ADDENDUM TO 

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-00378 

 

 COUNSEL: NO 

 

 HEARING DESIRED: NO 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

His reentry (RE) code be replaced with one that will allow him to 
reenlist. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

RESUME OF CASE: 

 

On 1 January 2011, the applicant applied to the AFBCMR under the 
auspices of the repeal of section 654 of Title 10, United States 
Code (USC), commonly referred to as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT). 

The Air Force office of primary responsibility (OPR), AFPC/DPSOA, 
addressed the applicant’s request for a change to his RE code and 
found the RE code of 4G was, indeed, erroneous; however, the 
applicant’s correct RE code should have been 2C (Involuntarily 
separated with an honorable discharge, or entry level separation 
without characterization of service) and administratively 
corrected the records. On 27 September 2011, the Board 
considered and denied his request to change his RE code from 4G 
(No AFSC skill level commensurate with grade) to a code that 
would allow his reenlistment. For an accounting of the facts and 
circumstances surrounding the applicant’s original request and 
the rationale of the earlier decision by the Board, see the 
Record of Proceedings (ROP) at Exhibit F. 

 

On 11 September 2011, the Office of the Secretary of Defense 
(OSD) released policy related to the repeal of DADT just prior to 
the Board’s decision in the applicant’s case, and to preclude the 
possibility of an injustice to the applicant related to the 
applicability of said policy in the Board’s consideration of his 
case, the applicant’s case was reopened for reconsideration by 
the AFBCMR. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

AFPC/DPSOS recommends the applicant’s narrative reason for 
separation and separation program designator (SPD) code be 
changed to “Secretarial Authority” and “JFF,” respectively. On 
10 September 2011, the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel 


and Readiness (OSD-P&R) released guidance pertaining to the 
correction of military records resulting from the repeal of DADT 
which indicates the following: 

 

“Effective September 20, 2011, Service DRBs (Discharge Review 
Boards) should normally grant requests to change the narrative 
reason for a discharge (the change should be “Secretarial 
Authority” (SPD code JFF)), requests to re-characterize the 
discharge to honorable, and/or requests to change the reentry 
code to an immediately-eligible-to-reenter category (the new RE 
code should be 1J) 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.” 

 

A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSOS evaluation is at Exhibit G. 

 

AFPC/DPSOA recommends denial with respect to the applicant’s 
Reentry (RE) code indicating his records do contain episodes of 
misconduct. Specifically, the applicant received a Letter of 
Reprimand for leaving his post without authorization and 
permanent loss of his Personnel Reliability Program (PRP) 
certification for occupational problems. However, should the 
Board determine that relief is warranted the applicant’s RE code 
should be changed to 3K (Reserved for use by HQ AFPC or the 
AFBCMR when no other reenlistment eligibility code applies or is 
appropriate). 

 

A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSOS evaluation is at Exhibit H. 

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to applicant 
on 11 May 2012 for review and comment within 30 days. As of this 
date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit I). 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

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 error or injustice. In light of 
the repeal of the law commonly known as Don't Ask, Don't Tell 
(DADT) and given the applicant's record of performance, we 


believe it would be appropriate to change the narrative reason 
for his separation to "Secretarial Authority" and to correct his 
separation program designator (SPD) and reentry (RE) codes 
accordingly. In accordance with Under Secretary of Defense 
(Personnel and Readiness) guidance memorandum, Correction of 
Military Records Following Repeal of Section 654 of Title 10, 
United States Code, dated 20 September 2011, Discharge Review 
Boards should normally grant requests to change the narrative 
reason for a discharge (the change should be to "Secretarial 
Authority" (SPD code KFF)), requests to re-characterize the 
discharge to honorable, and/or requests to change the RE code to 
an immediately-eligible-to-reenter category (the new RE code 
should be RE code 1J) when both of 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. 
We note the comments of AFPC/DPSOA indicating the applicant’s 
record contained evidence of misconduct; however, after a 
thorough review of the applicant’s complete record, we find that 
said misconduct did not form any part of the basis for the 
contested discharge. Therefore, in view of the above, we 
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 the APPLICANT be corrected to show that on 
28 July 2000, he was honorably discharged with a narrative reason 
for separation of "Secretarial Authority" rather than "Homosexual 
Admission," a separation program designator code of "KFF" rather 
than "HRB," and a reentry code of "1J" rather than "2C." 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2011-00378 in Executive Session on 18 Sep 12, under the 
provisions of AFI 36-2603: 

 

 

All members of the Board voted to correct the records as 
recommended. The following documentary evidence pertaining to 
AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2011-00378 was considered: 

 

 Exhibit F. Record of Proceedings, dated 20 Jan 12, w/atchs. 

 Exhibit G. Letter, AFPC/DPSOS, dated 24 Apr 12. 

 Exhibit H. Letter, AFPC/DPSOA, dated 9 May 12. 

 Exhibit I. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 11 May 12. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair