DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 10423-19 Ref: Signature Date From: Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records To: Secretary of the Navy Ref: (a) 10 U.S.C. § 1552 (b) 10 U.S.C. § 654 (repealed) (c) UNSECDEF memo of 20 Sep 11, “Correction of Military Records Following Repeal of 10 U.S.C. § 654” (d) SECDEF memo of 3 Sep 14, “Supplemental Guidance to Military Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records Considering Discharge Upgrade Requests by Veterans Claiming PTSD” (e) PDUSD memo of 24 Feb 16, “Consideration of Discharge Upgrade Requests Pursuant to Supplemental Guidance to Military Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records by Veterans Claiming PTSD or TBI” (f) PDUSD memo of 25 Aug 17, “Clarifying Guidance to Military Discharge Review Boards and Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records Considering Requests by Veterans for Modification of their Discharge Due to Mental Health Conditions, Sexual Assault, or Sexual Harassment” (g) USD memo of 25 Jul 18, “Guidance to Military Discharge Review Boards and Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records Regarding Equity, Injustice, or Clemency Determinations” Encl: (1) DD Form 149 1. Pursuant to reference (a), Petitioner, a former enlisted member of the Navy, filed enclosure (1) with the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) requesting a change to his name from “ ” to “ ” and impliedly suggests changes to his discharge documents pursuant to the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). Petitioner states that he has had his name legally changed back to his birth name, , and contends that he was the victim of a military sexual assault that resulted in him leaving the Navy on the basis of homosexuality. 2. The Board, consisting of , reviewed Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice on 10 February 2020, and, pursuant to its regulations, determined that 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, as well as applicable statutes, regulations, and 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 waive the statute of limitations and review the application on its merits. c. Petitioner served honorably in the Navy from 4 August 1981 to 16 December 1981. On 5 November 1981, the commanding officer (CO), , , notified Petitioner of administrative separation proceedings against him on the basis of self-disclosed homosexual activities. d. On 10 December 1981, Petitioner received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) for failure to go to his appointed place of duty. On 16 December 1981, Petitioner was discharged from the Navy; his DD Form 215 issued on 21 January 1982, notes he was discharged on the basis of Homosexuality- Engaged in, Attempted to Engage In or Solicited Another to Engage in Homosexual Acts, and received an honorable characterization of service. e. Petitioner states that in 1994, he had his name legally changed back to his birth name of . He asks that his record be updated to reflect the name . Additionally, Petitioner states that he was the victim of sexual assault in his barracks at Specialty Training School in . He contends that a warrant officer convinced him to leave the Navy instead of pressing charges, and that years later, when reviewing his DD Form 214, he realized his discharge documents characterize him as a “homosexual.” He asks for a correction under changes following the repeal of DADT. f. Reference (c) sets forth the Department of the Defense’s current policies, standards, and procedures for correction of military records following the DADT repeal of Title 10, U.S. Code, section 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. g. Furthermore, Petitioner’s request was fully and carefully considered by the Board in light of references (d)-(g), the Secretary of Defense’s Memorandum, “Supplemental Guidance to Military Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records Considering Discharge Upgrade Requested by Veterans Claiming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder” of 3 September 2014, and the “Clarifying Guidance to Military Discharge Review Board and Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records Considering Requests by Veterans for Modification of their Discharge Due to Mental Health Conditions, Sexual Assault, or Sexual Harassment” memorandum of 25 August 2017, and the Under Secretary of Defense’s memorandum, “Guidance to Military Discharge Review Boards and Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records Regarding Equity, Injustice, or Clemency Determinations” of 25 July 2018. CONCLUSION: The Board considered Petitioner’s request for a change to his name on his discharge documents, but noted that Petitioner did not provide documentation such as a court order or a birth certificate to support his request. Absent such information, the Board found that Petitioner did not provide sufficient evidence to establish an error or injustice in his record pertaining to his name, and corrective action to change his name from “ ” to “ ” was not warranted. Petitioner’s statement regarding being a victim of sexual assault was fully and carefully considered by the Board. The Board noted that Petitioner’s record reflects an honorable discharge, on the basis of a homosexuality, and that Petitioner was assigned an RE-4 reentry code. The Board noted that Petitioner’s record has scant information about the circumstances surrounding the conduct which led to Petitioner’s discharge, but taking into account Petitioner’s personal statement, the Board determined that based on the available information, Petitioner’s conduct and behavior were not associated with any aggravating factors. Furthermore, the Board found that applying reference (c) to Petitioner’s request is appropriate. The Board noted that in light of reference (c), Petitioner is entitled to a change to his narrative separation reason to reflect “Secretarial Authority,” a change to his SPD code, and a change to his reenlistment code. Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record, and especially in light of references (b) and (c), and in consideration of references (d)-(g), the Board concluded that Petitioner’s request warrants partial corrective action to include a change to his narrative reason for separation to “Secretarial Authority,” a separation authority of “MILPERSMAN 1910-164,” an SPD code of “JFF,” and a reenlistment code of RE-1J. In view of the above, the Board directs the following corrective action. RECOMMENDATION: That Petitioner’s naval record be corrected to show that on 16 December 1981, Petitioner was issued an honorable discharge by reason of “Secretarial Authority,” that his SPD code is “JFF,” his separation authority is “MILPERSMAN 1910-164,” and his RE code is RE-1J. That Petitioner be issued a new DD Form 214. That a copy of this report of proceedings be filed in Petitioner’s naval record. That, upon request, the Department of Veterans Affairs be informed that Petitioner’s application was received by the Board on 8 November 2019. 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 Regulations, 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. 3/3/2020