DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 From: Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records To: Secretary of the Navy Subj: REVIEW OF NAVAL RECORD OF FORMER ,USN Ref: (a) 10 U.S.C. § 1552 (b) 10 U.S.C. § 654 (Repealed) (c) USD memo, “Correction of Military Record following Repeal of 10 U.S.C. § 654,” of 20 September 2011 Encl: (1) DD Form 149 w/attachments (2) Case summary 1. Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a), Subject, hereinafter referred to as Petitioner, filed enclosure (1) with the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board), requesting that his record by corrected by upgrading his discharge characterization to honorable, his narrative reason for discharge to Secretarial Authority, as well as changing his separation and reentry codes. As set forth below, the Board granted the requested relief. 2. The Board, consisting of and reviewed Petitioner’s allegations of error and injustice on 23 August 2021 and, pursuant to its regulations, determined that the corrective action indicated below should be taken. Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of Petitioner’s application together with all material submitted in support thereof, relevant portions of Petitioner’s naval record, and applicable statutes, regulations, and policies, and the references, which include the 20 September 2011 guidance from the Under Secretary of Defense relating to correcting the military records following the repeal of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy. 3. The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record pertaining to the subject former member’s allegations of error and injustice, finds as follows: a. Before applying to this Board, the Petitioner exhausted all administrative remedies available under existing law and regulations within the Department of the Navy. b. References (b) and (c) set forth the Department of the Navy’s current policies, standards, and procedures for correction of military records following the repeal of 10 U.S.C. § 654. It provides service Discharge Review Boards with the guidance to normally grant 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. c. The Petitioner enlisted in the Navy and commenced a period of active duty on 15 December 1958. In or about June 1960, the Petitioner’s command initiated administrative discharge processing of the Petitioner based on his admission of having engaged in homosexual conduct. On 28 June 1960, the Petitioner was medically evaluated and found to be free of any mental defects and to know right from wrong. On 6 July 1960 the Petitioner’s command prepared a brief sheet for an administrative board, noting that the Petitioner had committed no military offenses, and provided a sample court-martial charge of sodomy. On 20 July 1960, an administrative board was held, and the report of the board states that it reviewed the sample charge, the Petitioner’s agreement to accept an undesirable discharge, Petitioner’s statement, and his psychiatric evaluation. The Board found that the Petitioner admitted to homosexual acts and that he should be discharged with an undesirable discharge. On 12 August 1960, the Petitioner was so discharged. CONCLUSION Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record, and in view of references (b) and (c), the Board determined that there exists an error or injustice warranting relief. Specifically, the Board determined that the Petitioner’s discharge was based on grounds that are no longer applicable, and thus his requested relief should be granted. The Board determined that there is no indication of documentary support for a misconduct based discharge in the Petitioner’s Official Military Personnel File. Thus, the Board voted unanimously to grant the Petitioner his requested relief of an upgrade to an honorable characterization of service, as well as changing his narrative reason, separation code, and reentry code to remove indications relating to a discharge based on homosexual conduct or misconduct. Based on a careful review of all of the facts presented, the Board concludes that Petitioner is entitled to relief as follows. RECOMMENDATION In view of the above, the Board directs the following corrective action: Petitioner be issued a new DD Form 214 indicating an honorable characterization of service, Secretarial Authority as the narrative reason, MILPERSMAN 1910-164 as the separation authority, JFF SPD as the code, and RE-1J as the RE-Code. Petitioner be issued an honorable discharge certificate. That no further changes be made to Petitioner’s record. A copy of this report of proceedings shall be filed in Petitioner’s naval record. 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. 8/23/2021 Executive Director