DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 Docket No: 8685-19 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 (NR20190008685) 1. Pursuant to reference (a), Petitioner, a former enlisted member of the Marine Corps, filed the enclosure with the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) requesting an upgrade to his discharge to reflect an honorable characterization of service. 2. The Board, consisting of , reviewed Petiitoner's allegations of error and injustice on 27 November 2019, 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 of 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 Marine Corps and began a period of active duty on 5 August 1953. On 7 September 1955, Petitioner admitted that on or about 10 July 1955, after an evening of excessive drinking, Petitioner participated in a homosexual act with a fellow Marine in a storeroom. d. Commanding Officer (CO), Marine Barracks, US Naval Station forwarded information regarding Petitioner’s admission to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, via Commanding General, Department of the . The CO noted that Petitioner agreed to accept an undesirable discharge in lieu of trial by general court-martial. e. On 7 October 1955, Petitioner was discharged from the Marine Corps with an other than honorable characterization of service. f. Petitioner requests correction to his military record and notes the change in policy and practice regarding “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” g. 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: The Board considered Petitioner’s request for a change to his discharge characterization and noted that based on the statement that Petitioner made to ONI, Petitioner engaged in a homosexual act while intoxicated. The Board found that applying reference (c) to Petitioner’s request is appropriate given that he appears to have been separated because he admitted to engaging in a homosexual act. The Board noted that Petitioner’s conduct occurred in a storeroom, which was a location likely subject to military control. The Board found that the location did not rise to the level of an aggravating factor and that the singular nature of the interaction did not merit an unfavorable discharge under the current Department of Defense policy. 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. 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 “MARCORSEPMAN PAR 6421,” 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 7 October 1955, he was issued an honorable discharge by reason of “Secretarial Authority,” that his SPD code is “JFF,” his separation authority is “MARCORSEPMAN PAR 6421,”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 5 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 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. 1/12/2020