AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY 

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

IN THE MATTER OF: 

DOCKET NUMBER:  98-00224 
COUNSEL:  NONE 
HEARING DESIRED:  .YES 

APPLICANT REOUESTS THAT: 
His  disability retirement  be  set aside  and  his  name be  placed 
back on the Temporary Disability Retired List  (TDRL), retroactive 
to 16 November 1996. 

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 
He was prematurely removed from the TDRL in 1996 and permanently 
retired.  His condition had not yet stabilized at that time. 
In  support  of  his  request,  the  applicant  submits  medical 
statements from his attending Air Force physician and counseling 
psychologist, and a congressional inquiry (Exhibit A). 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 
The  applicant's  Total  Active  Federal  Military  Service  Date 
(TAFMSD) is 11 November 1973.  He was promoted to the grade of 
lieutenant colonel, with  the  effective date an date of  rank of 
1 January 1990. 
A  Medical  Evaluation  Board  (MEB) was  convened  on  20 September 
1994 and their diagnosis and findings were as follows: 

1.  Eating  disorder  not  otherwise  specified,  manifested  by 
severe weight loss,  a body weight of less than 85% of ideal body 
weight, with severe multi-organ system involvement and a failure 
to  increase  his  weight  despite medical  advice  to  do  so.  S&I 
Impairment: Severe.  Approximate date of origin 1984. 

2.  Chronic  low  back  pain  of  discogenic  origin,  herniated 
nucleus  pulposus  at  L  4-5,  treated  conservatively,  with 
intermittent exacerbations.  Approximate date of origin 1982. 
The MEB recommended the case be referred to the Informal Physical 
Evaluation Board  (IPEB) and  the  recommendation was  approved  on 
20 September 1994. 

On  30  September  1994,  an  Informal  Physical  Evaluation  Board 
(IPEB) was  convened.  The IPEB indicated that  the diagnosis of 
chronic low back pain was considered but not ratable.  The IPEB 
found the applicant unfit because of physical disability and that 
the  impairment  might  be  permanent. 
The  IPEB  recommended 
temporary  retirement,  with  a  compensable  rate  of  70%.  On 
18 October  1994,  the  applicant  agreed  with  the. findings  and 
recommended disposition of the IPEB. 
On 9 December 1994,  the applicant was relieved from active duty 
and  on 10 December 1994,  his  name was placed  on the Temporary 
Disability  Retired  List  (TDRL)  in  the  grade  of  lieutenant 
colonel, with a compensable percentage of 70 percent. 
On  24  June  1996,  the  applicant  was  scheduled  for  a  periodic 
physical  (TDRL) evaluation at  Scott AFB,  IL.  On  12  September 
1996,  an  IPEB  was  convened  and  their  diagnosis  was  "Eating 
disorder,  not  otherwise  specified,  definite  industrial 
impairment,"  with  the  recommendation  that  the  applicant  be 
permanently retired, with a compensable rate of  30 percent.  On 
8 October 1996, the applicant disagreed with the IPEB's  findings 
and  recommendations, waived his rights to a formal hearing and 
elected to submit a written rebuttal to the Air Force Personnel 
Council  (AFPC).  On  31 October  1996,  the  Secretary of  the Air 
Force  agreed  with  the  findings  of  the  IPEB  and  directed  the 
applicant's  permanent  retirement, with  a  30 percent  disability 
rating. 
On  16 November  1996,  the applicant's  name was  removed from the 
Temporary Disability Retired List  (TDRL) and he was permanently 
retired  in the grade of  lieutenant  colonel because  of  physical 
disability  with  a  compensable  rating  of  30  percent.  He  had 
completed a total of 21 years and 29 days of active service for 
retirement and 21 years, 1 month and  14 days of  service per  10 
USC 1405. 
The  Department  of  Veteran's  Affairs  records  reflect  that  the 
applicant was granted a combined rating of 80% in 1996. 

AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 
The AFBCMR  Medical  Consultant  stated  that  the  applicant  served 
his  last  five  years  of  military  service with  a  severe  eating 
disorder  that  resulted  in  excessive  weight  loss  and  physical 
disability that was thoroughly evaluated at Wilford Hall Medical 
Center in 1994.  In October of  that year, he was found unfit for 
duty and placed on the TDRL with 70% disability.  In June 1996, 
he underwent  a required TDRL examination, which, in retrospect , 
was  incomplete  in  identifying his  true medical  condition.  As 
pointed  out  in  the  letters  submitted  by  his  current  treating 
internist  and  psychology  provider,  that  examination  failed  to 

