RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  98-02489
            INDEX CODE 100.01
            COUNSEL:  None
         

            HEARING DESIRED:  No

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

The DD Form 214 issued upon  retirement  be  changed  to  reflect  the
current legal name of “     ” rather than “             .”

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

She has been diagnosed and treated for Gender Identity Disorder,  also
known as Gender Dysphoria. On  31  July  1998,  she  underwent  Gender
Reassignment Surgery to correct her sex to female.   All  her  records
have now been corrected, including her birth certificate.   While  her
Air Force records have been corrected, her DD Form 214 still  reflects
her original male name. She  provides  documents  in  support  of  her
appeal.

Applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.
_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant retired from the Air Force on  1  October  1987  in  the
grade of chief master sergeant with 20 years, 8 months and 12 days  of
active service.

According to a New Mexico  court  order  dated  27  August  1997,  the
applicant legally had her name changed from the original male  version
to the female version now being requested in this appeal.

According to AF Form 281, Notification of Change in  Service  Member’s
Official Records, dated 11 March 1998, HQ AFPC/DPSRP advised that  the
applicant’s original male name was amended to reflect her  new  female
name.  The 16 March 1998 cover letter from  HQ  AFPC/DPSRP  forwarding
the AF Form 281 indicates the form “corrects all  documents  in  [her]
personnel file and [her] retired  pay  account  and  may  be  used  in
conjunction with any document that  reflects  [her]  incorrect  name.”
Outside of the AF Form 281, all other  documents  in  the  applicant’s
military personnel records reflect the original male name.

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application, extracted
from the applicant's military records, are  contained  in  the  letter
prepared by the appropriate office of  the  Air  Force.   Accordingly,
there is no need to recite these facts in this Record of Proceedings.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The NCOIC, Records Procedures  Branch,  HQ  AFPC/DPSRP,  reviewed  the
appeal and opines that the applicant’s  name  and  sex  were  properly
recorded on enlistment documents, service records and subsequently  on
retirement documents from the Air Force.  The action to change  gender
was voluntary and initiated after active service. The name and  gender
were not in error at the time the applicant served in the  Air  Force.
To grant the relief sought would cause undue administrative burdens on
the military records custodian in the correction of records that  were
not recorded in error. Therefore, denial is recommend.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant responded with a letter, an amended  birth  certificate,
and an electronic  mailgram  (EMail),  which  duplicates  the  letter.
Amending the DD Form 214 will not impede her getting a job,  receiving
Social Security benefits or adversely effect her VA death and military
funeral benefits.  The New York State, Department of  Health,  Medical
and Legal Board of Review has reissued her birth certificate as female
with her feminine name. She is legally,  physically  and  functionally
female.  As  a  male,  she  always  knew  she  was  not  and  suffered
considerable emotional and psychological  pain  and  depression  as  a
result. The assertion’s of the advisory that her surgery was  elective
is ridiculous and noticeably uninformed. No one  would  volunteer  for
this procedure or  its  disruptive  effects  on  family  and  life  in
general.  Any  further  correction  of   her   military   records   is
unnecessary, but the change of name on the DD Form 214 is necessary.

A complete copy of applicant’s responses,  with  attachments,  are  at
Exhibit E.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.    The applicant has exhausted all remedies  provided  by  existing
law or regulations.

2.    The application was not timely filed;  however,  it  is  in  the
interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

3.    Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate
the existence of probable error or injustice.  After a thorough review
of the evidence of record and applicant’s submission,  a  majority  of
the Board was not persuaded  that  the  her  DD  Form  214  should  be
altered. The majority of the Board was not swayed by the  Air  Force’s
arguments that the applicant’s gender and name  change  were  her  own
choice. Nor, frankly, were we  concerned  with  “undue  administrative
burdens.”   Rather,  the  fact  remains  that  at  the  time  of   the
applicant’s enlistment and discharge, her gender and name  were  male.
Therefore, her DD Form 214 was correct at the time of issuance and the
majority of  the  Board  finds  no  compelling  basis  upon  which  to
recommend relief.

