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

Docket No: 5837-19       
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 (NR20190005837) 

1.  Pursuant to 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 6 January 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, 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 waive the statute of limitations and review the application on its merits.

    c.  Petitioner enlisted in the Navy and began a period of active duty on 9 December 1953.  On 21 June 1955, Petitioner made a statement to Special Agents of the Office of Naval Intelligence in which Petitioner stated that he was approached by a male shipmate who asked Petitioner to engage in sexual acts.  Petitioner agreed in part.  The shipmate made a separate statement the same day indicating a history of homosexual conduct and acknowledging the sexual encounter with Petitioner. 

    d.  On 26 July 1955, Petitioner accepted the undesirable discharge for the good of the service and to escape trial by general court-martial.

    e.  On 23 August 1955, Commanding Officer,                        , recommended that Petitioner be administratively separated.  On 30 August 1955, an Administrative Separation Board considered Petitioner’s voluntary admission and found Petitioner committed homosexual acts or tendencies and noted that Petitioner agreed to accept an undesirable discharge to avoid trial by court-martial.

    f.  On 31 August 1955, Chief of Navy Personnel directed that Petitioner be discharged by reason of unfitness  On 29 September 1955, Petitioner was discharged, on the basis of unfitness, and received an other than honorable 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 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 discharge characterization.  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 he appears to have been separated under the DADT policy guidelines.  The Board noted that in light of reference (c), Petitioner is also entitled to a change to his narrative separation reason to reflect “Secretarial Authority,” a change to his SPD code, and a change to his reenlistment code. 

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 full 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 an honorable characterization of service, a narrative reason of “Secretarial Authority,” a separation authority of “MILPERSMAN 1910-164, an SPD code of “JFF,” and a reenlistment code of RE-1J. 

RECOMMENDATION: 

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

That Petitioner’s naval record be corrected to show that on 29 September 1955, Petitioner was issued an honorable discharge by reason of “Secretarial Authority,” that his SPD code is “JFF,” his separation authority is “MILPERSMAN 1910-164,” and his RE code is RE-1J. 

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 10 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 reference (a), has been approved by the Board on behalf of the Secretary of the Navy. 


2/17/2020