DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 8539-19 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 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, the daughter of a deceased former enlisted Sailor, filed the enclosure with the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) requesting an upgrade to her father’s characterization of service. 2. The Board, consisting of , reviewed Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice on 7 May 2020, 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 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 enclosure (1) was not filed in a timely manner, it is in the interest of justice to review the application on its merits. c. Petitioner’s father enlisted in the Navy on 5 September 1939. On 7 February 1941, he received nonjudicial punishment for creating a disturbance. On 11 January 1945, he was convicted by general court-martial (GCM) for “scandalous conduct tending to the destruction of good morals” and sentenced to forfeiture of pay. The findings and sentence were approved by the convening authority on 19 January 1945. On 13 March 1945, a judge advocate general recommended remittance of the sentence in its entirety in order that the Chief of Naval Personnel, as a separate and distinct action, might discharge Petitioner’s father with an undesirable discharge because of unfitness. On 30 June 1945, he was discharged with an undesirable discharge by reason of unfitness. d. Reference (c) 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, and especially in light of references (b) and (c), theBoard concludes Petitioner’s request warrants relief. The Board noted Petitioner’s father’s record supports that he was discharged solely on the basis of homosexual conduct with no aggravating factors. RECOMMENDATION: In view of the above, the Board directs the following corrective action: Petitioner be issued a new DD Form 214 indicating the characterization of service as “honorable,” narrative reason for separation as “secretarial authority,” separation code as “JFF,” separation authority as “MILPERSMAN 1910-164,” and reentry code as “RE-1J.” No further changes be made to Petitioner’s record. A copy of this report of proceedings be filed in Petitioner’s naval record. Upon request, the VA beinformed that Petitioner’s application was received by the Board on 4 September 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 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.