DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS
2 NAVY ANNEX
WASHINGTON DC 20370~5 1 00

JRE
Docket No. 06107-05
23 October 2006

This is in reference to your application for correction of your naval record pursuant to the provisions of title 10 of the United States Code, section 1552.

A three-member panel of the Board for Correction of Naval Records, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 13 October 2006. Your allegations of error and injustice were reviewed in accordance with administrative regulations and procedures applicable to the proceedings of this Board. Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of you application, together with all material submitted in support thereof your naval record and applicable statutes, regulations and policies.

After careful and conscientious consideration of the entire record, the Board found that the evidence submitted was insufficient to establish the existence of probable material error or injustice.

The Board found that you were evaluated by a medical board on 1 June 2004, and given three diagnoses: dysthymic disorder; sensorineural hearing loss, left; and chronic bilateral knee pain. On 20 August 2004, the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) considered the medical board report and other records, and determined that you were fit for duty. On 9 September 2004, a “reconsideration” medical board gave you diagnoses of a depressive disorder in partial remission; major depressive disorder, resolved; and a personality disorder with passive-aggressive, dependent, and borderline features. The medical board report indicates that during the previous year, you had been late for work or had not shown upon occasion, you had poor interactions with patients at work, and that you had threatened that you would never return to work. The PEE reconsidered you case on 4 October 2004, and confirmed its previous determination that you were fit for duty. You were discharged from the Navy under honorable conditions on 29 October 2004, by reason of a personality disorder. On 11 April 2005, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) awarded you disability ratings of 30% for major depressive disorder, and separate ratings of 10% for conditions of each knee, and ringing in the ears, for a combined rating of 60%. The Naval Discharge Review Board considered your request for upgrade of your discharge, and determined that you were properly separated from the Navy with a general discharge.

The Board noted that the VA assigns disability ratings any condition incurred in or aggravated by a veteran’s military service, without regard to the issue of fitness for military service. The military departments are permitted to assign disability ratings only in those cases where a service member has been found unfit to reasonably perform the duties of his office, grade, rank or rating by reason of physical disability. The PEB carefully evaluated your case on two occasions, and determined you were fit for duty. You could have remained on active duty but for the effects of your personality disorder, which rendered you unsuitable for further service. Accordingly, and as the Board was not persuaded that it would be in the interest of justice to upgrade your discharge to honorable, your application has been denied.

The names and votes of the members of the panel will be furnished upon request. The Board did not consider your request for upgrade of your discharge to general, because you have not exhausted an available administrative remedy by applying to the Naval Discharge Review Board for that relief.

It is regretted that the circumstances of your case are such that favorable action cannot be taken. You are entitled to have the Board reconsider its decision upon submission of new and material evidence or other matter not previously considered by the Board. In this regard, it is important to keep in mind that a presumption of regularity attaches to all official records. Consequently, when applying for
a correction of an official naval record, the burden is on the applicant to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

Sincerely,