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include any laboratory tests that would have pointed to him being 
in much worse condition than the subsequent Physical Evaluation 
Board  (PEB) was  led  to believe.  When  tests were  performed  in 
February 1997  (3 months post-permanently disability retired) , he 
was  found  to have  markedly  abnormal  results  attributed  to  his 
severe malnutrition, conditions that were  likely present at  the 
time of his TDRL examination but not looked for.  As a result of 
this incomDlete evaluation, the PEB determined that his desree of 
disabilitv was 30%. the level that was qranted at the time of his 
permanent  disabilitv retirement.  The AFBCMR Medical Consultant 
is  of  the  opinion  that  the  applicant  should  have  received  a 
permanent  disability rating of  70 percent  based  on the extreme 
nature of his disorder, the exact significance of which was lost 
in an incomplete evaluation and, therefore, not available to the 
PEB,  and  that  this  should  be  retroactively  applied  to  his 
permanent  disability  retirement  date  of  16  November  1996.  A 
complete copy of this evaluation is appended at Exhibit C. 
The Physical Disability Division, HQ AFPC/DPPD, stated that the 
additional  medical  data  provided,  coupled  with  the  comments 
provided by the medical advisory, make it reasonable to conclude 
that  the  applicant's  TDRL  evaluation  may  have  been  finalized 
based  on  incomplete  medical  data. 
Based  on  the  additional 
medical information provided, DPPD recommended that the applicant 
be  evaluated at  a military medical  treatment  facility  (Wilford 
Hall Medical Center) to determine his medical status at the time 
of his permanent disability retirement  (16 November 1996).  DPPD 
also  recommended  that  future  recommendations  and  disability 
ratings  would  be  contingent  upon  the  findings  of  the  medical 
evaluation.  A  complete copy of  this evaluation is appended at 
Exhibit D. 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 
The applicant's spouse, acting on behalf of her husband, reviewed 
the advisory opinion and stated that  the applicant is currently 
hospitalized at the University of Iowa as a result of his ongoing 
battle  with  anorexia  and  a  secondary  diagnosis  of  obsessive 
compulsive  personality  disorder,  previously  undiagnosed. 
Applicant's  spouse  stated  that  the  applicant's  file  is  filled 
with evaluations from various doctors who list his impairment as 
severe with  the  recommendation of  100% disability, yet  he  was 
rated  at  the  moderate  level  of  disability.  The  applicant's 
spouse  submitted  a  letter  written  to  her  congressman,  which 
summarizes the length and severity of her husband's  illness and 
the chronology and status of the appeal.  She has also submitted 
a  copy  of  a  letter  from  the  applicant's  civilian  medical 
physicians concerning his mental and physical status. 
The  applicant's  spouse,  having  durable  power  of  attorney, 
indicated that in view of the applicant's present hospitalization 
and the expected length of  treatment, it was requested that the 

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98- 00224 

Board  consider  the  doctor’s  recommendation  of  70%  disability 
rating at the time af permanent retirement in 1996 rather than a 
complete reevaluation before the medical board. 
Complete copies of the response are appended at Exhibit F. 

The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing 

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 
1. 
law or regulations. 
2.  The application was timely filed. 
3.  Sufficient  relevant  evidence  has  been  presented  to 
demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.  Having 
carefully reviewed this application, we are in agreement with the 
opinion and recommendation of the AFBCMR Medical Consultant and 
adopt  his  rationale  as  the  basis  for  our  decision  that  the 
applicant has been the victim of either an error or an injustice. 
In this  respect, we  noted  that  the  Physical Evaluation Board’s 
recommendation to permanently  retire the  applicant, with  a  30% 
compensable disability  rating, was  based  on  incomplete medical 
data.  We  therefore agree with  the Medical Consultant that the 
evidence  pertaining  to  the  applicant‘s  condition  supports  the 
award  of  a  compensable  rating  of  70 percent.  Accordingly, we 
recommend that the applicant’s records be corrected as indicated 
below. 

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: 
The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force 
relating  to APPLICANT be  corrected  to  show that on  16 November 
1996,  competent  authority  determined  that  the  rating  for  his 
unfitting condition was 70 percent, rather than 30 percent. 

The following members of the Board considered this application in 
Executive Session on 21 July  1998, under the provisions  of AFI 
36-2603: 

Mr. David W. Mulgrew, Panel Chair 
Mr. Joseph G. Diamond, Member 
Mr. Terry A. Yonkers, Member 

All members  voted  to correct the records, as  recommended.  The 
following documentary evidence was considered: 

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98-00224 

r 

Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 20 Jan 98, w/atchs. 
Applicant's Master Personnel Records. 
Exhibit B. 
Exhibit C.  Letter, AFBCMR Medical Consultant, dated 

12 Feb 98. 

Exhibit D.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPD, dated 24 Mar 98. 
Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MIBR, dated 13 Apr 98. 
Exhibit F. 

Letters, dated 4 May 98, w/atchs, and 11 Jun 98, 
w/atch. 

n UvJw 

DAVID W. MULGREW 
Panel Chair 

5 

9 8 - 0 0 2 2 4  

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE 

WASHINGTON, DC 

SEP 1 6  1998 

I 

Office of the Assistant Secretary 

AFBCMR 98-00224 

MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF OF STAFF 

Having received and considered the recommendation of the Air Force Board for Correction 
of Military Records and under the authority of Section 1552, Title 10, United States Code (70A 
Stat 116), it is directed that: 

authority determined that the rating for his physical disability was 70 percent, rather than 30 
percent. 

s of the Department of the Air Force relating to- 
be corrected to show that on 16 November 1996, competent 

fiw 

Director 
Air Force Reviewxoards Agency 

I