ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 4 January 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20180012180 APPLICANT REQUESTS: The applicant requests correction of block one of his DD Forms 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show his current legal name. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: .DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) .Medical Affidavit .Decree for Change of Name .Narrative/Statistics Regarding Transgender People .Driver’s License .Student Identification Card .Reissued Birth Certificate FACTS: 1.The applicant states he is a transgender man; he changed his legal name fromin 2018, as evidenced in the attached name changeorder, to align his name with his gender identity. The appearance of his old name onhis DD Form 214 is an injustice because it discloses his transgender status every timehe shows his DD Form 214. This is an injustice due to the social stigma anddiscrimination that transgender people face. This injustice can be remedied effectivelyby issuing a corrected DD Form 214 listing my current legal name. 2.The applicant enlisted into the Regular Army (RA) on 15 January 2013 under thename " " and identified himself as a female. He reenlisted on23 July 2015 under the same name. 3.The applicant was honorably released from active duty on 22 July 2018. Item 1(Name (Last, First, Middle) of the DD Form 214 for this period of service shows thename noted on the entrance documents. 4.The applicant's full name is consistently represented in documents contained in hisservice records as "." 5.The applicant provides: a.Medical Affidavit, dated 16 July 2018, from a surgeon who states thatpsychological and medical testing had been carried out to determine the applicant’s true gender. In the case of [Applicant], this was determined to be Male. [Applicant] has been diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria and has undergone psychological treatment. He has been referred for and undergone surgical procedures of chest masculinization performed by him (the surgeon) to irreversibly correct his anatomy and appearance. The applicant has been treated and has completed sexual reassignment surgery in accordance with appropriate medical procedures. From a medical perspective, the applicant is now a male. b.Decree for Name Change, dated 20 July 2018, ordering and decreeing theapplicant’s name from and after this date, changed to "." c.Driver’s License and Student Identification card, both reflecting the applicant’sname as "." d.Reissued Certificate of Birth, dated 26 July 2018, reflecting the applicant’s nameas "." 6.In the past, the ABCMR has denied similar applications on the basis that theDD Form 214 is a historical document that should reflect the record as it existed at thetime 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. Thisis still true; however, the unique circumstances of transgender individuals may preventor delay receipt of benefits for which these individuals must provide a DD Form 214 asproof of military service. 7.Considering the unique circumstances of transgender personnel, the Board mayrecommend issuing the applicant a new DD Form 214, for the period ending22 July 2018 under the name granted to him by the court. BOARD DISCUSSION: Due to the unique circumstances of transgender personnel, and to address potential delay or denial of benefits, the evidence of record indicates his name change should bereflected on his DD Form 214. BOARD VOTE: Member 1 Member 2 Member 3 X X X Full Grant : : : Partial Grant : : : Formal Hearing Grant : : : Deny BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that the Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by reissuing the DD Form 214 for the period ending 22 July 2018 with the name in block 1 entered as the name shown on the applicant’s court order. No entries should be made in block 18 of the reissued DD Form 214 listing a previous name or indicating that the DD Form 214 was administratively reissued. This recommended relief is limited to the DD Form 214 in question and does not extend to any other documents in the applicant's military records. CHAIRPERSON 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: 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).