DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No. 7471-18 From: Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records To: Secretary of the Navy Subj: REVIEW OF NAVAL RECORD OF FORMER Ref: (a) 10 U.S.C. §1552 (b) 10 U.S.C. 654 (Repeal) (c) UNSECDEF Memo of 20 Sep 11 (Correction of Military Records Following Repeal of 10 U.S.C. 654 Encl: (1) DD Form 149 with attachments (2) Case summary 1. Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a), Petitioner, a former enlisted Sailor, filed enclosure (1), requesting his Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214) be changed to reflect an upgraded characterization of service and a change to his narrative reason for separation. 2. The Board, consisting of reviewed Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice on 25 September 2019, and, pursuant to its regulations, determined the corrective action indicated below should be taken on the available evidence of record. Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of the enclosures, relevant portions of his naval service records, and applicable statutes, regulations, policies. 3. The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record pertaining to Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice, finds as follows: a. Before applying to this Board, Petitioner exhausted all administrative remedies available under existing law and regulations within the Department of the Navy. b. Although enclosure (1) was not filed in a timely manner, it is in the interest of justice to review the application on its merits. c. Petitioner began a period of active duty on 8 June 1979. A Naval Investigative Service (NIS) investigation was conducted into his alleged homosexuality. As a result, on 17 February 1981, Petitioner was notified of administrative separation action by reason of misconduct because of homosexuality, at which time he elected his procedural right to consult with legal counsel and to present his case to an administrative discharge board (ADB). A 3 March 1981, memorandum of agreement between the Petitioner and the commanding officer (CO) provided that he would waive his right to an ADB provided that the Petitioner was recommended for discharge under honorable conditions. On 29 April 1981, the Petitioner waived his right to an ADB. The CO forwarded his recommendation to the separation authority that the Petitioner be administratively discharged with an honorable character of service. The separation authority directed that the Petitioner be discharged with a character of service warranted by service record. On 26 May 1981, Petitioner was discharged with a general (under honorable conditions) character of service by reason of misconduct. d. At the time of Petitioner’s discharge, his conduct average was 3.6. A conduct average of 3.0 was required for an honorable character of service. e. Reference (c) sets forth the Department of the Defense’s current policies, standards, and procedures for correction of military records following the “don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT) repeal of 10 U.S.C. 654. It provides service Discharge Review Boards with guidance to grant requests to change the characterization of service to “honorable,” narrative reason for discharge to “secretarial authority,” SPD code to “JFF,” and reenlistment code to “RE-1J,” when the original discharge was based solely on DADT or a similar policy in place prior to enactment of it and there are no aggravating factors in the record, such as misconduct. CONCLUSION: Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record, and especially in light of references (b) and (c), the Board concludes Petitioner’s request warrants relief. The Board noted Petitioner’s record supports that he was discharged solely on the basis of homosexuality, and there were no aggravating factors surrounding his discharge. Additionally, Petitioner’s conduct average met the requirement for an honorable character of service. RECOMMENDATION: In view of the above, the Board directs the following corrective action. That Petitioner’s Naval record be corrected to show that on 26 May 1981, he was discharged with a “honorable” characterization of service, under “BUPERSMAN 3850220”, the narrative reason for separation was “Separation for other good and sufficient reasons when determined by the Secretary of the Navy”, “JFF” was the separation code, and “RE1-J” was the reentry code. Petitioner be issued a new Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214). Petitioner be issued an honorable discharge certificate. A copy of this report of proceedings be filed in Petitioner’s naval record. Upon request, the VA be informed that Petitioner’s application was received by the Board on 28 August 2018. 4. It is certified that a quorum was present at the Board’s review and deliberations, and that the foregoing is a true and complete record of the Board’s proceedings in the above entitled matter. 5. Pursuant to the delegation of authority set out in Section 6(e) of the revised Procedures of the Board for Correction of Naval Records (32 Code of Federal Regulation, Section 723.6(e)) and having assured compliance with its provisions, it is hereby announced that the foregoing corrective action, taken under the authority of reference (a), has been approved by the Board on behalf of the Secretary of the Navy.