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

Docket No: 5938-19  
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 (Repeal) 
     (c) UNSECDEF Memo of 20 Sep 11 (Correction of Military Record following Repeal of U.S.C. § 654) 

Encl: (1) DD Form 149 w/ attachments 

1. Pursuant to reference (a), Petitioner, a former enlisted member of the Navy, filed the enclosure with this Board requesting a change to his discharge characterization, and the corresponding removal of all related references to homosexuality on his Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214), to reflect current military directives and policy. 

2. The Board, consisting of     , reviewed Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice on 21 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, together with all material submitted in support thereof, relevant portions of Petitioner’s naval record, 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 began a period of active duty on 25 August 1959.  On 22 May 1961, he was notified that he was being administratively discharged due to unfitness due to an admission of homosexual acts.  Petitioner was discharged on 18 July 1961, with an other than honorable (OTH) characterization of service. 

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 10 U.S.C. 654.  It provides service Discharge Review Boards with the guidance to normallygrant requests to change the characterization of service to “honorable” or “general (under honorable conditions),” narrative reason for discharge to “secretarial authority,” separation 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 relief.  The Board noted Petitioner’s record supports that he was administratively discharged due to his homosexuality.  The Board noted the Petitioner’s overall record ofmilitary service and current Department of the Navy policy as established in reference (c), and concluded that relief in the form of changing his characterization of service, narrative reason for separation, separation authority, and separation code is proper at this time.
 
RECOMMENDATION
 
In view of the above, the Board directs the following corrective action: 

That Petitioner’s naval record be corrected to show that his characterization of service be changed to “Honorable,” that the narrative reason for separation is changed to “Secretarial Authority,” the separation authority is changed to “MILPERSMAN 1910-164,” and the separation code is changed to “JFF.” 

It is further directed that Petitioner be issued a new DD Form 214. 

That, upon request, the Department of Veterans Affairs be informed that Petitioner’s application was received by the Board on 20 November 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.