DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 3270-19 Ref: Signature Date From: Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records To: Secretary of the Navy Ref: (a) 10 U.S.C. § 1552 (b) OSD/DOD Name Change Provisions/Guidance (c) 10 U.S.C. 654 (Repeal) (d) 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 1. Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a), Petitioner, a former enlisted sailor, filed the enclosure with the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) requesting a change to his naval record, specifically, to correct the record to reflect a name change. Additionally, Petitioner requested removal of “homosexual conduct admission” as the narrative reason for separation. 2. The Board, consisting of , reviewed Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice on 19 December 2019, 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, 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. Petitioner enlisted in the Navy on 2 April 1993. On 29 July 1999, Petitioner made a homosexual admission and requested relief from current duties and discharge. Subsequently, Petitioner was notified of pending administrative action by reason of homosexual conduct admission. After Petitioner waived all procedural rights, the commanding officer recommended an honorable discharge due to homosexual conduct admission. The discharge authority approved the recommendation and directed Petitioner’s honorable discharge. On 22 November 1999, Petitioner was discharged and issued a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214) based on the used while serving in the Navy, ” c. At the time of Petitioner’s enlistment into the Navy, Petitioner’s legal name was .” After discharge from the Navy, Petitioner, who is , had his name legally changed from ” to “ ” to align with his gender identity. d. Based on the guidance reflected in reference (b), from the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and Department of Defense (DOD), former military personnel who have legally changed their name and sex, or are the subject of gender reassignment, may have their DD Form 214 changed to accurately reflect their present name and sex/gender. In this regard, the change may allow them to obtain various benefits, services, employment, etc., without being subject to otherwise invasive questions. However, the provisions/guidance only apply to the service­member’s DD Form 214, and as such, no further changes will be made to the record. e. Reference (d) 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, the Board concludes Petitioner’s request warrants favorable action. The Board noted Petitioner has provided legal evidence , passport and government identification card) supporting his request. The Board found the legal actions taken by civilian authorities to change Petitioner’s name to align with his gender identity, along with the provisions/guidance of reference (b), support a change to DD Form 214. In this regard, the Board noted that normally a DD Form 215 would be issued to correct the record, however, the Board concluded that a new and updated DD Form 214 is warranted to eliminate the possibility of invasive questions. The Board further concluded that no other changes should be made to Petitioner’s record, and that both the previously issued DD Form 214 bearing the name “ ”and the new DD Form 214 bearing the name “ ” should remain in the record for historical purposes. The Board determined Petitioner’s record supports that he was discharged solely on the basis of , and there were no aggravating factors surrounding his discharge. RECOMMENDATION: In view of the above, the Board directs the following corrective action. Petitioner’s naval record, specifically, Block 1 of the DD Form 214, be corrected to reflect the name ” instead of .” Petitioner’s Naval record be corrected to show that on 22 November 1999, he was discharged with an “honorable” characterization of service, under “MILPERSMAN 1910-164”, the narrative reason for separation was “secretarial authority”, and “JFF” was the separation code. Petitioner be issued a new DD Form 214 which reflects the name corrected discharge information. That a copy of this report of proceedings be filed in Petitioner’s naval record, along with the previously issued DD Form 214 which reflects the name " " and the updated DD Form 214 which reflects the name ." 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.