RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2019-04174

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX	COUNSEL:  NONE

HEARING REQUESTED: NO

APPLICANT’S REQUEST

Her discharge Under Honorable Conditions (General) be upgraded to an Honorable discharge, based on the repeal of Section 654 of Title 10, United States Code.

APPLICANT’S CONTENTIONS

The policy on homosexuals has changed.

The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant is a former Air Force senior airman (SrA/E-4).

On 11 Sep 81, the applicant’s commander recommended the applicant be discharged from the Air Force, under the provisions of AFM 39-12, Separation for Unsuitability; Misconduct, Personal Abuse of Drugs; Resignation or Request for Discharge for the Good of the Service; and Procedures for Rehabilitation Program for Involvement in Homosexual Activities. The specific reason for the action was as follows:

a. On 27 Jul 81, after being advised of her rights, the applicant was interviewed and provided a written statement admitting being homosexual and being involved in homosexual activities for approximately two years.

On 26 Oct 81, the discharge action was found legally sufficient, and the discharge authority approved the recommendation on 29 Oct 81.

On 2 Nov 81, the applicant received an Under Honorable Conditions (General) discharge. 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 12 Sep 19 for comment (Exhibit C), 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 her DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, dated 2 Nov 81, be amended to reflect a Character of Service of “Honorable,” Narrative Reason for Separation of “Secretarial Authority,” Separation Code of “JFF,” and a Reenlistment (RE) code of “IJ.”

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-2019-04174 in Executive Session on 12 and 15 May 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/atch, dated 14 Aug 19.
Exhibit B: Documentary evidence, including relevant excerpts from official records. Exhibit C: Notification of DoD Policy, SAF/MRBC to applicant, dated 12 Sep 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.