DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS
2 NAVY ANNEX
WASHINGTON DC 20370-5100

JRE
										Docket No. 07299-05 
										3 March 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 24 February 2005. 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 your 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. In this connection, it substantially concurred with the findings of the Director, Secretary of the Navy Council of Review Boards in her letter to you dated 8 April 2005, a copy of which is attached. The Board was not persuaded that you should have received a higher rating under Department bf Veterans Affairs (VA) code 5235, or to ratings under any other VA codes. It concluded that your disability was properly rated at 20% under VA code 5235. In addition, the Board noted that the compression fractures of your vertebrae would not have been ratable under former VA code 5295, because Department of Defense rating guidance required a decrease in vertebral height of 50% or more for the additional 10% rating; in your case there was only a 25% decrease.

In view of the foregoing, your application has been denied. The names and votes of the members of the panel will be furnished upon request. You should consider submit an application for disability compensation to the VA, which assigns disability ratings without regard to the issue of fitness for military duty.

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,

							W. DEAN PFEIFFER
							Executive Director