RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2020-01617

XXXXXXXXXX	COUNSEL: NONE

	HEARING REQUESTED: NO

APPLICANT’S REQUEST

1.  Her DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, reflect the following:

	a. Item 1 (Name), her current legal name.

	b. Item 19b (Nearest Relative), XXX rather than XXX.

2.  Her Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) records be changed to reflect her current legal name.  (This portion of the applicant’s request is not under the Board’s authority).  

APPLICANT’S CONTENTIONS

Her DD Form 214 and her DFAS retired records should be updated/corrected to match her civilian, Defense Enrollment Eligibility Systems (DEERS) and TriCare records.

The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant is a retired Air Force master sergeant (E-7).

According to the DD Form 4, Enlistment/Reenlistment Document Armed Forces of the United States, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 14 February 1984, under the name XXX.

According to a Notification of Change in Service Member’s Official Record, prepared on 29 November 1988, the applicant’s name was changed from XXX to XXX.

According to a Notification of Change in Service Member’s Official Record, prepared on 12 May 1993, the applicant’s name was changed from XXX to XXX.

According to a Notification of Change in Service Member’s Official Record, prepared on 10 June 2004, the applicant’s name was changed from XXX to XXX.

According to the DD Form 214 with a separation date of 28 February 2009, item 19b (Nearest Relative) reflectsXXX.

According to the Special Order No. AC-008684, the applicant retired on 28 February 2009 under the name XXX.  

On 22 March 2016, the applicant obtained a final decree of divorce.  It was ordered and decreed that her name be changed from XXX back to XXX.

The applicant provided a marriage license that reflects she was married on 2 April 2019, and her name was changed to XXX.

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

APPLICABLE AUTHORITY

Air Force policy does not authorize the correction of records of former airmen to show name changes occurring after discharge (AFI 36-2608, Military Personnel Records System, 5 February 2018, Table A7.3).  In particular, if the name appearing on the DD Form 214 was correct at the time it was created, the AFI would not allow a correction, even to reflect a subsequent, legal name change.  The past practice of the Board has been to follow the AFI in all cases except those where the Board finds a particular injustice that warrants an exception to policy, such as noted below in the SAF/MR memorandum.

The PDSG for the DD Form 214 indicate the following regarding Item 19b (Nearest Relative):  Obtain a permanent address from the member other than the one listed in block 19a for the rare instance the initial distribution of the DD Form 214 is physically mailed and is returned.  An entry of “Not Provided” may be entered if no other address is available or provided.  The information is solely for the purpose of mailing a DD Form 214 and has no impact on benefits or entitlements.

AIR FORCE EVALUATION

SAF/MR memorandum, Guidance to the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records, dated 9 March 2015, states that while the Board generally has the authority to correct an applicant’s records to reflect a legal change to the applicant’s name, it should exercise discretion in doing so.   The DD Form 214 is primarily created for the benefit of the veteran to establish entitlements to various government programs, or in seeking employment with organizations that grant veteran’s preferences.  A DD Form 214 may constitute an injustice when the veteran asserts that presenting a DD Form 214 that lists the old name effectively requires a needlessly intrusive explanation of personal history.  This type of injustice may arise in situations such as when the name change is transgender-related or associated with a divorce.

A complete copy of the SAF/MR guidance is at Exhibit C.

APPLICANT’S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION

The Board sent a copy of the SAF/MR memorandum to the applicant on 5 May 2020 for comment (Exhibit D), but has received no response.

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

1.  The application was timely filed.

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 not the victim of an error or injustice.  The Board finds the applicant has not established that presenting the applicant’s DD Form 214 with the previous legal name effectively requires a needlessly intrusive explanation of personal history.  Regarding the applicant’s request that her DFAS records be changed to reflect her current legal name.  We note that this portion of the applicant’s request is not under the Board’s authority, the applicant can contact DFAS to request the change.  Therefore, the Board recommends against correcting the applicant’s records.

RECOMMENDATION

The Board recommends informing the applicant the evidence did not demonstrate material error or injustice, and the Board will reconsider the application only upon receipt of relevant evidence not already presented.

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-2020-01617 in Executive Session on 22 January 2021:

,Panel Chair
           , Panel Member
           , Panel Member

All members voted against correcting the record.  The panel considered the following:

Exhibit A:	Application, DD Form 149, w/atchs, dated 14 June 2019.
Exhibit B:	Documentary evidence, including relevant excerpts from official records.
Exhibit C:	Notification of advisory, SAF/MRBC to applicant, dated 5 May 2020.

Taken together with all Exhibits, this document constitutes the true and complete Record of Proceedings pertaining to Docket Number BC-2020-01617, as required by AFI 36-2603, paragraph 4.11.9.