommends correcting the applicant’s records to the extent 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 his DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, issued in conjunction with his 16 June 1999 separation, be amended to read in block 26, code “JFF” and block 28, “Secretarial Authority.”

However, regarding the remainder of the applicant’s request to upgrade his discharge, the Board recommends the applicant be informed the evidence did not demonstrate material error or injustice and the application could only be reconsidered upon receipt of relevant evidence not already considered by the Board.

CERTIFICATION:

The following quorum of the Board, as defined in Air Force Instruction (AFI) 36-2603, Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records (AFBCMR), paragraph 1.5, considered Docket Number BC-2017-00343 in Executive Session on 27 Jun 18:

The panel considered the following:

Exhibit A:	Application, DD Form 149, w/atchs, dated 15 Jan 17.
Exhibit B:	Documentary evidence, including relevant excerpts from official records.
Exhibit C:	Letter and Clemency Bulletin, dated 27 Sep 17.
Exhibit D:	Advisory, AFPC/DP2STM, dated 06 Mar 18.
Exhibit E:	Advisory, AFPC/DP2SSM, w/atchs, dated 08 Mar 18.
Exhibit F:	Advisory, AFPC/JA, dated 21 Mar 18
Exhibit G:	Letter to applicant, SAF/MRBC, dated 10 May 18.

Taken together with all Exhibits, this document constitutes the true and complete Record of Proceedings required by AFI 36-2603, paragraph 4.11.9.