RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2021-02392

XXXXXXXXXXXX  	COUNSEL:  NONE
	
(AKA) XXXXXXXXXXX 	HEARING REQUESTED:  NO

APPLICANT’S REQUEST

Change the Narrative Reason for Separation on her DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, from Homosexual Admission.

APPLICANT’S CONTENTIONS

Homosexual admission does not matter in today’s Air Force.  Being gay does not bar you from entering the military.

The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant is an honorably discharged Air Force technical sergeant (E-6).  

On 2 Aug 06, the applicant’s commander recommended the applicant be discharged from the Air Force, under the provisions of AFI 36-3208, Administrative Separation of Airmen, paragraph 5.36.2.2. for homosexual conduct.  The specific reasons for the action were as follows:

a. The applicant made homosexual statements to members of her chain of command.

b. An Investigating Officer (IO) conducted an inquiry and wrote a report on the findings.  Based on the evidence, the IO determined the statements the applicant made were credible and were not made to avoid service.

On 10 Aug 06, the discharge action was found legally sufficient, and the discharge authority approved the recommendation on 10 Aug 06.

On 11 Aug 06, the applicant received an honorable 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 9 Nov 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, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, issued in conjunction with her 11 Aug 06 discharge, be amended to reflect she was discharged with 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-2021-02392 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 Jun 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 9 Nov 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.