DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 198-19 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Board for Correction of Naval Records To: Secretary of the Navy Ref: (a) 10 U.S.C. § 1552 (b) 10 U.S.C. § 654 (repealed) (c) NSECDEF memo of 20 Sep 11 (Correction of Military Records Following Repeal of 10 U.S.C. § 654) Encl: (1) DD Form 149 w/enls 1. Pursuant to reference (a), Petitioner filed the enclosure with this Board requesting an upgrade of his other than honorable (OTH) characterization of service. He also impliedly requested that the separation authority “MILPERSMAN 3630600” and separation code “HKA” bechanged. 2. The Board, consisting of reviewed Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice on 26 May 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 Petitioner’s naval records, and 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. Petitioner enlisted in the Navy and began a period of active duty on 12 July 1982. On 13 March 1984, he received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) for 38 days of unauthorized absence. Subsequently, he was notified of an administrative action to separate him for homosexuality, and misconduct due to commission of a serious offense (38 days of UA). Petitioner waived his right to request to present his case to an administrative discharge board. On 27 March 1984, he received NJP for wrongful appropriation of a military ID card, forging the signature of the personnel officer on ID card, wrongfully impersonating a petty officer, and being in the possession of two military ID cards. Petitioner’s case was forwarded to the separation authority recommending that he receive an other than honorable (OTH) characterization of service. The recommendation stated, in part, that Petitioner was incompatible with further Naval service due to his admitted homosexuality and extended period of UA, which reflects his indifference to military discipline. On 10 April 1984, the separation authority, directed that Petitioner be separated from the Navy with an OTH characterization of service for misconduct due to a pattern of frequent involvement of a discreditable nature with civil or military authorities. On 20 April 1984, he was so discharged. c. Characterization of service is based in part on conduct marks assigned on a periodic basis. Petitioner’s conduct average was 3.0. At the time of his service, a conduct average of 3.0 was required to be considered for a fully honorable characterization of service if being discharged for the convenience of the government due to homsexuality. d. In his application, Petitioner alleges that he had one nonjudicial punishment which he served. Upon his disclosure of homosexual conduct, his command discharged him with an OTH discharge, which he believes was unjust, and his one NJP is not sufficient to warrant an OTH discharge. 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 narrative reason for discharge to “secretarial authority,” SPD code to “JFF,” re-characterize the discharge to honorable, and reentry code to “RE-1J,” when the original discharge was based solely on DADT or a similar policy in place prior to enactment, and there are no aggravating factors in the record, such as misconduct. CONCLUSION Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record, especially in light of references (b) and (c), and the fact that he attained the required average in conduct, the Board concluded that the Petitioner’s request warrants favorable action. In this regard, the Board noted Petitioner’s misconduct, and does not condone his actions. The Board based its decision on Petitioner’s overall record of service, to include the fact that he attained the required average in conduct and that he was notified of administrative discharge action after informing his command of his homosexual activity which indicates that, but for this admission, Petitioner would not have been discharged. Thus, at his eventual discharge his characterization of service would have been type warranted by his service record. The Board concludes that no useful purpose is served by continuing to characterize the Petitioner’s service as having been OTH, and re-characterization to “General (under honorable conditions)” is now more appropriate. RECOMMENDATION In view of the foregoing, the Board finds the existence of an injustice warranting the following corrective action: Petitioner be issued a new Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214) showing that on 20 April 1984, he received a “General (under honorable conditions)” characterization of service. Petitioner’s naval record be corrected to show that on 20 April 1984, the separation authority was “MILPERSMAN 1910-164.” Petitioner’s separation code be corrected to read “JFF.”” Petitioner's naval record shall be corrected by changing the narrative reason for separation to reflect “Secretarial Authority.” That no further action be granted. A copy of this Report of Proceedings be filed in Petitioner’s naval record. Upon request, the Department of Veterans Affairs be informed that Petitioner's application was received by the Board on 5 March 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.