• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

US Military

  • Branches
    • Army
    • Navy
    • Air Force
    • Marine Corps
    • Coast Guard
    • National Guard
    • Air National Guard
    • Find A Recruiter
  • Find A Recruiter
  • Military Benefits
    • GI Bill
    • VA Loans
    • Military Scholarships
    • Military Friendly Colleges
    • Money
  • Jobs
    • Military Pay Chart
    • Veteran Jobs
    • Civilian Jobs
  • VA Loan Rates
  • Military News
    • Top News
    • Benefits
    • Careers
    • Education
    • Featured Columnists
      • Larry Fowler
      • Scott Ostrow
      • Kim Lengling
      • Dr. Sasha Toperich
      • Rick Stewart
  • GI Bill
  • VA Loans
  • Military Scholarships
  • Top Military-Friendly Colleges and Universities in America

Former Marines and Sailors Discharged Under Gay Ban Compelled to Appeal

July 20, 2016 By admin

US Navy officers

Many marines and sailors were previously forced out of the military because of their sexuality. Now, the Navy Department officials are urging those who were forced out to step forward and appeal their discharge. The step is to correct a historical wrongdoing and to ensure benefits for all such troops.

 

The Board for Correction of Naval Records can restore or update various records. This includes counseling letters to detachments for cause. However, in the recent years, they have been compelling veterans who were separated from their services under gay ban, to step forward and get their discharges upgraded.

 

While addressing the Pentagon in June, during an event for Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian and Transgender, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said ?If you were discharged under ‘Don?t ask, don?t tell,’ come in. The Board of Corrections for Naval Records will take a look at changing that discharge characterization ? If you have colleagues that were discharged under that, ask them to come in ? if it?s under the regulations, get that discharge characterization changed.?

 

The Navy has granted 123 discharge upgrades to 123 requests out of a total of 413 since 2011, according to the Defense Department. This also includes relief from both the Navy Discharge Review Board and BCNR. Note that more than 4,300 and 1,300 Marines and sailors were discharged during DADT, from 1993 to 2011, according to the Statistics shared by the Navy Department.

 

The BCNR?s executive director was of the view that the NDRB should be the first stop because this way the process will get two reviews. If the case is still rejected, BCNR will be the next step.

 

According to Scott Thompson, said in an interview in May at the Pentagon, ?In the case of ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell,’ as the department has recognized a change in societal norms, and we recognize that where the discharge was based only on homosexuality that it would be appropriate to consider a higher discharge.? Scott?s organization?s mission to correct all those errors and injustices that were conducted.

 

Note that those who have won their cases have been granted access to veteran education and health benefits, he added. Moreover, it should be noted that BCNR is considering requests to upgrade discharges including dishonorable as well. However, Scott added the most of the sexuality related issues were under honorable conditions. This way, most veterans are entitled to all or most of the benefits.

 

In addition, the easiest of all the cases are of those veterans who were discharged simply for being gay. If there were any chances of misconduct into play then the case is a bit more complicated. Most of the sailors and Marines discharged between 1993 and 2011 were fully honorable and under general honorable conditions. Approximately, 54 percent sailors and 46 percent Marines were fully honorable.

 

Nevertheless, in a complicated case such as where the person was discharged for homosexuality or fraternization, the case becomes more work but it is still worth pursuing, according to Thompson.

 

?They should absolutely apply,? he added. “They just need to explain the circumstances that led to the fraternization, or if they contend it wasn?t a valid claim. It?s important to put it into context.”

 

Note that a lot of veteran organizations have been advocating for service members fired because of their sexuality. After the cancellation of DADT, these organization have worked day and night to upgrade the DoD records.

 

According to Matt Thor, the Executive Director of the Military LGBT advocacy group Outserve-SLDN, in a statement, ?We value the open communication and dialogue with the boards of corrections and strongly feel that the increase in our relationships will help to both encourage individuals to apply for their upgrades and understand the process. The boards have made a very concerted effort to address LGBT service members in their processes; we applaud them for those efforts and look forward to our continued working relationship with them.?

 

How to Get Justice?

