RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2007-01231
		INDEX CODE:  100.00
		COUNSEL:  NONE
		HEARING DESIRED:  YES

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He receive a permanent retirement at a 100% disability rating.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The disease he was retired for, narcolepsy, was the result of a heat stroke he suffered in basic training in Texas in 1954.  Its effects were not properly understood.  There was no medical doctor on the various boards he met who was medically qualified to evaluate this disease.  Even today the disease is not fully understood except by neurologists.  Some years after his retirement the Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) acknowledged the severity of his disability and awarded him 100% disability compensation.

Applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 29 June 1954.

A Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) convened on 20 October 1959 and referred his case to an Informal Physical Evaluation Board (IPEB) with diagnoses of narcolepsy and cataplexy.  The IPEB found him unfit for further military service and placed him on the TDRL effective 2 December 1959.  On 21 September 1962, the applicant was reevaluated for superficial varicose veins and narcolepsy with associated symptoms of catapexy and sleep paralysis.  The case was referred to a Formal PEB (FPEB) on 25 September 1962, which recommended retirement with a 30% disability rating.  On 31 October 1962, the Physical Review Council concurred with the recommendation and directed permanent retirement with a 30% disability rating.  On 30 November 1962, applicant was removed from the TDRL and permanently retired in the grade of airman first class.  He served 5 years, 5 months, and 4 days on active duty.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Examiner's Note: The AFBCMR Medical Consultant prepared an initial evaluation then prepared a revised evaluation upon receipt of additional information.

In his revised evaluation, the AFBCMR Medical Consultant recommends a change in the records to show a 50% disability rating (60% less 10% for EPTS) at the time of placement on TDRL on 2 December 1959 and a 50% rating (60% less 10% for EPTS) at the time the applicant was permanently retired on 6 November 1962.

The Air Force Disability Evaluation system can only rate conditions at the time of the disability determination and not base their ratings decision on future findings.  No change in military disability ratings can occur after permanent disposition under the rules of the military disability system, even though the condition may become better or worse.  However, Title 38, USC authorizes the DVA to increase or decrease the DVA compensation ratings based upon the individual's condition at the time of future evaluations.

According to the current VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD), narcolepsy is rated as if the patient had petit mal epilepsy.  Using this rating schedule, patients who experience 5-8 minor seizures (as in petit mal) per week would be eligible for a 40% disability rating.  At the time of original placement on the TDRL (2 December 1959) the applicant was reported to be experiencing an average of one episode daily, which would correlate to a 40% disability rating.  Upon review of the VASRD in effect at that time this would correlate to a 60% disability rating (attacks averaging one per week, loss of consciousness with other subsequent and prolonged phenomena).

According to the current VASRD, patients who experience 9-10 episodes per week, as indicated by the applicant at the time of TDRL reevaluation in 1962 are awarded a 60% disability rating.  Those with more than 10 episodes per week are eligible for an 80% disability rating.  The appropriate rating for this condition would be 60%, based on the applicant's stated increasing frequency as his knowledge of the rating system increased and his lack of response to placebos.  Upon review of a VASRD in effect at the time of his reviews, this would also correlate to a 60% disability rating.

The preponderance of evidence of the record shows that the applicant's condition, narcolepsy, was not properly adjudicated according to standards in use today.

The complete BCMR Medical Consultant’s evaluation, with attachment, is at Exhibit C.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant states both evaluations are an insult to his intelligence and unbecoming of any proper medical consultant.  There are 40 years of medical records, 28 years at the Naval Hospital in Rota, Spain.  The Medical Consultant chose to ignore all of this and latch on to a statement made by some loon psychiatrist, that he had said he had trances as a child and that this was probably a prelude to narcolepsy.  There was no mention of the heat stroke he suffered in basic training in July 1954.  The evaluation justified the low percentage awarded him by referring to the vas comparison to petit mal epilepsy, when such a comparison is incorrect.  The point was made that the Air Force does not increase its disability rating just because the disability gets worse.  He is requesting a correction to his records not because this disability has gotten worse, because it is just as disabling now as it was 45 years ago.  He is requesting this change because of the ignorance of those responsible for retiring him with just 30% disability, when it should have been 100%.  At least qualified people at the Social Security Administration awarded him 100%. 

The applicant's complete response with attachments, is at Exhibit E.

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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 warranting partial relief.  After carefully reviewing the evidence of record, we agree with the AFBCMR Medical Consultant that it appears the applicant’s condition was not properly adjudicated according to standards in place during the contested time period.  Therefore, we believe that a change in his records is warranted to reflect a 50% disability rating at the time of final disposition of his case.  We considered his request that his condition be rated at 100%; however, other than his own assertions, insufficient evidence has been provided showing that at the time of final disposition his condition had reached the level of severity warranting a 100% rating. Accordingly, we recommend his records be corrected to the extent indicated below.

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THE BOARD DETERMINES 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 disability retirement on 30 November 1962, his condition was rated at 50% rather than 30%.

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The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2007-01231 in Executive Session on 5 June 2008, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

			XXXXXXXXXX, Panel Chair
			XXXXXXXXXX, Member
			XXXXXXXXXX, Member

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

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 6 April 2007, w/atch.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, BCMR Medical Consultant, dated 6 November 2007.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 9 November 2007.
   Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 18 January 2008, w/atchs.

				XXXXXXXXXX
				Chair