RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-01340 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: Her DD Form 214, Report of Separation from Active Duty, be corrected to reflect her current name and gender. APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: Her name has been legally changed and she has a letter from her Veterans Affairs Doctor as to her gender status. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. STATEMENT OF FACTS: The applicant initially entered the Regular Air Force on 6 Nov 73. According to her DD Form 4, Enlistment Record – Armed Forces of the United States, dated 6 Nov 73, and her DD Form 214, issued in conjunction with her 26 Sep 77 discharge, the applicant enlisted, served and was discharged as a male. On 17 Dec 10, according to documentation provided by the applicant, the applicant’s name was legally changed, based on the order of change of name, by the state of Georgia. On 24 Mar 15, the applicant was forwarded a copy of the SAF/MR memorandum, dated 9 Mar 15, that was provided in order to comply with 10 U.S.C. §1556. Specifically, the memorandum notes that the DD 214 is a document primarily created for the benefit of the veteran to establish entitlement to various government programs or in seeking employment with organizations that grant a veterans' preference. However, any such name change should be limited only to the DD Form 214; any change to an applicant's other records to reflect a post-service name change should rarely be recommended, and only in the most unusual cases. The AFBCMR should require proof that the applicant's name was legally changed. A signed and authenticated court order should be required. Further, the correction should be to the DD 214 and for the limited purposes of mitigating an injustice caused by use of the DD Form 214 (Exhibit E). AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSIRP recommends denial, indicating there is no evidence of an error or injustice. AFI 36-2608, Military Personnel Records System, states “Do not correct records of former members unless evidence proves the name used while serving with the Air Force was erroneously recorded.” The court ordered name change occurred after the applicant’s period of service; therefore, it does not appear the Air Force erroneously recorded the applicant’s name. A review of the applicant’s records revealed she (he) enlisted, served and was discharged as a male. Since the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic letter is dated 3 Sep 13, which is after the applicant’s period of service, it does not appear the Air Force erroneously recorded the applicant’s gender. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSIRP evaluation is at Exhibit C. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 25 Apr 14 for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibit D). As of this date, no response has been received by this office. 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 regarding the applicant’s request to change her name. After a careful review of the applicant’s complete submission, we believe that relief is warranted. In the past, the Board has denied similar applications on the basis that the DD Form 214 is a historical document that should reflect the record as it existed at the time the DD Form 214 was created. The underlying reasoning has been that a post-service name change does not retroactively create an error on the DD Form 214. This is still true; however, in view of the unique circumstances transgender individuals may face, it would be appropriate to issue the applicant a new DD Form 214 for the period ending 26 September 1977. The DD 214 is a document primarily created for the benefit of a veteran to establish entitlement to various government programs or in seeking employment with organizations that grant a veterans' preference. Therefore, The Board believes the original DD Form 214 may prevent or delay receipt of benefits for which the applicant is entitled should she be required to provide this document as proof of military service. Further, the applicant has provided a photocopy of a certified court order that displays her current name. Therefore, we find the evidence presented is sufficient to recommend her name be changed. Although the normal procedure for correcting an error on a DD Form 214, is to issue a DD Form 215, Correction to DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, that would not be appropriate in this case. No entries should be made in Item 18, Remarks, of the reissued DD Form 214 displaying her previous name or indicating that the DD Form 214 was administratively reissued. Doing so would undermine the purpose of granting relief by drawing attention to her previous gender. This proposed relief is limited to the DD Form 214 in question and does not extend to any other documents in the applicant's military records. As for her request for her records to be corrected to reflect her gender as female, in view of the fact that we have concluded that it would be in the interest of justice to re-issue the applicant a new DD Form 214 with her new name, and said form does not have a field reflecting the military member’s gender, it would not be appropriate for us to recommend that the DD Form 214 be further corrected to reflect her new gender. Therefore, in view of the above, we recommend that the records be corrected to the extent 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 her DD Form 214, Report of Separation from Active Duty, issued in conjunction with her 26 September 1977 discharge, be declared void and a new DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, be issued to reflect the name xxxxxxxx in Block 1. The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-01340 in Executive Session on 21 May 15, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: All members voted to correct the records as recommended. The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-01340 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 28 Feb 14, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Memorandum, AFPC/DPSIRP, dated 18 Apr 14. Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 25 Apr 14. Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MR, dated 9 Mar 15. Exhibit F. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 24 Mar 15.