 

In order to get justice, the first step for veterans is to determine whether they should start with the NDRB or an active duty panel, which works cases that are less than 15 years old. It is recommended to start with the latter. According to Thompson, this way, the veteran gets two chances of getting the case to be reviewed by two separate departments before taking the case to the BCNR?s. Once the decision is made by the BCNR, it is final.

 

For cases that are older than 15 years, the appeal process will usually being at BCNR?s official website. You will simply star the application to have the case reviewed.

 

Mervil Dwork, who was fired because of the same issues, told a newspaper about his experience of being jailed and fired, ?It meant an awful lot to me because I know I never did anything disgraceful or dishonest.?

 

Moreover, according to Thompson, the person sending in the case should add as much paperwork possible to make it easier for the department to go through the case. Paperwork can include service records, evaluations, medical diagnoses, investigations and awards.

 

After the application is submitted, one of the 16 examiners by BCNR will pull an official service record from the Navy Personnel Command to review the applicant?s records. This examiner will then prepare a brief for a panel of three senior Navy Department civilian to discuss the case. This panel meets once a month to hear the case.

 

Note that is usually takes around a year on an average to close one case. According to Thompson, there is a lot of backlog that needs to be cleared out. However, the recent changes in boosting the manpower by 13 percent and allowing email applications for the victims might just boost things in the right direction.

Filed Under: Navy, Top News, US Military

Recent Posts

  • Best 5 Tips to Find VA Home Loans
  • What Makes Navy SEALs The Best Special Forces Operators in the World Today?
  • How Was Military Time Created And Why?
  • The Best 5 US Military Bases In The World
  • Congrats To Recent Graduates And Is The Military A Great Place For Young People Today
VA Loans

Primary Sidebar

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE

USMilitary.com is a privately owned website and is NOT AFFILIATED (or endorsed) with the U.S. GOVERNMENT, U.S. ARMED FORCES, or DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

USMilitary.com Career Guide

Sign up to receive USMilitary.com email updates and to hear what's going on with all military branches!

Featured Columnists

Larry Fowler

Larry Fowler is the publisher of USMilitary.com Network one of America's premier privately owned

Do You Know The Army’s Most Dangerous Jobs?

Scott Ostrow

Lt Col (Dr.) Scott A. Ostrow retired from the Air Force in September 2005 and has been teaching

Congrats To Recent Graduates And Is The Military A Great Place For Young People Today

Kim Lengling

Kim Lengling is a Air Force Veteran whose passion is to help support veterans and their

This Memorial Day: The Knock On The Door

Dr. Sasha Toperich

Dr. Sasha Toperich is the Senior Executive Vice President at Transatlantic Leadership

Sarraj’s Dangerous Dance With Power

Rick Stewart

Rick Stewart is a former United States Air Force Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE)

Announcing American Patriots Unsung Magazine

Nathan B. Nelson

Capt (ret) Nathan B. Nelson is the Director of Military Affairs for the 1st Congressional district

Three Critical Considerations for Every Veteran Prior to Leaving Active Duty

Laquan Daniels

Laquan Daniel is a military recruiting expert with over 17 years of specialized experience in the

Important News For Military Transitioning Veterans

Veteran Buzz

High-Paying Jobs for Military Veterans

5 High-Paying Jobs for Military Veterans

July 2, 2018 By Ben Ehinger

High Paying Jobs Not Requiring a Degree

June 28, 2018 By Ben Ehinger

7 Best Military Careers That Lead To High Paying Civilian Jobs

June 10, 2018 By larryf

VA Loans

Footer

  • Advertise With Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Write For US
  • Link to Us

Recent

  • Best 5 Tips to Find VA Home Loans
  • What Makes Navy SEALs The Best Special Forces Operators in the World Today?
  • How Was Military Time Created And Why?
  • The Best 5 US Military Bases In The World
  • Congrats To Recent Graduates And Is The Military A Great Place For Young People Today

Search

© Copyright 2022 USMillitary
Web Design by Goebel Media Group


THIS IS A PRIVATE WEBSITE THAT IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, U.S. ARMED FORCES, OR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE NOT REVIEWED THIS INFORMATION. THIS SITE IS NOT CONNECTED WITH ANY GOVERNMENT AGENCY.