DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 5610-19 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Board for Correction of Naval Records To: Secretary of the Navy Ref: (a) 10 U.S.C. § 1552 (b) 10 U.S.C. § 654 (Repealed) (c) UNSECDEF memo of 20 Sep 11, “Correction of Military Records following Repeal of U.S.C. § 654” Encl: (1) DD Form 149 1. Pursuant to the provisions of the reference, Petitioner, a former enlisted member of the Navy, filed the enclosure with the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) requesting that her discharge should have been honorable and her rate changed to E-3. Petitioner alleged she was falsely accused of homosexual conduct, but never displayed or engaged in such conduct while serving in the Navy. In addition, she alleged she was told she would be discharged medically. 2. The Board, consisting of , reviewed Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice on 6 January 2020, and pursuant to its regulations, determined that the partial 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 her naval records and applicable statutes, regulations, 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 service on 12 October 1994. On 16 August 1995, Petitioner received nonjudicial punishment for unauthorized absence. On 28 September 1995, she admitted to homosexual conduct. On 29 September 1995, her commanding officer (CO) notified her that she was being processed for administrative separation from the naval service due to her homosexual conduct admission. She elected not to consult with counsel, object to the separation or have her case reviewed before an administrative discharge board. That same day, the CO recommended that Petitioner be administratively separated. On 2 November 1995, the separation authority directed the Petitioner be discharged with a characterization of service warranted by her service record. On 22 November 1995, she was discharged with a general (under honorable conditions) characterization of service. c. Petitioner submitted a personal statement that she was harassed by a Petty Officer while in the Navy and this made it difficult to concentrate on her duties. She also admitted that she was coached to admit something she was not doing in order to get out of the Navy. d. References (b) and (c) set forth the Department of the Navy’s current policies, standards, and procedures for correction of military records following the “don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT) repeal of Title 10, United States Code, section 654. It provides service Discharge Review Boards with the guidance to grant requests to change the characterization of service to “honorable,” narrative reason for discharge to “secretarial authority,” SPD code to “JFF,” and reentry 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, and especially in light of references (b) and (c), the Board concludes that Petitioner’s request warrants partial relief. In this regard, the Board noted Petitioner’s overall record of military service and current Department of the Navy policy. The Board notes an aggravating factor of misconduct and a military behavior average of 2.0, therefore, an upgrade to her characterization of service is not warranted. Notwithstanding, the Board noted current Department of the Navy policy as established in reference (b) and (c), that relief in the form of her narrative reason for separation be changed to read “secretarial authority”, narrative reason for separation, “RE-1J” reenlistment code, “JFF” separation code, and “MILPERSMAN 1910-164” separation authority. In regards to Petitioner’s contention that she should be an E-3, there is no indication in her record that she was ever promoted to E-3, nor did she provide any evidence of a promotion. Additional, Petitioner records reflects that she was an E-1 at the time of separation. In view of the above, the Board directs the following corrective action. RECOMMENDATION In view of the foregoing, the Board finds the existence of an injustice warranting the following partial corrective action. Petitioner be issued a new Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214) indicating “secretarial authority,” narrative reason for separation, “RE-1J” reenlistment code, “JFF” separation code, and “MILPERSMAN 1910-164” separation authority. That a copy of this Report of Proceedings be filed in Petitioner’s naval record. That no further relief be granted. That upon request, the Department of Veterans Affairs be informed that Petitioner’s application was received by the Board on 3 June 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 the reference, has been approved by the Board on behalf of the Secretary of the Navy. 4/2/2020