RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2013-05269
		
		COUNSEL:  NONE

		HEARING DESIRED:  NO




APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His official records be corrected to reflect the following changes on his DD Form 214, Report of Separation from Active Duty: 

1.  His Narrative Reason for Separation be changed to “Secretarial Authority.”

2.  His Separation Program Designator (SPD) code be changed to “JFF” (Secretarial Authority).  

3.  His Reentry (RE) Code be changed to “1J” (Eligible to reenlist but elected to separate).



APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was discharged on the basis of homosexual conduct, and his discharge did not involve any aggravating factors.  Accordingly, his case meets the criteria necessary to merit an upgrade under the current policy related to the repeal of the law commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT).  

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



STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant initially entered the Regular Air Force on 8 Oct 97. 

On 19 Mar 02, the applicant freely and voluntarily informed his commander that he was a homosexual, and that he believed he had a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts in the future.  He requested his commander discharge him with an honorable service characterization, in accordance with AFI 36-3208, Administrative Separation of Airmen.
On 19 Apr 02, the applicant’s commander notified him he was recommending the applicant for discharge based upon his 19 Mar 02 voluntary statement to him that he was a homosexual, and believed he had the propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts in the future.  

On 8 May 02, the discharge authority directed the applicant be discharged under the provisions of AFI 36-3208, Chapter 5, Section G, paragraph 5.36.2.2 (homosexual conduct).

On 13 May 02, the applicant was furnished an honorable discharge, and was credited with 4 years, 7 months, and 13 days active service.  

On 10 Sep 11, the Under Secretary of Defense issued guidance pertaining to correction of military records requests resulting from the repeal of Title 10, Section 654, commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT).”  In a memorandum, dated 20 Sep 11, the Under Secretary of Defense published guidance that Service Discharge Review Boards should normally grant requests to change the narrative reason for discharge (the change should be to “Secretarial Authority”), requests to re-characterize the discharge to honorable, and/or request a change to the reentry code to an immediately-eligible-to-reenter category 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.  Although each request must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, the award of an honorable or general (under honorable conditions) discharge should normally be considered to indicate the absence of aggravating factors.  

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are described in the letters prepared by the Air Force offices of primary responsibility (OPR) which are included at Exhibits C, D, and E.



AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPSOA recommends granting relief, indicating sufficient evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of error or injustice.  The applicant was involuntarily discharged on 13 May 02 with a narrative reason for separation of “Homosexual Admission,” with an honorable character of service.  The applicant received an RE code of 2C—“Involuntarily separated with an honorable discharge; or entry level separation without characterization of service,” based on the involuntary discharge with honorable character of service.  On 10 Sep 11, the Under Secretary of Defense issued guidance repealing DADT.  The guidance stated requests to change RE code to 1J should be granted for members separated under DADT or similar policy that did not involve aggravating factors.  A thorough search of the applicant’s records did not reveal any aggravating factors.  The board should direct the applicant’s RE code be changed to a 1J.

A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSOA evaluation is at Exhibit C.

AFPC/DPSOR recommends granting relief, indicating sufficient evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of error or injustice.  AFPC/DPSOR apparently was unable to locate any documentation pertaining to the applicant’s discharge record; therefore, their advisory is based on the presumption of regularity that the applicant’s discharge was properly processed according to the applicable regulation.  It appears the applicant’s discharge was based solely on DADT and did not involve aggravating factors.  The absence of aggravating factors is also indicated by the applicant’s honorable service characterization.  Recommend the board approve the narrative reason for separation change to reflect “Secretarial Authority” and SPD code change to reflect “JFF.”  

A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSOR evaluation is at Exhibit D.



APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the applicant on 2 Jun 14 for review and comment within 30 days.  As of this date, no response has been received by this office (Exhibit F).



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.  We took notice of the applicant's complete submission in judging the merits of the case and agree with the opinions and recommendations of the Air Force offices of primary responsibility and adopt their rationale as the basis for our conclusion that relief should be granted.  Although we find no evidence of an error on the part of the Air Force, we believe that it is in the interest of justice to provide the requested relief.  Therefore, 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 13 May 02, he was honorably discharged, issued a narrative reason for separation of “Secretarial Authority,” Separation Program Designator (SPD) code of “JFF,” and Reentry (RE) Code of “1J,”



The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2013-05269 in Executive Session on 2 Oct 14, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

	

All members voted to correct the records as recommended.  The following documentary evidence was considered:

	Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 5 Nov 13.
	Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
	Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPSOA, dated 20 Mar 14.
	Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPSOR, dated 24 Feb 14.
	Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 2 Jun 14.

						






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