IN THE CASE OF: 
BOARD DATE: 12 May 2023 
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20220011382 

APPLICANT’S REQUEST: Correction of her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), for the period ending 5 March 2001 to show she was honorably discharged. 
APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: 
. 
DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) 

. 
DD Form 214 

. 
Letters from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Washington, D.C. (two) 


FACTS: 
1. 
The applicant did not file within the three-year time frame provided in Title 10, U.S. 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, in effect, she was discharged due to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) policy. The catalyst for this action was her relationship with her partner at the time. 

3. 
The applicant enlisted in the United States Army Reserve (USAR) on 7 September 2000, for a period of 8 years in the rank/grade of specialist/E-4. She was ordered to active duty for completion of initial active duty for training (IADT), and entered active duty service on 16 November 2000. 

4. 
The specific facts and circumstances surrounding the applicant's separation are not present in the available record. 

5. 
The applicant's DD Form 214 shows she was released from active duty and discharged on 5 March 2001. The applicant completed 3 months and 20 days of active service for the period; it further shows in: 

. 
item 24 (Character of Service) – Uncharacterized 

. 
item 25 (Separation Authority) – AR [Army Regulation] 635-200, PARA [Paragraph] 15-3a 

. 
item 26 (Separation Code) – JRA 

. 
item 27 (Reentry Code) – 4 

. 
item 28 (Narrative Reason for Separation) – Homosexual Act 



6. 
Orders 060-1314 issued by Headquarters, U.S. Army Training Center and Fort Jackson, Fort Jackson, SC on 1 March 2001, show the applicant was discharged from the USAR effective 5 March 2001. 

7. 
The applicant provides two letters from the VA which show her period of service from 16 November 2000 until 5 March 2001, is considered as under honorable conditions for VA purposes. 

8. 
Soldiers are considered to be in an entry-level status when they are within their first 180 days of active-duty service. The evidence of record shows the applicant was in an entry-level status at the time of his separation. An uncharacterized discharge is not meant to be a negative reflection of a Soldier’s military service. It simply means the Soldier was not in the Army long enough for his or her character of service to be rated as honorable or otherwise. 

9. 
Army Regulation 635-5 (Separations Documents) is the governing authority for correction of the DD Form 214 involving length of service. It provides that the DD Form 214 is a synopsis of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active service. 

10. 
The DADT policy was implemented in 1993. This policy banned the military from investigating service members regarding their sexual orientation. Under the previous policy, service members may have been investigated and administratively discharged if they made a statement that they were lesbian, gay or bisexual; engaged in physical contact with someone of the same sex for the purposes of sexual gratification; or married, or attempted to marry, someone of the same sex. 

11. 
The DADT Repeal Act of 2010 was a landmark United Sates federal statute enacted in December 2010 that established a process for ending the DADT policy, thus allowing gays, lesbians, and bisexuals to serve openly in the U.S. Armed Forces. It ended the policy in place since 1993 that allowed them to serve only if they kept their sexual orientation secret and the military did not learn of their sexual orientation. 

12. 
The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness memorandum, dated 20 September 2011, subject: Correction of Military Records Following Repeal of 


Section 654 of Title 10, USC, provides policy guidance for Service Discharge Review Boards (DRB) and Service Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records (BCM/NR) to follow when taking action on applications from former service members discharged under DADT or prior policies. 
BOARD DISCUSSION: 
After reviewing the application, all supporting documents and the evidence found within the military record, the Board determined that relief was warranted. The Board carefully considered the applicant’s contentions, military record and current applicable regulatory guidance. Based on the preponderance of evidence available for review, the Board determined the evidence presented sufficient to warrant a recommendation for 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 issuing the applicant a new DD Form 214 for the period ending 5 March 2001 showing in 
. 
item 24 (Character of Service): Honorable 

. 
item 25 (Separation Authority): Army Regulation 635-200, paragraph 5-3 

. 
item 26 (Separation Code): JFF 

. 
item 27 (Reentry Code): 1 

. 
item 28 (Narrative Reason for Separation): Secretarial Authority 


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 635-5, in effect at the time of the applicant's active duty service, prescribed the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. It established standardized policy for the preparation of the DD Form 214. It provided that the DD Form 214 is a synopsis of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active service. The DD Form 214 provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge. 

