RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2013-02995
			COUNSEL:  NONE
	XXXXXXXXXX	HEARING DESIRED:  NO


APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

1.  Her records be corrected to reflect her gender as female 
instead of male.

2.  Her records be corrected to reflect her name change.


APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

She underwent male to female sexual reassignment surgery on 21 May 
2013.  In a letter dated 15 July 2013, AFPC/DPSIRP recommended 
that her request be closed, incorrectly stating that this was a 
duplicate action because her name change had been accomplished on 
10 April 2013, via AF Form 281, Notification of Change in Service 
Member’s Official Records.  However, her requests also included 
that her records be corrected to reflect her gender as female 
instead of male, which was not accomplished.

In support of her requests, the applicant provides a personal 
statement, copies of Order for Change of Name and Birth Record, 
Medical Certification and various other documents associated with 
her requests.

Her complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.


STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 22 May 2001 and 
was medically retired on 9 November 2005.  She served 4 years, 
5 months, and 18 days of total active military service.

An order of the County District Court dated 4 October 2012, 
ordered the applicant’s name and birth record be changed and that 
copies of this order may be furnished to any agencies to make such 
change upon the applicant’s record with those agencies.

AF Form 281, Notification of Change in Service Member’s Official 
Records, indicates a name change was completed under the 
provisions of AFI 36-2608, Military Personnel Records System, and 
a court order granting the change of name.  A copy was also 
provided to the Defense Accounting and Finance Service (DFAS).

On 10 April 2013 and 15 July 2013, AFPC/DPSIRP advised the 
applicant that her name change was updated in the Military 
Personnel Data System and a copy of the AF Form 281 was forwarded 
to the DFAS to update their system.  She was also advised they 
were unable to update her DD Form 214 since she retired prior to 
her name change.

On 24 March 2015, a copy of the SAF/MR memorandum, dated 9 March 
2015, was forwarded to the applicant in order to comply with 
10 U.S.C. §1556.  Specifically, the memorandum notes that the DD 
Form 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.  The correction should be to the DD Form 214 and for 
the limited purposes of mitigating an injustice caused by use of 
the DD Form 214.  If there are extreme circumstances that support 
corrections to other Air Force records, it was recommended that 
the panel clearly determine what specific records that must be 
corrected to eliminate the determined error or injustice. (For 
example, a blanket correction to “any and all” records without a 
specific understanding of the records being corrected could be 
interpreted as an arbitrary action, and therefore should not be 
done.)  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 
Form 214 and for the limited purposes of mitigating an injustice 
caused by use of the DD Form 214. (Exhibits F and G)


THE AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPSIRP recommends denial.  Based on the fact that no 
statutory guidance exists that allows for gender changes, DPSIRP 
is unable to amend the applicant’s military record.

The complete DPSIRP evaluation is at Exhibit C.


APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF THE AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The OPR recommends denial of her request because “no statutory 
guidance exists that allows for gender changes.”  However, this is 
poor justification for a denial.  The precedence for changing 
gender in one's military records was set decades ago. While 
certainly not a common request, military record gender changes 
have been performed by all branches of the military as a matter of 
routine.  To address the growing need for information on 
accomplishing this process, the Transgender American Veterans 
Association, www.tavausa.org provides clear instructions in the 
frequently asked questions section of their website for members 
interested in changing their gender.  These are the instructions 
that she and veterans before her have followed.  These 
instructions are not random and put forth in the hope that such a 
change request will be honored; they are the result of previous 
members going through the appropriate channels to find the correct 
way to make such a change.  A former Navy service member has 
recently been in the news for making such changes public.  
Although she was a member of the Navy, her request to change DoD 
documents goes beyond Naval jurisdiction, and her change request 
has been allowed by the Pentagon.

The recommendation to deny her request due to a lack of statute 
specific to gender change is simply absurd.  First, if there is no 
such statute, one could say there is no explicit guidance that 
gender changes should be denied just as correctly as saying there 
is no explicit guidance that gender changes should be allowed.  
Second, suggesting that there needs to be an explicit statue in 
place for every conceivable change a member could need to make to 
their records is ridiculous.  Finally, there is a statute in place 
for amending one's military records – that is by submitting the DD 
Form 149, Application for Correction of Military Record, which is 
the process she followed.  For these reasons, she believes her 
request to change her gender on her military records be allowed. 
In further support of her request the applicant provides a copy of 
her amended birth certificate as further evidence of her correct 
legal standing as a female. Every legal document - from her 
federally issued passport, to her state issued driver's license, 
reflects her correct name and gender (female).  It is bizarre that 
the only legally incorrect records remaining are her DoD military 
records, especially considering the relative ease with which her 
acquaintances made these changes to their military records.  She 
implores that the Board considers her as a person with rights and 
feelings rather than just as another case, consider her as a 
service member who served honorably, rather than make a careless 
decision based on a poor recommendation justified by a non-
existent statute.

Her complete response, with attachment, 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.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to 
demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice to warrant 
changing the applicant’s gender.  We note the SAF/MR memorandum 
dated 9 March 2015, states that corrections to the DD Form 
214 should be for the limited purposes of mitigating an injustice 
caused by use of the DD Form 214.  While the applicant’s comments 
in response to the Air Force advisory opinion are duly noted, 
given that her DD Form 214 makes no reference to her gender, we 
find no evidence of an error or injustice in this case.  
Therefore, we conclude the applicant has failed to sustain her 
burden of proof that she has been the victim of an error or 
injustice.  In the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find no 
basis to recommend granting this portion of the applicant’s 
request.

4.  Notwithstanding the above, sufficient relevant evidence has 
been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or 
injustice to warrant changing the applicant’s name on her DD Form 
214.  Although the applicant’s DD Form 214 was technically correct 
at the time it was issued, it is our opinion that should the 
applicant be required to present her DD Form 214 with her former 
name to external audiences; the applicant’s circumstances would 
require her to disclose personal history that is needlessly 
intrusive.  Therefore we believe allowing the applicant’s DD Form 
214 to remain uncorrected would constitute an injustice.  Further, 
we find the applicant’s AF Form 281 coupled with the certified 
court order sufficient proof that her name was legally changed.  
Accordingly, we recommend the applicant’s record be corrected to 
the extent indicated below.


THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active 
Duty, issued in conjunction with her 9 November 2005 separation, 
be declared void and a new DD Form 214 be issued to reflect the 
applicant’s name in Block 1.


The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number 
BC-2013-02995 in Executive Session on 23 April 2015, under the 
provisions of AFI 36-2603:

       , Panel Chair
       , Member
       , Member

All members voted to correct the record as recommended.  The 
following documentary evidence was considered in AFBCMR Docket 
Number BC-2013-02995:

      Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 27 August 2013, w/atchs.
      Exhibit B.  Applicant’s Master Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPSIRP, dated 19 September 2013. 
      Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 29 October 2013.
      Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, 2 November 2013, w/atch.
      Exhibit F.  Letter, SAF/MR, dated 9 March 2015
      Exhibit G.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 24 March 2015.