BOARD DATE: 20 July 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160004160 BOARD VOTE: _________ _______ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ____x____ ____x____ _____x___ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration BOARD DATE: 20 July 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160004160 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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20130007091 on 23 January 2014. ______________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. BOARD DATE: 20 July 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160004160 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 reconsideration of his earlier request to show his uncharacterized service as honorable or that he was medically retired. 2. The applicant states his service is uncharacterized. He wants it upgraded to show he was medically retired. 3. The applicant provides three copies of a letter from Dr. E____ M. T____, a licensed psychologist and certified rehabilitation counselor at Ability Management Associates, Howell, MI, dated 22 April 2015, with a Medical Review and Opinion and Dr. E____ M. T____'s curriculum vitae. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20130007091, dated 23 January 2014. 2. The applicant provided a Medical Review and Opinion from a licensed psychologist and certified rehabilitation counselor, dated 22 April 2015. This is new evidence that warrants consideration by the Board at this time. 3. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 30 September 1999. He was assigned to Fort Benning, GA, for initial entry training. 4. The complete facts and circumstances surrounding his discharge are not available for review with this case. 5. His records contain a DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) that shows: a. He was discharged on 15 December 1999 under the provisions of Army Regulation (AR) 635-40 (Physical Evaluation for Retention, Retirement, or Separation), chapter 5, of by reason of "Disability, Existed Prior to Service – Medical Board." b. He completed 2 months and 16 days of active service. c. He was assigned a separation code of KFN and a reentry code of 3. d. His service was uncharacterized. 6. On 23 January 2014, the Board considered his request to upgrade his uncharacterized discharge to an honorable discharge or a medical discharge. However, the Board found insufficient evidence to grant the requested relief. 7. He provided a Medical Review and Opinion from Dr. E____ M. T____, a licensed psychologist and certified rehabilitation counselor at Ability Management Associates, Howell, MI, dated 22 April 2015, who stated: a. After reviewing the applicant's voluminous medical records, as well as interviewing him, it is her professional opinion that the applicant should have been medically "boarded out" of the Army considering that he had this breakdown while in the military. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, regarding the development and course of schizophrenia, she quoted, "The psychotic features of schizophrenia typically emerge between the late teens and the mid-30s; onset prior to adolescence is rare. The peak age at onset for the first psychotic episode is in the early to mid-20s for males. The onset may be abrupt or insidious, but the majority of individuals manifest a slow and gradual development of a variety of clinically significant signs and symptoms. Earlier age at onset has traditionally been seen as a predictor of worse prognosis. However, the effect of age at onset is likely to be related to gender, with males having worse premorbid adjustment, lower educational achievement, more prominent negative symptoms and cognitive impairment, and in general a worse outcome." b. During their interview, the applicant indicated he felt very anxious and stressed out during training. He had never been exposed to training and/or activities training for a war. Based on her clinical interview with the applicant, as well as her review of his records, including the initial hospitalization at West Central Georgia Regional Hospital and his current medical reports from the Detroit Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, it is her professional opinion that the applicant's schizophrenia and breakdown during basic training were not caused by any preexisting condition; therefore, he should have been medically separated with full benefits and considered medically retired. 8. The Army Review Boards Agency (ARBA) Medical Advisor/Psychologist reviewed the applicant's case and rendered an advisory opinion on 16 November 2016. He stated the applicant's case was reviewed to determine: (a) if the medical records reasonably support post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or another boardable behavioral health condition that existed at the time of the applicant's military service, (b) if this condition failed medical retention standards in accordance with AR 40-501 (Standards of Medical Fitness), and (c) if there is any information that is deemed appropriate. a. The applicant is petitioning for a medical retirement. The sources of review are his DD Form 214, electronic medical record, limited review of VA records through the Joint Legacy Viewer, and the evidence provided by the applicant. b. The applicant was in the Army from 30 September to 15 December 1999. He became psychotic during basic combat training and failed to complete training. He was first treated for his mental disorder at the hospital at Fort Benning and was transferred from Fort Benning to the West Central Georgia Regional Hospital upon his discharge from the Army on 15 December 1999. He continued to be treated for this condition and, according to the Medical Review and Opinion from his psychologist, Dr. E____ M. T____, dated 22 April 2015, the applicant was rated 100-percent disabled by the VA for paranoid schizophrenia. This psychologist also claimed the applicant had no pre-existing behavioral health problems when he entered the Army; however, at the time of his discharge, he was assessed as having a condition that existed prior to service based on AR 635-40, chapter 5. c. The applicant has made claims to the ABCMR before that were rejected. The new evidence is a letter from Dr. E____ M. T____ that in essence reiterates previously made claims. Further, there is evidence in the records to show the applicant is an unreliable historian. For example, there is a record of him having represented himself as having deployed to Afghanistan as an infantryman and being wounded and traumatized by his service while deployed. This is a representation with no basis in fact. In regard to his credibility, it is part of the available records that he has committed numerous criminal offenses, including sexual offenses, since his discharge. His pattern of sustained antisocial behavior cannot be plausibly ascribed to having a serious mental illness. One other striking fact is the absence of any reliable records, other than his and his family's testimony about his good adjustment in childhood and adolescence. Given the content of the totality of the record, claims that he had a good premorbid adjustment require more evidence than exists in the available records to overturn the previous finding of his having had a condition that existed prior to service. d. In regard to the referral questions: (a) the applicant's available records did not reasonably support that he had a boardable medical condition at the time of discharge in December 1999, (b) he did not meet retention standards in AR 40-501, and (c) the 23 January 2014 Board's decision explains his appeal for a medical retirement is defective based on AR 635-40 and AR 635-200 (Active Duty Enlisted Administrative Separations). It was difficult to discern how this appeal differs from the behavioral health perspective in any material way from his denied appeal to the ABCMR. e. In conclusion, the applicant did not meet medical retention standards in accordance with AR 635-40, chapter 4, and 635-200 that were applicable to his era of service. The applicant's medical conditions were duly considered during medical separation processing. A review of available documentation did not find evidence of a medical disability or conditions which would support a change to the character of discharge or to change his discharge to medical retirement. 