ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 9 October 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20180007182 APPLICANT REQUEST: * Personal appearance before the Board in Washington D.C. * Removal of old name and replaced with new name in accordance with court order for name change, issued by County Court, APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Self-authored Statement * Self-authored Statement (01/20/2018) * County Court Document (Name Change) * Divorce Decree * Coutny Birth Certificate * Medicare Health Insurance Card * U.S. Passport * Florida State Driver’s Licenser 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 would like to request the removal of her old name from all of her service records and replace them with her legal name. She is a transgender female and has changed her name legally from (First, Middle, Last) X__ X__ X__ to X__ X__ X__ in 1991, as evidenced in the attached name change order, to align her name with her gender identity. The appearance of her old name on the DD Form 214 is an injustice because it reveals her transgender status every time she shows her DD Form 214. It has also caused her to be fired from many jobs, to be beaten severely and she now has cancer and soon will be dead and she would like for her legal name to be placed on her headstone. 3. The applicant provides: a. A self-authored statement acknowledging she has submitted her requests several times and sent her original of birth certificate and other documents that were not returned. She has sent letters from doctors treating her for her condition and photo copies of her information. She expects to have her DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer of Discharge) corrected. b. A self-authored statement, dated 20 January 2018, acknowledging she has written in several times with the same request over and over for the last 30 years. She has completed all of the proper forms so the Board can do what they have done for many others, but refused to do for her. She has included name change and doctors notes in reference to her transsexual reassignment surgeries that were performed on her for over 30 years. She asks, before she dies in which she is 70 years old, she would like to have her gender fixed on her service records. It is not a choice, but a requirement, so please send her the corrected copy of her DD Form 214. c. A court document from , dated 5 December 1991. The document ordered her name change from X__ X__ X__ to X__ X__ X__. d. A divorce decree, dated 6 January 1992 divorcing her under her old name of X__ X__ X__ from her wife, X__ X__. The divorce was final as of May 16 1992 and no name change was requested at that time. e. Birth Certificate from the county of Essex in Newark. Her name was acknowledged as her new legal name of X__ X__ X__ on the certificate. The birth certificate was issued on 5 July 2016. f. A Medicare healthcare insurance card with her new legal name of X__ X__ X__. g. A U.S. Passport with her new name shown as X__ X__ X__, issued on 12 January 2012. h. Florida State Driver’s License with her new name, X__ X__ X__. 4. A review of the applicant’s service record shows: a. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 21 November 1966, under the name of X__ X__ X__ and identified herself as a male. b. The applicant was discharged on 27 August 1969 and transferred into the United States Army Reserves). Item 1 of the DD Form 214 shows the applicant’s name as X__ X__ X__. c. The ABCMR has, in the past, reviewed the applicant’s request for correction; however, no action was taken. No evidence was submitting during that time to process the claim. The underlying reasoning has been that a post-service name change does not retroactively create an error on the DD Form 214. d. 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. A post-service name change does not retroactively create an error on the DD Form 214. However, the unique circumstances of transgender individuals may prevent or delay receipt of benefits for which these individuals must provide a DD Form 214 as proof of military service. e. By regulation, an applicant is not entitled to a hearing before the ABCMR. Hearings may be authorized by a panel of the ABCMR or by the Director of the ABCMR. BOARD DISCUSSION: The applicant's request for a personal appearance hearing was carefully considered. In this case, the evidence of record was sufficient to render a fair and equitable decision. As a result, a personal appearance hearing is not necessary to serve the interest of equity and justice in this case. 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: 1. 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 adding the following additional statement to block 18 (Remarks) of his DD Form 214: “Continuous honorable active service from 3 October 1985 until 27 December 1987.” a. Reissuing the applicant's DD Form 214 for the period ending 27 August 1969 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; and c. Include all corrections listed on the DD Form 215, dated 9 May 1990. 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. Army Regulation 635-8 (Separation Processing and Documents), currently in effect, prescribes the transition processing function of the military personnel system, including preparation of the DD Form 214. a. The DD Form 214 is a summary of the Soldier’s most recent period of continuous active duty. It provides a brief, clear-cut record of all current active, prior active, and prior inactive duty service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge. b. For block 1, compare with the original enlistment contract or appointment order and review the official record for possible name changes. If a name change has occurred, list other names of record in block 18 (Remarks). c. For block 18, in part, 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. d. On direction of the ABCMR or Army Discharge Review Board, or in other instances when appropriate, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Review Boards) (DASA (RB)), Army Review Boards Agency (ARBA), is authorized to issue or reissue DD Forms 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). 3. Army Regulation 15-185 (ABCMR) states ABCMR members will review all applications that are properly before them to determine the existence of an error. The ABCMR will decide cases on the evidence of record. It is not an investigative body. The ABCMR may, in its discretion, hold a hearing. Applicants do not have a right to a hearing before the ABCMR. The Director or the ABCMR may grant a formal hearing whenever justice requires. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20180007182 4 1