RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2019-03466

XXXXXXXXX	COUNSEL: NONE
	
 	HEARING REQUESTED: NO

APPLICANT’S REQUEST

Her narrative reason for separation “Homosexual Admission,” be removed from her DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty.

APPLICANT’S CONTENTIONS

She was honorably discharged in 1996.  In 2011, Department of Defense (DoD) dropped the ban on homosexuals serving.  Her DD Form 214 should reflect her honorable and proud service to the Air Force. 

The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant is a former Air Force senior airman.  

In an undated memorandum, the applicant’s commander notified her that he was recommending she be discharged from the Air Force for making statements that demonstrated a propensity to engage in homosexual actions.  On 22 Nov 96, the applicant acknowledged receipt of the discharge notification memorandum.

In a letter dated 25 Nov 96, the applicant submitted a conditional waiver of the rights associated with an administrative board hearing.  The waiver was contingent on her receipt of no less than an honorable discharge.  On 6 Dec 96, the applicant’s commander recommended the conditional waiver be accepted and she be separated with an honorable discharged due to homosexual conduct.  

On 6 Dec 96, the staff judge advocate determined the discharge action was legally sufficient, and recommended the applicant be honorably discharged.  Subsequently, the wing commander approved her separation and characterized her service as honorable.

The applicant’s DD Form 214, issued in conjunction with her 13 Dec 96 discharge indicates she was honorably discharged with a narrative reason for separation of “Homosexual Admission” and the corresponding separation code of HRB.  Her reentry code is “2C” which denotes “Involuntarily Separated with an Honorable Discharge; or Entry Level Separation without Characterization of Service.”

For more information, see the excerpt of the applicant’s record at Exhibit B.

APPLICABLE AUTHORITY

On 20 Sep 11, with the repeal of the law commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), 10 U.S.C. § 654, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued supplemental policy guidance on correcting military records of former service members who had been discharged under that law or a precursor.  The guidance applied to the following types of requests:  changing the narrative reason for a discharge; re-characterizing service as honorable; changing a reentry code to one allowing immediate eligibility to reenter service.  The guidance directed that such requests should normally be granted when both of the following conditions are true:  (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 meritorious cases, the guidance further directed the use of “Secretarial Authority” as the new narrative reason for separation, with Separation Program Designator (SPD) code “JFF” and reentry code “1J.”  Finally, the guidance noted that while each request must be evaluated individually, an honorable or under honorable conditions (general) discharge should normally be considered to indicate the absence of aggravating factors.

The complete DoD policy is at Exhibit C.

APPLICANT’S REVIEW OF APPLICABLE AUTHORITY

The Board sent a copy of the DoD policy to the applicant on 1 Aug 2019 for comment (Exhibit D), but has received no response.

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

1.  The application is timely.

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

3.  After reviewing all Exhibits, the Board concludes the applicant is the victim of an injustice.  While the Board finds no error in the original discharge process, the Board recommends relief based on the repeal of 10 U.S.C. § 654.  The absence of aggravating factors in the applicant’s record meets the criteria of the DoD policy on records correction following the repeal of DADT.  Therefore, the Board recommends correcting the applicant’s record as indicated below.

RECOMMENDATION

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to the APPLICANT be corrected to show on 13 Dec 96, she was honorably discharged with a narrative reason for separation of “Secretarial Authority,” a separation program designator code of “JFF,” and a reentry code of “1J.”

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-2019-03466 in Executive Session on 19 Aug 20:

, Panel Chair
, Panel Member
, Panel Member

All members voted to correct the record.  The panel considered the following:

Exhibit A:	Application, DD Form 149, w/atchs, dated 21 Jun 19.
Exhibit B:	Documentary evidence, including relevant excerpts from official records.
Exhibit C:	DoD Policy on Correcting Military Records after Repeal of DADT, 20 Sep 11.
Exhibit D:	Notification of DoD Policy, SAF/MRBC to applicant, dated 1 Aug 19.

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