RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER: 00-02927
            INDEX NUMBER:  128.08, 121.02

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His records be corrected to show he  is  entitled  to  payment  for
accrued leave, disability severance, and hospitalization.

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

His discharge was improperly conducted and  without  proper  orders
and review.   He  was  released  without  back  pay  while  he  was
hospitalized from Morocco, Germany and the Walter Reed Army Medical
Center (WRAMC).  He was discharged within one hour from his initial
contact with the Air Force Liaison  Office,  which  was  not  under
proper military orders or procedures.  Proper orders and  discharge
should be investigated and issued.  Retroactive pay  should  be  in
order.  Service duty should be properly addressed and discontinued.

The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

___________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant is a former member who was honorably discharged  from
the Air Force on 18 January 1961, under the provisions of AFM 35-4,
Physical Disability,  EPTS  (Existed  Prior  to  Service),  without
entitlement to severance pay.  At the time of  his  discharge,  the
applicant was serving in the grade of E-3  and  was  credited  with
2 years, 4 months and 1 day of active duty service.

The  remaining  relevant  facts  pertaining  to  this  application,
extracted from  the  applicant’s  records,  are  contained  in  the
letters prepared by the appropriate offices of  the  Air  Force  at
Exhibits C and D.  Accordingly, there is no need  to  recite  these
facts in this Record of Proceedings.

___________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATIONS:

The Chief Medical Consultant, AFBCMR, reviewed the application  and
recommended that the applicant’s records be corrected  to  show  he
was discharged with 10% physical  disability  with  entitlement  to
separation pay.  An injustice  appears  to  have  occurred  in  the
manner in which the applicant was  discharged  in  that  separation
without consideration of disability  severance  pay  was  erroneous
according to regulations then in effect.  The applicant was able to
serve satisfactorily in police duties for  2  years  prior  to  the
onset of his mental deterioration.  He was  21  years  old  at  the
time, a common age for the appearance of such  disorders  in  those
predisposed to develop such psychoses.  There  seems  little  doubt
that service aggravation occurred, and  he  should  not  have  been
discharged without benefit of separation pay.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit C.

The  USAF  Physical  Disability  Division,  AFPC/DPPD,  recommended
denial.  Disability records reflect that the applicant was referred
before  a  Medical  Evaluation  Board  (MEB)  consisting  of  three
psychiatrists, who  diagnosed  him  with  “schizophrenic  reaction,
n.e.c., chronic, severe, recurrent; manifested by delusions, affect
disturbance, autistic and confused thinking,  ideas  of  reference,
and impairment of insight and judgment; stress,  moderate,  routine
military service, possible marijuana intoxication;  predisposition,
severe, lifelong  history  of  similar  adjustment;  impairment  of
military service, marked;  impairment  for  social  and  industrial
adaptability, slight; improved for partial remission.  LOD (line of
duty):  No, EPTS.”  The MEB recommended that the  applicant  appear
before a Physical Evaluation  Board  (PEB)  for  consideration  for
separation from the military by reason of  a  physical  disability,
under the provisions of AFM 35-4.   After  having  been  thoroughly
briefed  on  his  options,  the  applicant  requested  a   physical
disability discharge; however, at the  same  time,  he  waived  his
right to consideration of his case by a PEB.   In  his  statements,
dated 18 January 1961, the applicant acknowledged that his  medical
condition existed prior to entrance on  active  duty  and  that  he
would not be eligible to receive disability severance pay.

AFM 35-4, Chapter 9, Paragraph 124a(3) and (4), in  effect  at  the
time, states that a  service  member  will  not  be  discharged  or
retired for a physical disability without a full and fair  hearing,
if the member demands it, which includes a review and consideration
of his MEB by a PEB.  Additional  guidelines  state  that  military
members discharged from the  service  for  a  physical  disability,
which existed prior to service and not aggravated  by  active  duty
service, are not  entitled  to  receive  disability  retirement  or
severance pay.  Following their review, AFPC/DPPD believes that the
applicant was afforded all rights and considerations  presented  to
personnel undergoing disability evaluation during  that  period  of
time.

AFPC/DPPD also noted that on  several  occasions  while  on  active
duty, the applicant was observed by fellow airmen  and  supervisors
and was considered to have strange  behavioral  patterns.   It  was
also noted that evaluations dated 30 September 1960 and 21  October
1960 allude to his having used marijuana.  Subsequent Department of
Veteran  Affairs  (DVA)  documentation  shows  a  lifelong  problem
attributable to cocaine dependence.

AFPC/DPPD was unable to ascertain why the applicant would not  have
been paid for 53 days of accrued leave, as indicated on his DD Form
214.  During this period of service,  there  were  no  restrictions
that limited a member to selling 60 days of leave during a  career.
This restriction was effective until 10 February  1976.   They  are
also unaware of any type of hospitalization pay.

