DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 4998-19 Ref: Signature Date From: Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records To: Secretary of the Navy Subj: Ref: (a) 10 U.S.C. § 1552 (b) 10 U.S.C. § 654 (repealed) (c) UNSECDEF memo of 20 Sep 11, “Correction of Military Records Following Repeal of Title 10 U.S.C. § 654” Encl: (1) DD Form 149 1. Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a), Petitioner, a former enlisted sailor, filed enclosure (1) with the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) requesting his Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214) be corrected to reflect an honorable characterization of service. Via email conversation with the Examiner, Petitioner subsequently requested relief based on references (b) and (c) and a correction to his name on his DD Form 214. 2. The Board, consisting of , reviewed Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice on 15 August 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, 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 review the application on its merits. c. Petitioner enlisted in the Navy on 6 May 1988. He served without disciplinary incident until 14 November 1989 when he received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) for an unauthorized absence (UA) of less than 24 hours, and two specifications of making/delivering a check without sufficient funds. In December 1989 and January 1990, Naval Investigative Service (NIS) investigated Petitioner due to suspected homosexuality. In his statement to NIS, Petitioner admitted participation in homosexual activities. On 26 January 1990, Petitioner was notified of pending administrative action by reason of misconduct due to commission of a serious offense and homosexuality. After consulting with counsel, he requested to have his case heard before an administrative discharge board (ADB). On 30 January 1990, the ADB determined the preponderance of the evidence did not support a finding of serious misconduct, but did support a finding that Petitioner had engaged in, attempted to engage in, or solicited another to engage in homosexual acts. The ADB recommended discharge with a characterization of service warranted by Petitioner’s service record. The discharge authority approved this recommendation and directed Petitioner be discharged with a general, under honorable conditions (GEN), characterization of service. d. Petitioner’s service record reflects a 2.86 final performance average when he was discharged on 7 February 1990. Between June 1995 and October 2001, a 2.0 final performance average was required for an honorable (HON) characterization of service. e. Reference (c) sets forth the Department of the Defense’s current policies, standards, and procedures for correction of military records following repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT), Title 10, United States Code, Section 1552. 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. f. At the time of Petitioner’s enlistment into the Navy, Petitioner’s legal name was He was issued a DD Form 214 based on the name used while serving in the Navy, specifically, “.” In February 1993, Petitioner was issued a Correction to DD Form 214, correcting his name to “.” Petitioner had his name legally changed from “ ” by the state of . 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 on the basis of homosexuality, and there were no aggravating factors surrounding his discharge. Additionally, the Board noted Petitioner’s final performance average of 2.86 also warranted an honorable characterization of service. The Board noted Petitioner has provided legal evidence ( ) supporting his request to change the name on his DD Form 214 from “ .” In this regard, the Board noted that normally a DD Form 215 would be issued to correct the record, however, the Board concluded a new and updated DD Form 214 is warranted. The Board further concluded that no other changes should be made to Petitioner’s record, and that both the previously issued DD Form 214, DD Form 215, and the new DD Form 214 should remain in the record for historical purposes. RECOMMENDATION: In view of the above, the Board directs the following corrective action: That Petitioner’s Naval record be corrected to show that on 7 February 1990, he was discharged with an “honorable” characterization of service, under “MILPERSMAN 1910-164”, the narrative reason for separation was “secretarial authority”, “JFF” was the separation code, and “RE1-J” was the reentry code. That Petitioner’s naval record, specifically, Block 1 of the DD Form 214, be corrected to reflect the name “ ” instead of “ .” That Petitioner be issued a new DD Form 214 which reflects the name “ ” and the corrected discharge information. 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 May 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.