MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           15 July 2003                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002083101

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the record of consideration of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr. Edmund P. Mercanti		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Ms. Margaret V. Thompson		Member	
	Mr. Eric N. Andersen		Member	

	The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date.  In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

	The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

APPLICANT REQUESTS:  In effect, that his transfer to the Retired Reserve be corrected to a medical retirement.

APPLICANT STATES:  In a letter to his elected representative, that he was transferred to the Retired Reserve when he should have been medically retired.  When his Army National Guard (ARNG) unit was mobilized and deployed to Bosnia, he hurt his back on the weapons qualification range.  As a result, his back hurts and he has mental health problems.

In support of his request, he submits a rating decision from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in which he was awarded a non-service connected permanent and total disability rating for major depression.  The VA deferred a decision on the applicant’s request for a rating for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychosis, back injury and high blood pressure.

The applicant also submits VA medical records which show that he was diagnosed as having a disk protrusion at the level of L4/5 causing sharp back and leg pain with numbness (diagnosed September 1998) (he told a VA physician on 6 February 2002 that “back in December [2001] [he] was in the firing range when he had the sudden onset of back pain radiating down to his right leg and his right leg gave out on him”).

On 7 March 2002, the applicant was given a psychosocial assessment.  In that assessment the following written statement was presented to the applicant:  “Some people have had terrible experiences that others never go through, such as:  being sexually assaulted or raped, being in a fire or flood or natural disaster, being in combat, being in a bad accident, being threatened with a weapon, seeing someone being badly injured or killed.”  The applicant then answered “No” to the question “Did any of these experiences ever happen to you?”

On 14 March 2002, the applicant was seen by the VA for complaints of depression.  He screened positive for depression at that time.  He was also found to have a thought disorder, grandiose delusions, and there was some question of whether he was having hallucinations.  A preliminary diagnosis of psychosis was then made and psychological testing was requested.

On 9 April 2002, the applicant was diagnosed as having probable paranoid schizophrenia.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records show:

He enlisted in the Regular Army on 25 September 1979, was awarded the military occupational specialty of multichannel communication equipment 

operator, and was promoted to pay grade E-4.  He was honorably released from active duty at the expiration of his term of service on 24 September 1982.
On 12 August 1983, the applicant enlisted in the ARNG.  He served continuously in the ARNG, being promoted to pay grade E-6, and was transferred to the Retired Reserve on 16 January 2002.  While in the ARNG, he served a tour of Active Duty for Special Work (ADSW) from 8 August 1991 to 30 September 1994.  He also served on active duty from 7 February to 2 November 2000, during which time he was deployed to Bosnia.

Title 10, U.S. Code, chapter 61, Retirement or Separation for Physical Disability, provides for the retirement and discharge of members of the Armed Forces who incur a physical disability in the line of duty while serving on active or inactive duty.  However, for reservists serving less than 30 days of active duty, the disability must have been the proximate result of performing military duty.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record and applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  In order to be eligible to be medically retired, the applicant would have to show that he incurred or aggravated a physically unfitting condition while he was on active duty.  He has not provided any such evidence.

2.  The applicant was diagnosed as having a disk protrusion with back and leg pain with numbness in September 1998, but later claimed that he had injured his back in December 2001 while he was on the firing range.  The applicant was last released from active duty (prior to the September 1998 diagnosis) on 30 September 1994, 4 years prior to the diagnosis.

3.  The first record of the applicant seeking treatment for depression was on 14 March 2002, and he was diagnosed as having probable paranoid schizophrenia on 9 April 2002.  The applicant was last released from active duty on 2 November 2000, around 1 ½ years prior to those diagnoses.

4.  In addition, on 7 March 2002 the applicant stated that he had never experienced any traumatic event that could have caused PTSD.

5.  Since all the evidence submitted shows that none of the applicant’s medical or psychological conditions were incurred or aggravated while he was on active duty, he does not meet the criteria of regulation and law to be placed on the Retired List due to physical disability.

6.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

DETERMINATION:  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___mvt __  ___fne __  ____ena_  DENY APPLICATION

		    Carl W. S. Chun
		    Director, Army Board for Correction
    of Military Records

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002083101	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20030715	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR .  .  .  .  .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	108.04	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.