RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2021-02005

XXXXXXXXXX	COUNSEL:  NONE
	
	HEARING REQUESTED:  NO

APPLICANT’S REQUEST

Her undesirable discharge be upgraded to honorable, based on the repeal of Title 10, United States Code, Section 654 (10 U.S.C. § 654).

APPLICANT’S CONTENTIONS

Her service record will show she was an outstanding airman and did not deserve an undesirable discharge.  Rules have changed since 1955 and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender airmen are allowed to serve their country.

The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant is a former Air Force airman second class (E-3).  

On 6 Jun 55, a neuropsychiatrist concluded it was not possible to establish a diagnosis of homosexuality despite her confessions as evidenced by not becoming involved while in the service with the numerous contacts offered to her.

On 8 Jun 55, the applicant’s commander recommended the applicant be discharged from the Air Force, under the provisions of Air Force Regulation (AFR) 35-66, Discharge of Homosexuals, and AFR 39-21, Disposition of Persons who Fraudulently Enlist in  the  Air Force.  The specific reason for the action was that it was believed the applicant was clearly classified as a Class II homosexual within the purview AFR 35-66 and that she willfully concealed a history of homosexual acts, which occurred prior to her enlistment in the Air Force.

On 9 Jun 55, the applicant submitted an application for discharge, under the provisions of AFR 35-66, in response to her commander’s recommendation for discharge.

On 24 Jun 55, the discharge authority approved the recommendation for discharge.

On 30 Jun 55, the applicant was discharged with an undesirable character of service, under the provisions of AFR 39-21 and AFR -35-66.  She was credited with 1 year, 2 months, and 25 days of active 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 Dec 21 for comment (Exhibit D), but has received no response.

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

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

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 APPLICANT be corrected to show the DD Form 214, Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States, issued in conjunction with her 30 June 1955 discharge, be amended to reflect she was discharged with service characterized as honorable, a Separation Code of JFF, a Narrative Reason for Separation of Secretarial Authority, 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-2021-02005 in Executive Session on 17 Feb 22:

, 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 3 May 21.
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 Dec 21.

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.