To ensure that the applicant received a full and fair review of his
case, AFPC/DPPD forwarded the file to the Informal PEB  (IPEB)  for
comment.   The  IPEB  concluded  that   the   applicant’s   dormant
schizophrenia, triggered by the event of a lost erection,  was  not
considered sufficient evidence to be considered service aggravated.
 The applicant’s records reflected a  strong  history  of  schizoid
activity dating back to his school years.  Based on a preponderance
of the evidence, the applicant’s mental condition existed prior  to
service; was not aggravated by military service; and, no  injustice
occurred at the time of his disability  processing.   Additionally,
the Board commented that had  the  case  been  adjudicated  by  the
current IPEB, they would have recommended  that  he  be  discharged
under  other  than  Chapter  61,  Title  10,  USC  (Retirement   or
Separation  for  Physical  Disability)  due  to  his  EPTS  medical
condition.   The  applicant’s   contention   that   his   discharge
processing was improperly conducted  and  not  in  accordance  with
current directives at the time of his release from active  duty  is
completely unsubstantiated.

The complete evaluation is at Exhibit D.

The Directorate of Debt and Claims Management, DFAS-POCC/DE, stated
that according  to  the  applicant’s  discharge  document,  he  was
honorably discharged and, under existing regulations, he would have
been paid for his accrued  leave.   There  was  no  entitlement  to
disability  severance  pay.   There  is  also  no  entitlement   to
hospitalization pay, since he would have received his normal  basic
pay, which, for an E-3 with over 2 years of service would have been
$124 a month.  Pay records are no longer available  to  verify  any
further claim for pay due.  Requests for payments  should  be  paid
only if  upheld  by  government  records  or  other  substantiating
documents.  Based on the nonavailability of records and  the  lapse
of 40 years, DFAS-POCC/DE recommended denial.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit E.

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATIONS:

Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the applicant
on 16  February  2001,  for  review  and  response  within  30 days
(Exhibit F).  They were returned marked  “Moved  Left  No  Address,
Unable to Forward, Return to Sender.”

___________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.  The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided  by  existing
law or regulations.

2.  The application was not timely filed; however,  it  is  in  the
interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

3.  Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to  demonstrate
the existence of  probable  error  or  injustice.   We  accept  the
opinion and recommendation from the BCMR  Medical  Consultant,  who
indicates that an injustice may have occurred in that the applicant
was discharged without consideration of disability  severance  pay.
There also seems little doubt that  service  aggravation  occurred,
since the applicant was able to serve satisfactorily in his  duties
for two years prior to  the  onset  of  his  mental  deterioration.
Based on the above, we believe the applicant should have been found
unfit  by  reason  of  physical  disability.   The   BCMR   Medical
Consultant recommended that the applicant’s records be corrected to
show  he  was  discharged  with  10%   physical   disability   with
entitlement to separation pay computed on the basis  of  scales  in
effect at the time of discharge for his 2 years, 4 months and 1 day
of service.  We agree.  Therefore, we recommend that his records be
corrected to the extent indicated below.

4.  Applicant’s  requests  for  payment  for  accrued   leave   and
hospitalization pay are duly noted.  In this regard, we  note  that
the applicant’s pay records are no  longer  available.   Therefore,
based  on  the  presumption  of  regularity  in  the   conduct   of
governmental affairs,  and  in  the  absence  of  evidence  to  the
contrary, we must assume that he received payment for  his  accrued
leave in accordance with the governing directives in effect at  the
time of his separation.  In addition, there is no such  entitlement
as hospitalization pay.  While on active duty, the applicant  would
have received his basic pay during his periods of  hospitalization.
Based on the available evidence of record,  we  therefore  find  no
basis  upon  which  to  favorably  consider  this  portion  of  his
application.

___________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the  Air  Force
relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that:

      a.  On 17 January 1961, he was found  unfit  to  perform  the
duties of his office, rank, grade or rating by reason of a physical
disability; that the diagnosis in his case  was  dementia  praecox,
mixed type,  VASRD  Code  9004,  rated  at  10  percent;  that  the
disability was aggravated by the service; and that  the  disability
was permanent.

      b.  He was honorably discharged on 18 January 1961, under the
provisions of AFR 35-4, by reason of a  physical  disability,  with
entitlement to disability severance pay.

___________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered this  application  in
Executive Session on 3 April 2001, under the provisions of AFI  36-
2603:

                 Ms. Charlene M. Bradley, Panel Chair
                 Mr. Timothy Beyland, Member
                 Mr. Roscoe Hinton, Jr., Member

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

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 7 Nov 2000, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, BCMR Medical Consultant, dated 10 Jan 2001.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPPD, dated 2 Feb 2001.
   Exhibit E.  Letter, DFAS-POCC/DE, dated 7 Feb 2001.
   Exhibit F.  Letter, SAF/MIBR, dated 16 Feb 2001.




                                   CHARLENE M. BRADLEY
                                   Panel Chair



AFBCMR 00-02927




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:

      The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air
Force relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that:

            a.  On 17 January 1961, he was found unfit to perform
the duties of his office, rank, grade or rating by reason of a
physical disability; that the diagnosis in his case was dementia
praecox, mixed type, VASRD Code 9004, rated at 10 percent; that the
disability was aggravated by the service; and that the disability
was permanent.

            b.  He was honorably discharged on 18 January 1961,
under the provisions of AFR 35-4, by reason of a physical
disability, with entitlement to disability severance pay.






            JOE G. LINEBERGER
            Director
            Air Force Review Boards Agency