IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 23 January 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160004951 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a.  issuing her a new DD Form 214 showing her name as it appears on her Final Judgement of Change of Name from the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court for Marion County, Florida, and b.  omitting her previous name or indicating the DD Form 214 was administratively reissued in block 18 (Remarks) of the of the reissued DD Form 214. I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 23 January 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160004951 BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 :TCD :SOS :SMP GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 23 January 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160004951 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests correction of her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show her name as C____ S____ M____ instead of M____ K____ M____. 2. The applicant states: a.  She is a transgender person and she legally changed her name from M____ K____ M____ to C____ S____ M____ in 2005 in order to align her name with her gender identity. b.  The appearance of her old name on her DD Form 214 is an injustice because it reveals her transgender status every time she shows her DD Form 214. c.  Disclosure of her former name, in effect, discloses her transgender status and this is an injustice due to the social stigma and discrimination that transgender people face. 3. The applicant provides: * DD Form 214 * Final Judgement of Change of Name * The Reed Centre for Ambulatory Urological Surgery certification, dated 18 March 2015 * Missouri Department of Revenue Driver License Bureau Temporary Driver License CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing. 2. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 24 March 1999 using the name M____ K____ M____. 3. The following documents in the applicant's Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) shows she was identified as male: * DD Form 1966 (Record of Military Processing – Armed Forces of the United States), dated 2 March 1999 * Standard Form 88 (Report of Medical Examination), dated 8 March 1999 4. On 31 October 2003, the applicant was honorably released from active duty and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Reinforcement). 5.  Block 1 (Name (Last, First, Middle)) of her DD Form 214 shows her name as M____, M____ K____. 6. The applicant provided the following: a.  Final Judgement of Change of Name, Fifth Judicial Circuit Court, Marion County, Florida, dated 3 June 2005, showing the court changed her name from M____ K____ M____ to C____ S____ M____; b.  A notarized letter from her doctor, a board certified urologist at The Reed Centre for Ambulatory Urological Surgery, dated 18 March 2015, to the Social Security Administration, showing he successfully performed a feminizing sexual surgery (gender reassignment from male to female) on the applicant on 12 March 2008. He further stated she was psychologically cleared for surgery by independent licensed therapists and she had been treated in accordance with the medically accepted medical protocol for the treatment of gender dysphoria; and c.  A temporary driver's license from the Missouri Department of Revenue, Driver License Bureau, showing she was issued a driver's license under the name C____ S____ C____ with an expiration date of 25 March 2022. 7. The applicant's OMPF is void of an Enlisted Record Brief; however, her DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record – Part II) shows her name as M____, M____ K____. Further, her OMPF shows she consistently used the name M____ K____ M____ throughout her service. REFERENCES: Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), in effect at the time, prescribed the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. It also established standardized policy for preparing and distributing the DD Form 214. a.  Chapter 2 contains guidance for preparation of the DD Form 214. It states the source documents for entering information on the DD Form 214 will be the Enlisted Record Brief, Officer Record Brief, enlistment/reenlistment documents, personnel finance records, discharge documents, separation orders, or any other document authorized for filing in the OMPF. The instructions state for: (1)  block 1, enter the name in all capital letters; include "JR," "SR," or "II," if appropriate. Compare the Enlisted Record Brief/Officer Record Brief to the contract for possible name change; and (2)  block 18 (Remarks), when a DD Form 214 is administratively issued or reissued, enter "DD FORM 214 ADMINISTRATIVELY ISSUED/REISSUED ON (date)." However, do not make this entry if the appellate authority; Executive Order; or Headquarters, Department of the Army, directs otherwise. b.  On direction of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records or Army Discharge Review Board, or in other instances when appropriate, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Review Boards) is authorized to issue or reissue a DD Form 214. Once a DD Form 214 has been issued, it will not be reissued except under specified circumstances, including when it is determined that the original DD Form 214 cannot be properly corrected by issuance of a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214). DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 24 March 1999 under the name M____ K____ M____. 2. On 31 October 2003, the applicant was honorably released from active duty. Her DD Form 214 properly shows the name under which she enlisted and used throughout her service. 3. The available evidence shows the applicant completed gender reassignment surgery and she has legally changed her name to C____ S____ M____. 4. The DD Form 214 is a historical document that should reflect the record as it existed at the time the DD Form 214 was created. The underlying reasoning has been that a post-service name change does not retroactively create an error on the DD Form 214. This is still true; however, there are unique circumstances for transgender individuals. Those circumstances are such that they may prevent or delay receipt of benefits for which these individuals must provide a DD Form 214 as proof of military service. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160004951 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160004951 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2