DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY 
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS 
701 S. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 1001 
ARLINGTON, VA 22204-2490 
Docket No. 487-17 
SEP 11 1017 

Dear

This is in reference to your application for correction of your naval record pursuant to the provisions of 10 USC 1552. 

Although your application was not filed in a timely manner, the Board found it in the interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations and consider your case on its merits. A three-member panel of the Board for Correction ofNaval Records, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 10 August 2017. The names and votes of the members of the panel will be furnished upon request. 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. 

A review of your record shows that you entered active duty with the Navy in October 2003. After a referral by a medical board to the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) for back pain, pain disorder, migraines, and schizoaffective disorder in January 2007, the PEB found you fit for continued naval service on 14 March 2007. You accepted the PEB findings and continued your naval career until you were descreened for world-wide deployment and ordered to be processed for administrative separation by Commander, Navy Personnel Command on 5 December 2007. On 1 February 2008, you forwarded a request to be allowed to complete your enlistment citing fitness to perform your duties in your current assignment. However, your request was denied and you were discharged on 31July2008 for condition not a disability. As of2015, the 
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rated you for a number of service connected disabilities totaling a combined 100%. 

The Board carefully considered your arguments that you deserve to be placed on the Disability 
Retirement List. You assert that your VA disability ratings substantiate your unfitness for 
continued naval service at the time of your discharge. Unfortunately, the Board disagreed with 
your rationale for relief. The Board was unable to find evidence to support a finding to overturn 
the decision of the PEB that you were fit for continued naval service. Specifically, the Board found persuasive your own statement, and the statements of your co-workers and chain of conunand, that you were fit to continue performing the duties you were assigned until the end of your enlistment. This convinced the Board that the PEB decision was correct and one that you strongly agreed with at the time it was made. Absent evidence that your condition created a substantial occupational impairment that prevented you from performing your duties, the Board felt it had insufficient evidence to mandate a change to your narrative reason for separation. Second, the Board was not persuaded by the VA ratings issued to you upon your discharge from the Navy. Eligibility for compensation and pension disability ratings by the VA is tied to the establishment of service connection and is manifestation-based without a requirement that unfitness for military duty be demonstrated. Without additional evidence that your rated conditions prevented you from performing your duties, the Board did not find your VA ratings probative to the issue ofunfitness for continued naval service. Accordingly, the Board was unable to find an error or injustice warranting a correction to your record and denied your application. 

It is regretted that the circumstances ofyour case are such that favorable action cannot be taken at this time. You are entitled to have the Board reconsider its decision upon the submission of new and material evidence. New evidence is evidence 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, 

Executive Director