Dear   
 
This is in reference to your application for correction of your naval record pursuant to Title 10, United States Code, Section 1552.  After careful and conscientious consideration of the entire record, the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) found the evidence submitted was insufficient to establish the existence of probable material error or injustice.  Consequently, your application has been denied. 
 
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 of Naval Records, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 12 December 2019.  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, relevant portions of your naval record and applicable statutes, regulations and policies.   
 
A review of your record shows that you entered active duty with the Navy on 5 March 2001.  On 11 November 2001, you were admitted to Naval Medical Center after exhibiting bizarre behavior.  You were diagnosed with schizophrenia and referred to the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) by a medical board.  On 8 March 2002, the PEB found you unfit for continued naval service due to schizophrenia, disorganized type but concluded your condition existed prior to your entry into the Navy.  After you requested a formal hearing, the formal PEB affirmed the finding that your schizophrenia was a preexisting condition that was not aggravated by your service.  You accepted the PEB findings on 18 July 2002 and were discharged on 1 August 2002 pursuant to the PEB findings.  Post-discharge, the Department of Veterans Affairs assigned you a 20% disability rating for schizophrenia. 
 
The Board carefully considered your arguments that you deserve to be placed on the disability retirement list.  You assert your schizophrenia was not a preexisting condition based on your entrance physical and the VA’s service connection finding.  Unfortunately, the Board disagreed with your rationale for relief.  First, the Board concluded your schizophrenia preexisted your entry into the Navy based on preservice medical documentation that shows you were hospitalized for bizarre behavior in June 2000 and your treatment at a mental health institution in July 2000.  In the Board’s opinion, this was strong evidence that your schizophrenia manifested less than 8 months prior to the commencement of active duty.  The fact you may have been asymptomatic at the time of your entrance physical did not convince the Board you did not enter the Navy without your mental health condition.  This finding was based on your hospitalization approximately seven months after commencing active duty for the same bizarre behavior that you were previously hospitalized prior to entering the Navy.  Second, the Board also concluded that your condition was not aggravated by your active duty service.  Aggravation of a disability is defined as progressing beyond the natural progression of the condition while on active duty.  In your case, you displayed bizarre behavior that was consistent with behavior you previously exhibited.  In the Board’s opinion, this was evidence that your condition did not progress beyond its normal course since your symptoms did not worsen beyond what was previously exhibited.  Based on findings that your condition preexisted your entry into the Navy and was not aggravated by your active service, the Board found you were not eligible for a PEB assigned disability rating.  In making this finding, the Board substantially concurred with the formal PEB findings of 3 May 2002.  Third, the Board was not convinced by the VA’s decision to grant you a service connection for your schizophrenia.  The Board felt that the evidence in your case does not support the finding by the VA as previously discussed.  Additionally, the Board took into consideration that the VA operates under different statutes, regulations, and rules than the PEB and, as a result, may reach different conclusions.  Finally, the Board determined you did not qualify for placement on the disability retirement list since you did not qualify for a PEB assigned disability rating.  However, the Board also determined that you would not have qualified for placement on the disability retirement list even if the PEB had adopted the disability rating assigned by the VA.  Title 10, United States Code requires the assignment of a disability rating 30% or greater to qualify for placement on the disability retirement list.  In your case, your VA assigned disability rating for schizophrenia is 20%.  Accordingly, the Board found insufficient evidence of error or injustice to warrant a change to your record. 
 
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 matters, which will require you to complete and submit a new DD Form 149.  New matters are those not previously presented to or 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,