3. 
Army Regulation 635-200 sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel. The version in effect at the time provided that: 


a. 
An honorable discharge is a separation with honor and entitles the recipient to benefits provided by law. The honorable characterization is appropriate when the quality of the member's service generally has met the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty for Army personnel or is otherwise so meritorious that any other characterization would be clearly inappropriate. 

b. 
Paragraph 3-9, in effect at the time of the applicant's separation, provided that a separation would be described as entry level with uncharacterized service if processing was initiated while a Soldier was in an entry-level status (within 180 days of continuous active duty), except when: 


(1) 
a discharge under other than honorable conditions was authorized, due to the reason for separation and was warranted by the circumstances of the case; or 

(2) 
the Secretary of the Army, on a case-by-case basis, determined a characterization of service as honorable was clearly warranted by the presence of unusual circumstances involving personal conduct and performance of duty. This characterization was authorized when the Soldier was separated by reason of selected changes in service obligation, for convenience of the government, and under Secretarial plenary authority. 

c. 
At the time, Chapter 15 stated that homosexuality was incompatible with military service and provided for the separation of members who engaged in homosexual conduct or who, by their statements, demonstrated a tendency to engage in homosexual conduct. 

d. 
The character of service for Soldiers separated under this provision would normally be honorable, but would be uncharacterized if the Soldier was in an entry-level status. An uncharacterized discharge is neither favorable nor unfavorable; in the case 


of Soldiers issued this characterization of service, an insufficient amount of time would have passed to evaluate the Soldier's conduct and performance. 
4. 
The DADT policy was implemented in 1993. This policy banned the military from investigating service members regarding their sexual orientation. Under the previous policy, service members may have been investigated and administratively discharged if they made a statement that they were lesbian, gay or bisexual; engaged in physical contact with someone of the same sex for the purposes of sexual gratification; or married, or attempted to marry, someone of the same sex. 

5. 
The DADT Repeal Act of 2010 (Title 10, USC, Section 654) was a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted in December 2010 that established a process for ending the DADT policy, thus allowing gays, lesbians, and bisexuals to serve openly in the U.S. Armed Forces. It ended the policy in place since 1993 that allowed them to serve only if they kept their sexual orientation secret and the military did not learn of their sexual orientation. 

6. 
Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness memorandum, dated 20 September 2011, subject: Correction of Military Records Following Repeal of Section 654 of Title 10, USC, provides policy guidance for Service DRBs and Service BCM/NRs to follow when taking action on applications from former service members discharged under DADT or prior policies. 


a. 
This memorandum provided that effective 20 September 2011, Service DRBs and BCM/NRs should normally grant requests in these cases to change the following: 

. 
item 24 (Character of Service) to "Honorable" 

. 
item 25 to "Army Regulation 635-200, paragraph 5-3" 

. 
item 26 to "JFF" . item 27 to "1" 

. 
item 28 to "Secretarial Authority" 



b. 
For the above upgrades to be warranted, the memorandum states both of the following conditions must have been met: 

. 
the original discharge was based solely on DADT or a similar policy in place prior to enactment of DADT 

. 
there were no aggravating factors in the record, such as misconduct 



c. 
Although each request must be evaluated on a case-by case basis, the award of an honorable or general discharge should normally be considered to indicate the absence of aggravating factors. 

d. 
Although BCM/NRs have a significantly broader scope of review and are authorized to provide much more comprehensive remedies than are available from the DRBs, it is Department of Defense (DoD) policy that broad, retroactive corrections of records from applicants discharged under DADT [or prior policies] are not warranted. Although DADT is repealed effective 20 September 2011, it was the law and reflected the view of Congress during the period it was the law. Similarly, Department of Defense regulations implementing various aspects of DADT [or prior policies] were valid regulations during that same or prior periods. Thus, the issuance of a discharge under DADT [or prior policies] should not by itself be considered to constitute an error or injustice that would invalidate an otherwise properly-taken discharge action. 

e. 
The DD Form 214 should be reissued in lieu of the DD Form 215 (Correction of the DD Form 214), to avoid a continued record of the homosexual separation. 


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