_________________________________________________________________

RECOMMENDATION OF THE BOARD:

A majority of the  panel  finds  insufficient  evidence  of  error  or
injustice and recommends the application be denied.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the  Board  considered  this  application  in
Executive Session on 17 August 1999 under the provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:


                 Ms. Charlene M. Bradley, Panel Chair
                 Mr. Mike Novel, Member
                 Mr. Philip Sheuerman, Member

By a majority vote, the Board recommended denial of  the  application.
Mr. Novel voted to grant, but he does not wish to  submit  a  Minority
Report. The following documentary evidence was considered:

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 25 Aug 98, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPSRP, undated.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 14 Dec 98.
   Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 24 Dec 98, w/atchs.



                                   CHARLENE M. BRADLEY
                                   Panel Chair



MEMORANDUM FOR DIRECTOR, AIR FORCE REVIEW AGENCY
                                        THRU:  EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
AFBCMR

SUBJECT:                           AFBCMR Docket No. 98-02489

      In Executive Session on August 17, 1999, Mr. Novel, Mr.
Sheuerman and I considered Chief Wheland’s request to have her DD Form
214 reflect her female name of “           ” rather than her original
male name of “James Michael.”  For informational purposes, we were
also provided the Record of Proceedings (ROP) of a similar case that
was denied in July 1995.

      Chief Wheland’s appeal provoked considerable discussion.  Mr.
Novel concluded that the DD Form 214 should be corrected, especially
in light of the applicant’s birth certificate having been changed to
reflect both the feminine name and gender.  Mr. Sheuerman and I
somewhat reluctantly decided to deny the case primarily for the
following reasons:

               1.  The original male name and gender on Chief
 ’s DD Form 214 were correct at the time the document was issued;
               2.  An earlier Panel’s denial of a similar request
seemed to warrant some consistency on our part; and
               3.  The legal advisory for the earlier case cited AFI
36-2608 as statitng, “Do not correct records of former members to show
name changes occurring after discharge.”

      It is the last reason for the Majority’s recommendation to deny
which prompts this note to you.  We agree that for the most part
compliance with AFI 36-2608 is justified.  However, in cases such as
this one, the Panel unanimously believes that an exception to policy
should be included in the instruction.  The Air Force indicates that a
member (such as this applicant) who has had a gender and name change
should utilize the AF Form 281 in conjunction with any document that
reflects the original name. While true, this method very likely raises
unnecessarily awkward and intrusive questions which individuals in the
applicant’s situation would undoubtedly prefer to avoid.  Having
committed themselves to such a monumental change in their lives, we
are certain these individuals would rather not have to explain their
circumstances to strangers every time they must present documents with
inconsistent genders and names.

      Therefore, on behalf of the Panel, I request that you pass our
concerns on to the appropriate office of responsibility so that they
may seriously consider revising AFI 36-2608.  We sincerely believe
that an exception to policy should be included regarding the DD 214
for those individuals who have had gender and name changes and whose
birth certificates have been amended accordingly.




                                             CHARLENE M. BRADLEY
                                             Panel Chair

Attachment:
Record of Proceedings

AFBCMR  98-02489




MEMORANDUM FOR THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AIR FORCE BOARD
                                        FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY
RECORDS (AFBCMR)

SUBJECT:

      I have carefully reviewed the evidence of record and the
recommendation of the Board members.  A majority found that applicant
had not provided sufficient evidence of error or injustice and
recommended the case be denied.  I concur with that finding and their
conclusion that relief is not warranted.  Accordingly, I accept their
recommendation that the application be denied.

      Please advise the applicant accordingly.



                                                   JOE G. LINEBERGER
                                                   Director
                                                   Air Force Review
Boards Agency