RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-00128 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NOT INDICATED APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 1. Her general (under honorable conditions) discharge be upgraded to honorable. 2. Her narrative reason for separation be changed. APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: She is a homosexual and was truthful about her status. However, she was punished with a general discharge and given a narrative reason for separation of “Admitted Homosexual.” There should be no mention of her homosexual preference. The applicant believes the Board should find it in the interest of justice to consider her untimely application because the laws have changed. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. STATEMENT OF FACTS: On 2 Jun 86, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force for a period of four years. On 3 Dec 86, the applicant acknowledged receipt of an undated LOR stating that she did on or about 11 Dec 86 [sic] knowingly and willfully obtain a military ID card using false information. On 10 Mar 87, the commander notified the applicant of administrative discharge action. The specific reason for this was action was on or about 5 Mar 87, the applicant admitted to being a homosexual. The commander stated the action could result in her separation with an honorable or a general discharge. He also stated that he was recommending that she receive a general discharge. After consulting with counsel, the applicant submitted a conditional waiver that she be given an administrative discharge board hearing contingent upon receiving no less than a general discharge. On 19 Mar 87, the assistant staff judge advocate found the case file legally sufficient to support the discharge and recommended the discharge authority accept the conditional waiver. He also noted the applicant had an instance of using false information to obtain a military Identification Card (ID), in Dec 86. The discharge authority directed a general discharge, without Probation and Rehabilitation (P&R). On 27 Mar 87, the applicant was discharged by reason of “Admitted Homosexual,” with service characterized as general (under honorable conditions). She received a Reentry (RE) code of 2B which denotes an “approved involuntary separation with less than honorable discharge.” She was credited with 9 months and 26 days of active duty service. AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSOR recommends denial; however, the Board should consider changing the separation code from "HRA" to "JFF" and the narrative reason for separation from "Admitted Homosexual" to "Secretarial Authority." The discharge record reflects that on or about 5 Mar 87, the applicant admitted to her officer in charge both verbally and in writing that she was homosexual. The commander concluded the applicant had a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts. In addition, the applicant was given a Letter of Reprimand (LOR), undated, for obtaining military ID card using false information. Due to the additional aggravating factor in the applicant's discharge record, the commander recommended a general (under honorable conditions) discharge service characterization. On 10 Sep 11, the Under Secretary of Defense issued guidance pertaining to correction of military records requests resulting from the repeal of Title 10, Section 654, commonly known as DADT: Effective 20 Sep 11, Service Discharge Review Boards (DRBs) should normally grant requests to change the narrative reason for a discharge (the change should be "Secretarial Authority" (Separation Program Designator Code (SPD) code JFF)), requests to re-characterize the discharge to honorable, and/or requests to change the RE code to an immediately-eligible-to-renter category (the new RE code should be lJ) when both of the following conditions are met: (1) the original discharge was based upon DADT or a similar policy in place prior to enactment of DADT and (2) there were no aggravating factors in the record, such as misconduct. Although each request must be evaluated on a case-by- case basis, the award of an honorable or general discharge should normally be considered to indicate the absence of aggravating factors. The applicant’s discharge was properly processed according to the applicable regulation. The applicant's discharge record indicates the discharge was not based solely on DADT because of the LOR for providing false information to obtain an ID card. The commander concluded the applicant was made well aware of the standards and was unable to maintain minimal standards of acceptable conduct. This additional factor is also indicated by the applicant's general (under honorable conditions) service characterization. The complete DPSOR evaluation is at Exhibit C. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: The LOR was not the basis for her discharge; in fact, the reprimand was four months prior to and had nothing to do with her discharge. She accepted the LOR, knowing that she often confuse numbers and letters because of dyslexia. She corrected the issue as soon as she found out that she had mixed up the numbers regarding the year of her birth. Over the next four months she was an exceptional airman and was often complimented on her work ethic. Under the facts portion of the advisory, it states that she had gone to her OIC and admitted that she was a homosexual. However, she did not know what she was at that time, since she was only 19 and had not had sex with anyone. She was dating an airman at that time, but had received a letter from a woman who said she was interested in her. She was confused by this letter but never acted on it. Even so, the commander concluded that she had a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts and she was kicked out for having a confused thought. She would like her discharge characterization to be upgraded to honorable with no hidden codes attached to it; just honorable. This would mean so much to her. The applicant’s complete response is at Exhibit E. THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations. 2. The application was timely filed. 3. Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an injustice. In light of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), it would be appropriate to grant the requested relief. While DPSOR recommends denial noting there was an additional aggravating factor in the applicant's discharge record, it is our opinion that were it not for her admitting that she was a homosexual she would not have been discharged. Therefore, in the interest of justice, we recommend the applicant’s discharge be upgraded to honorable and her narrative reason for separation be changed to “Secretarial Authority.” Although not requested by the applicant, based on the aforementioned policy, we also recommend the applicant’s RE code be changed to “1J.” Accordingly, we recommend the applicant’s records be corrected as indicated below. THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to the APPLICANT be corrected to show that on 27 Mar 87, she was honorably discharged with a narrative reason for separation of (Secretarial Authority), a separation code of “JFF” and a reentry code of “1J.” The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-00128 in Executive Session on 12 Nov 14 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member All members voted to correct the records as recommended. The following documentary evidence was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 7 Jan 14, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Pertinent Excerpts from Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSOR, dated 20 Mar 14. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 9 May 14. Exhibit E. Letter, Applicant, dated 23 May 14.