BOARD DATE: 3 June 2014 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130016773 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests that his records be corrected to show he was retired by reason of permanent disability. 2. The applicant states he believes his transfer to the Retired Reserve was unjust given his deployments and his Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical records. 3. The applicant provides copies of his VA and Army medical records and rating decisions. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 21 December 1987. He completed his one-station unit training as a supply specialist at Fort Jackson, South Carolina and was transferred back to his USAR unit. 2. He deployed to Southwest Asia (SWA) during the period 19901030 – 19910605. He was honorably discharged from the USAR on 20 December 1995. 3. He again enlisted in the USAR on 17 April 2002. He deployed to Iraq during the period 20060618 – 20070605. 4. The facts and circumstances surrounding his transfer are not present in the available records. However, his record contain orders showing that on 15 October 2011, he was transferred to the Retired Reserve due to being MEDICALLY DISQUALIFIED – NOT A RESULT OF OWN MISCONDUCT. 5. The applicant’s records do not contain a separation physical or any information related to his transfer to the Retired Reserve. The applicant has not provided and the records do not contain information related to his medical disqualification. 6. The VA rating decision provided by the applicant shows that he was granted a 60 percent disability rating effective 29 December 2010. Effective 17 September 2012 his rating was increased to 80 percent and on 28 February 2013 it was increased to 100 percent. 7. Army Regulation 635-40 (Physical Evaluation for Retention, Retirement, or Separation) states, in pertinent part, that disability compensation is not an entitlement acquired by reason of service-incurred illness or injury; rather, it is provided to Soldiers whose service is interrupted and they can no longer continue to reasonably perform because of a physical disability incurred or aggravated in service. 8. Title 38, U.S. Code, sections 1110 and 1131, permit the VA to award compensation for disabilities which were incurred in or aggravated by active military service. However, an award of a VA rating does not establish error or injustice in whether or not an Army rating is given, or in an Army rating that is given. An Army disability rating is intended to compensate an individual for interruption of a military career after it has been determined that the individual suffers from an impairment that disqualifies him or her from further military service. The VA, which has neither the authority, nor the responsibility for determining physical fitness for military service, awards disability ratings to veterans for conditions that it determines were incurred during military service and subsequently affect the individual’s civilian employability. Accordingly, it is not unusual for the two agencies of the Government, operating under different policies, to arrive at different positions. Furthermore, unlike the Army, the VA can evaluate a veteran throughout his or her lifetime, adjusting the percentage of disability based upon that agency’s examinations and findings. The Army rates only conditions determined to be physically unfitting at the time of discharge, thus compensating the individual for loss of a career; while the VA may rate any service-connected impairment, including those that are detected after discharge, in order to compensate the individual for loss of civilian employability. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. In the absence of the facts and circumstances surrounding the applicant’s transfer to the Retired Reserve, it must be presumed that the applicant’s administrative transfer was accomplished in compliance with applicable regulations with no violations or procedural errors which would have jeopardized his rights. 2. Absent evidence to show that he was denied his due process rights and that he was not afforded proper medical processing at the time of his separation, there appears to be no basis to grant his request. 3. In essence, he has not identified the conditions that he claims warrants a medical retirement or sufficient documentation to support a medical retirement. 4. Accordingly, it must be presumed that his transfer to the Retired Reserve was appropriate considering. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ___x_____ ___x_____ __x___ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. __________x_____________ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130016773 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130016773 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1