ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 2 October 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170011687 APPLICANT REQUESTS: his name be changed on his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show X----, X---x- X. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * DD Form 214 * court order * medical statement * college diploma * four identification cards * passport FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three year time frame provided in Title 10, United States Code (USC), section 1552(b); however, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. 2. The applicant states she is requesting her name and gender to be changed to reflect her legal name of (X----, X---x- X.). As a transgender woman, she has taken as many steps as possible to be seen and treated as female. She has been a female since September 2006. All necessary medical procedures have been completed. Her name and birth certificate have been legally changed, by court order from (First-middle-last) X------- X. L---- to X----x- X. X----. She was honorably discharged and earned the benefits that many services provide. When applying for benefits she’s required to provide her DD Form 214 as proof of service. The name and gender mismatch raises red flags and may make it difficult or impossible for her to receive benefits. 3. The applicant provides: a. Her DD Form 214, which shows her service from 9 December 1968 to 8 September 1971. b. The court ordered and decreed that the request to change the name of X------- X. X---- to X----x- X. X---- was granted on 25 October 2006. c. A medical statement certifying the applicant’s gender changed from male to female, dated 23 July 2008, certified as a true and correct copy on 13 August 2008, by the Commonwealth of PA Notary X---- X---- X----. d. Her college diploma showing her name listed as X----x- X. X---- signed on 17 May 2009. e. Her identification cards include her Pennsylvania driver’s license, department of transportation and federal aviation administration license, medicare health insurance card, and passport showing her name listed as X----x- X---- X----. 4. A review of the applicant’s service record shows: a. Having had prior service the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 30 April 1991, the DD Form 4 (Enlistment Contract – Armed Forces of the United States) shows in block 5 NAME (Last, First, Middle Name) X----, X------- X----, block 45 (SEX) shows “M” Male. He authenticated with her signature in item 57 (OATH OF ENLISTMENT) on 9 December 1968. b. DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in item 1 NAME (Last, First. Middle Initial) X----, X------- X. c. She subsequently used the same name X----, X------- X---- and gender Male “M” throughout her service record as listed on her initial contract and medical examination on ALL military documents/correspondences. d. She was honorably discharged under the provisions of AR 635-200 (Personnel Separation – Enlisted Personnel), section VIII, chapter 5, early school release on 8 September 1971. Her DD Form 214 shows in item #1 (Last Name, First Name, Middle Name) listed as XXXX, XXXXXXXXX XXXX. e. The applicant’s service record is void of documentation which supports the requested name change of name or gender while in the service. 5. By Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) prescribes the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. It states that the DD Form 214 is a synopsis of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty. It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement or discharge. 6. There is no evidence the applicant has applied to the Army Discharge Review Board for review of his discharge within that board's 15-year statute of limitations. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board determined that relief was warranted. Based upon the potential prejudices some transgender Soldiers may face when presenting a DD214 with a different name than currently used, the Board found there were potential injustices that would provide sufficient reason to grant the requested relief. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 X X X GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION 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. Reissuing the applicant's DD Form 214 for the period ending 8 September 1971 with the name in item 1 (Name (Last, First, Middle)) entered as it is shown on the applicant's Final Order – Petition to Change Name. b. No entries should be made in item 30 (Remarks) of the reissued DD Form 214, either listing the applicant's previous name or indicating the DD Form 214 was administratively reissued. 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. REFERENCES: 1. Title 10, USC, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within three years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the ABCMR to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the three-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. By Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) prescribes the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. It states that the DD Form 214 is a synopsis of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty. It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement or discharge. NOTHING FOLLOWS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170011687 3 1