DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY 
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 
701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 
ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 

Docket No: 11673-19 
Ref: Signature Date  

From:  Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records  
To:    Secretary of the Navy  

Subj:   REVIEW OF NAVAL RECORD OF 

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 (NR20190011673)  

1.  Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a), Petitioner, a former enlisted member of the Navy, filed the enclosure with this Board requesting an upgrade to his discharge to reflect an honorable characterization of service. 

2.  The Board, consisting of                                       , reviewed Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice on 28 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 the enclosure 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 enlisted in the Navy and served honorably from January 1968 through September 1974.  Petitioner reenlisted on 16 September 1975, for a second period of active duty.  On 8 April 1976, Petitioner received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) for two specifications of breach of peace.  On 24 August 1976, Petitioner was found guilty at summary court-martial for a period of unauthorized absence from 17 May 1976 to 8 July 1976. 

    d.  On 11 January 1977, Petitioner informed his Commanding Officer that he was a homosexual and did not wish to deploy with the squadron aboard the USS                       .  Petitioner provided a personal statement dated 17 January 1977, in which he had engaged in homosexual conduct, but had not had relations with members of           or other personnel aboard USS                .

    e.  Commanding Officer,                                       notified Petitioner of administrative separation proceedings against him on the basis of unsuitability due to homosexual tendencies.  On 28 February 1977, Chief of Naval Personnel recommended that Petitioner be discharged with a general characterization of service by reason of Fraudulent Enlistment. 

    f.  30 March 1977, Petitioner was discharged from the Navy with a general characterization of service.

    g.  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. 

    h.  The Board considered Petitioner’s request for a change to his service record.  The Board reviewed the information in Petitioner’s record and determined that Petitioner’s conduct and behavior were not associated with any aggravating factors and found that applying reference (c) to Petitioner’s request is appropriate given that his discharge appears to have been initiated under the DADT policy guidelines.  The Board also considered that Petitioner was ultimately discharged on the basis of Fraudulent Enlistment due to misrepresentations made on DD Form 1966 which was exposed during an official investigation into Petitioner’s conduct.  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 separation authority but that he is not entitled to a change to his characterization of service or his RE-4 because of the fraud on DD Form 1966. 

CONCLUSION: 

Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record, and especially in light of references (b) and (c), the Board concluded that Petitioner’s request warrants partial relief.  The Board noted Petitioner’s overall record of military service and current Department of the Defense policy as established in references (b) and (c), and found that Petitioner’s Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214) should be changed to reflect a narrative reason of “Secretarial Authority,” a separation authority of “MILPERSMAN 1910-164, and an SPD code of “JFF.” 

In view of the above, the Board directs the following corrective action. 

RECOMMENDATION:
 
That Petitioner’s naval record be corrected to show that on 30 March 1977, Petitioner was issued a general discharge by reason of “Secretarial Authority,” that his SPD code is “JFF,” and his separation authority is “MILPERSMAN 1910-164.” 

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 16 December 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 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. 


3/31/2020