RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2013-01777
		COUNSEL:  NONE 
	XXXXXXX	HEARING DESIRED:  NO

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His undesirable discharge be upgraded to honorable.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was called into what he believes was the judge advocate’s 
office.  He was then asked if he had any homosexual tendencies, 
to which he admitted that he had.  To his dismay, a couple of 
months later he received an undesirable discharge.  He was 
ashamed of this separation and told no one, especially family 
and friends.

At the age of 24 he married a Catholic girl and through the 
teachings of the church, he learned his behavior was an affront 
to God.  If the same rules were applied 60 years ago as they are 
today in an era of Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), he would not 
have been "asked" and he certainly would not have "told."  He is 
80 years old and humbly begs the Board to consider upgrading his 
discharge.

In support of his request, the applicant provides a personal 
statement, copies his DD Form 214, Report of Separation from the 
Armed Forces of the United States, Decree Changing Name, and 
Medicare Health Insurance Card.

The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at 
Exhibit A.

________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 22 Aug 1952 the applicant enlisted in the Air Force and on 
21 Oct 1953, he was discharged under the provisions of AFR 35-
66, Discharge of Homosexuals, with an undesirable character of 
service.

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?
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPSOR recommends denial of the applicant’s request to 
upgrade his discharge.  DPSOR states that on 10 Sep 2011, the 
Under Secretary of Defense issued guidance pertaining to 
correction of military record requests resulting from the repeal 
of Title 10, § 654, commonly known as DADT.  Although the 
discharge was properly processed according to the applicable 
regulation, the applicant's discharge record indicates his 
discharge was based solely on DADT or a similar policy; however, 
there were aggravating factors.  The applicant’s record includes 
misconduct as he was court-martialed for a violation of Article 
86, UCMJ, for being AWOL.  Given this misconduct in the 
applicant's record, DPSOR recommends against a change to his 
service characterization.  Notwithstanding the above, DPSOR 
recommends his narrative reason for separation be changed to 
"Secretarial Authority," and his separation code be changed to 
“JFF.”  At the time of his separation his Reentry (RE) code 
should have reflected “2;” however, an RE code was not reflected 
on his DD Form 214.  After corresponding with AFPC/DPSOA, DPSOR 
recommends a “2” RE code be added to applicant's DD Form 214.

The complete DPSOR evaluation is at Exhibit C.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF THE AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Since the events occurred almost 60 years ago, he does not fully 
understand what is meant by “or words to that effect” in DPSOR’s 
statement “Applicant made a statement that he was a homosexual 
or words to the effect and engaged in homosexual acts with 
another airman.”

He admitted to some youthful indiscretion in his teens, but not 
with other airmen and certainly not on any military 
installation.  He also questions whether he was offered counsel 
and insists he would have taken advantage of a lawyer to prevent 
his receiving an undesirable discharge.

He admits that he was AWOL for 22 days.  He is an only child and 
he went to see his mother who was in critical condition.  Being 
AWOL was an unwise and serious breach of military rules.  
However, he has paid for that error by spending 30 days in the 
stockade.

He is now 80 years of age, has been happily married for over 
56 years and has five grandchildren.  After he is gone he does 
not want his heirs to remember him as an "undesirable" person.   

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

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.  In a memorandum, dated 20 Sep 
2011, the Under Secretary of Defense published guidance that 
Service Discharge Review Boards should normally grant requests 
to change the narrative reason for discharge, separation code, 
re-characterize the discharge to Honorable, and/or requests to 
change the reentry code to an immediately-eligible-to-reenter 
category when the following conditions are met: (1) the original 
discharge was based solely on 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.  Based on our review 
of the evidence of record, it is our opinion that the 
applicant's discharge meets these requirements.  While 
AFPC/DPSOR states there were aggravating factors, we note the 
applicant served his punishment and was allowed to continue to 
serve.  Moreover, given that the sole basis for his discharge 
was his homosexual conduct, we find it in the interest of 
justice to recommend the applicant's record be corrected as 
indicated below.

________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air 
Force relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that at the 
time of his 21 October 1953 discharge, the narrative reason for 
his separation was Secretarial Authority with a separation code 
of “JFF” and a reenlistment code of “1,” and that he was 
furnished an Honorable Discharge Certificate.

________________________________________________________________

?
The following members of the Board considered this application 
in Executive Session on 4 Feb 2014, under the provisions of AFI 
36-2603:

	, Panel Chair
      , Member
	, Member

All members voted to correct the records, as recommended.  The 
following documentary evidence pertaining to BC-2013-01777 was 
considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 9 Apr 2013, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant’s Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPSOR, dated 22 Jun 2013.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 29 Oct 2013
    Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 12 Nov 2013.




                                   
                                   Panel Chair


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