9. The applicant was provided a copy of this advisory opinion for review and an opportunity to submit a rebuttal. He did not respond. REFERENCES: 1. AR 635-40 establishes the Army Physical Disability Evaluation System and sets forth policies, responsibilities, and procedures that apply in determining whether a Soldier is unfit because of physical disability to reasonably perform the duties of his or her office, grade, rank, or rating. If a Soldier is found unfit because of physical disability, this regulation provides for disposition of the Soldier according to applicable laws and regulations. a. Chapter 5 provides for separation of an enlisted Soldier on active duty for more than 30 days for non-service aggravated conditions that existed prior to service when the Soldier requests a physical evaluation board (PEB) waiver. Paragraph 5-2 prescribes that a case must meet the conditions, set forth below for discharge under this chapter: * the Soldier is eligible for referral into the disability system * the Soldier does not meet medical retention standards as determined by a medical evaluation board (MEB) * the disqualifying defect or condition existed prior to entry on current period of duty and has not been aggravated by such duty * the Soldier is mentally competent * knowledge of information about his/her medical condition would not be harmful to the Soldier's well being * further hospitalization or institutional care is not required * after being advised of the right to a full and fair hearing, the Soldier still desires to waive PEB action * the Soldier has been advised that a PEB evaluation is required for receipt of Army disability benefits, but waiver of the PEB will not prevent applying for VA benefits b. According to accepted medical principles, certain abnormalities and residual conditions exist that, when discovered, lead to the conclusion that they must have existed or have started before the individual entered the military service. For example, manifestation of symptoms of chronic disease from date of entry on active military service (or so close to that date of entry that the disease could not have started in so short a period) will be accepted as proof that the disease existed prior to entrance into active military service. 3. AR 635-200 (Active Duty Enlisted Administrative Separations) describes the different types of characterization of service. a. An uncharacterized separation is an entry-level separation. A separation will be described as an entry-level separation if processing is initiated while a member is in an entry-level status, except when characterization under other than honorable conditions is authorized as the reason for separation and is warranted by the circumstances of the case or when the Secretary of the Army, on a case-by-case basis, determines that characterization of service as honorable is clearly warranted by the presence of unusual circumstances involving personal conduct and performance of duty. For Regular Army Soldiers, entry-level status is defined as the first 180 days of continuous active service. b. An honorable discharge is a separation with honor and entitles the recipient to benefits provided by law. The honorable characterization is appropriate when the quality of the member's service generally has met the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty for Army personnel or is otherwise so meritorious that any other characterization would be clearly inappropriate. 4. AR 635-5-1 (Separation Program Designator (SPD) Codes) states SPD codes are three-character alphabetic combinations which identify reasons for and types of separation from active duty. The SPD code KFN is the correct code for Soldiers separating under the provisions of AR 635-40, chapter 5, for a physical disability existing prior to entry on active duty. 5. AR 15-185 (ABCMR) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the ABCMR. The ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity. The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence. DISCUSSION: 1. The complete facts and circumstances surrounding the applicant's discharge are not available for review with this case. 2. It appears that during the first few weeks of training, medical authorities established he had a disqualifying medical condition that existed prior to service. Since he failed medical procurement standards, separation action was initiated against him. 3. His DD Form 214 shows he was discharged under the provisions of chapter 5 of AR 635-40 due to a preexisting condition. He completed 76 days of active duty service at the time of his discharge. 4. The medical review by the ARBA Medical Advisor/Psychologist concluded the applicant did not meet medical retention standards in accordance with AR 635-40 and 635-200 that were applicable to his era of service. The applicant's medical conditions were duly considered during medical separation processing and a review of available documentation did not find evidence of a medical disability or conditions which would support a change to the character of discharge or to change his discharge to medical retirement. 5. During the first 180 days of continuous active military service, a member's service is under review. When separated within the first 180 days, service is usually not characterized unless the circumstances of the separation warrant a discharge under other than honorable conditions. An honorable characterization may be given only if the service clearly warrants that characterization by unusual circumstances of personal conduct and performance of military duty and such characterization must be approved by the Secretary of the Army. 6. An uncharacterized discharge is not meant to be a negative reflection of a Soldier's military service. It merely means the Soldier has not served on active duty long enough for his or her character of service to be rated. 7. His condition was identified within the first 180 days of active service; therefore, his service is appropriately uncharacterized. All requirements of law and regulation were met and the rights of the applicant were fully protected throughout the separation process. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160004160 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160004160 7 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2